In 1999, the multi-Grammy winner, pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba was selected by Piano & Keyboard magazine as one of the great pianists of the 20th century, alongside figures such as Glenn Gould, Martha Argerich and Bill Evans. He has won three Grammys, four Latin Grammys and 21 Grammy nominations. He has been awarded the EMPIK Best-sellers Prize, Palmarés (awarded by the prestigious institution Grand Prix de L’Academie du Jazz) and a Les Victoires du Jazz, all of which have established him as a creative force in the jazz world.
Rubalcaba was born on May 27, 1963, into a musical family in Havana. His father, pianist, composer and bandleader Guillermo Rubalcaba had played in the orchestra of Enrique Jorrín, creator of cha-cha; his grandfather Jacobo Rubalcaba was the composer of classic danzones. His two brothers were also musicians. A prodigy, who by age 6 was playing drums in his father’s orchestra, Rubalcaba started his formal training two years later. He chose the piano as his main instrument to, as he once recalled, “please my mother.”
He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Havana with a degree in composition and by his mid-teens, he was working as both a drummer and pianist in the hotels, concert halls and jazz clubs of Havana. After graduation, he stepped right into the life of the popular musician, touring Cuba, Europe, Africa and Asia with the fabled Orquesta Aragón and as a sideman in jazz groups. Beginning in 1984, he was leading his own Afro-Cuban jazz rock fusion band Grupo Proyecto.
The encounters with Dizzy Gillespie, and in 1986, with Charlie Haden and then-Blue Note Records president Bruce Lundvall, set the stage finally to showcase Rubalcaba ́s talent before jazz audiences in the United States. These years are documented in a series of recordings in Havana and Frankfurt, Germany, including three superb diss with his Cuban Quartet on the German label Messidor: “Mi Gran Pasión” (1987), “Live in Havana” (1989) and “Giraldilla” (1990). Rubalcaba moved to the Dominican Republic in 1991 and settled in Miami in 1996.
His international recording career, which includes titles such as “Discovery — Live at Montreux,” “Image — Live at Mount Fuji,” “The Blessing, Suite 4 y 20,” “Rapsodia,” “Diz” and "Imagine — Gonzalo Rubalcaba in the USA," has garnered him 19 nominations, along with three Grammys and four Latin Grammys. He won Grammys for “Nocturne” (2001) and “Land of the Sun” (2004), two collections of Latin ballads and boleros recorded with bassist Charlie Haden, and “Skyline” (2022), a reunion of old friends Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette. He won Latin Grammys for “Solo” (2006), “Supernova” (2002), “Live in Marciac” (2022) with the singer Aymée Nuviola and “Vida — Omara” (2023) as a producer.
In 2010, Rubalcaba founded 5Passion Records with the businessman Gary Galimidi. Since then, the label has not only released Rubalcaba’s latest recordings such as “Fe” (2011), “XXI” (2012), “Volcan” (2014), “Live Faith” (2015), the Latin Grammy-nominated “Suite Caminos” (2015) and “Charlie” (2016), but also albums by artists such as Will Vinson, Ignacio Berroa, Yosvany Terry and many more.
In addition to 5Passion Records, Rubalcaba joined the Top Stop Music label family in 2020 to record/release the Grammy-nominated “Viento y Tiempo” live at Blue Note Tokyo with singer Aymée Nuviola. In 2020, his independent Record label 5Passion was restructured in partnership with the businessman Ariel López and released the album “Skyline” (2021). The album won the Grammy Award in the category of Best Jazz Instrumental Album (2022), with Rubalcaba becoming the first Latin American musician to do so as a leader in the Best Instrumental Jazz Album category.
Reflecting his interest in music education, Rubalcaba joined the faculty of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in 2015. In 2020, he founded his own academy (Rubalcademy), offering remote masterclasses to musicians worldwide. Another of his Latin Grammy nominations came with singer, pop and soul music master Jon Secada for the album “Solos” (2019), on the Oleta Music label.
In 2022, he won a Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album in the company of the incomparable singer Aymée Nuviola with the project “Live in Marciac” (5Passion Records). it was nominated in the category of Album of the Year for the prestigious French award Les Victoires du Jazz, along with saxophonist Pierrick Pédron for the album “Pédron Rubalcaba.” In 2024, he was honored by the prestigious Jazz Institution Académe du Jazz to receive along with Pierrick Pédron the honor of Album of the Year for “Pédron Rubalcaba.”
Rubalcaba’s latest disc, “Borrowed Roses,” released by the label Top Stop Music, has been highly admired by critics and was named as one of the best jazz albums of 2023 worldwide. Considered one of the leading artists in Afro-Cuban jazz, Rubalcaba has received worldwide acclaim from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, NPR, DownBeat, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Jazz Life, Jazz Times, Jazziz and others.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSOA by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
