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The virtuoso Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba performs a variety of standards and original compositions on this remarkable stylistic display. While Rubalcaba is obviously capable of jaw-dropping feats of pianistic skill, on SOLO he more frequently ... Full Descriptionopts for an understated approach that creates a nuanced setting for his lyrical flights of fancy. Combining Cuban rhythms and impressionistic neo-classical forms, this collection of improvisations is spellbinding, with the delicacy of a spider's web and the underlying resilience of a rock-solid technical foundation.
Personnel: Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano).
Recording information: The Hit Factory, Criteria, Miami, Florida (2005).
Down Beat (p.69) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "SOLO is generally measured, lush and romantic....The disc's real threat comes on 'Prologo,' which is more vigorous, more overtly Latin, rollicking and playful, punctuated with moments of darkness and ambiguity." JazzTimes (p.78) - "Accept SOLO for what it is -- spontaneous inner dialogue from a brilliant, inquisitive mind -- and your enjoyment of this album will be considerably enhanced." Hide Description Gonzalo Rubalcaba Solo Songs Purchase Solo CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Herbie Hancock Piano CD (1978) Bonus Tracks; Remastered
Solo album
$9.25 Previously available only as a limited edition, Japanese import.
Herbie Hancock never really focused on solo piano. However, this 1978 release, which was previously only available in Japan, is a rare gem in the Hancock discography. Thanks to this overdue 2004 reissue, the listener is invited to explore the musical mind of this pianist in an up-close and intimate setting.
All 11 tracks on THE PIANO are quite reflective, with Hancock employing many rich chordal textures and winding melodic gestures throughout. On "My Funny Valentine," Hancock combines the harmonic palette of Bill Evans with his own distinctive phrasing and unexpected modal shifts. His own composition "Blue Otani" is the only bluesy piece on this disc, and here Hancock slyly suggests the stride piano tradition without ever really playing in this style. "Harvest Time" is the most atmospheric piece on the ...
| | Gonzalo Rubalcaba Paseo CD (2004)
Solo CD music
$14.89 One of the most visible figures on the Afro-Cuban jazz scene, Gonzalo Rubalcaba is anything but a straightforward revivalist. PASEO, the pianist's 2004 release, takes the listener on a journey ("paseo" translates as "journey" or "walk") that obliquely references Afro-Cuban forms through the filters of hard bop, fusion, and elements of modal and free jazz. There is a driving, fragmentary funk backdrop to much of PASEO, with electric bassist Jose Armando Gola and drummer Ignacio Berroa creating a fantastic, push-pull interplay that lends a pulsing, contemporary feel.
In Rubalcaba's compositions one can hear Cuban forms ("El Guerrillero" is rooted in the son) and nods to North American jazz (one recognizes the influence of Miles Davis's early electric period, especially when--as on "Paseo Con Fula"-- Rubalcaba plays the electric keyboards). Luis Felipe Lamoglia's saxophone work is mercurial, and perfectly integrated into the framework (on the atmospheric "Santo Canto" he seems to play only for tension and texture). The Latin elements are here in skeletal form, with such an array of complex ...
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Solo music CDs
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Solo songs
$13.65 This live set finds jazz ambassador Wynton Marsalis doing what he does best--that is, playing straightforward, bop-inflected jazz with flawless technique. Marsalis pays homage to the masters with versions of Thelonious Monk's "Green Chimneys" and Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee," and offers a lilting, smoky reading of the standard "You Don't Know What Love Is."
There is plenty of stretching out over these six tracks, with superb solos from both Marsalis and alto saxophonist ...
| | Thelonious Monk At Carnegie Hall CD (2005)
Solo album
$13.79 On paper it seems as if such titanic and distinctive musical personalities as Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane might not mix very well, but this stellar set, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1957, plays almost like a blissful extended duet between the two (with support from a sensitive yet hard-swinging bassist and drummer). The opener, "Monk's Mood," for example, features the composer/pianist's typically brilliant, idiosyncratic playing, while Coltrane floats over the top in the most lyrical of modes. Monk, in particular, is a master of tension-and-release tunefulness, creating rhythmic and harmonic intricacies that seem to spur Coltrane's ...
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| | John Coltrane Trane's Blues CD (1999)
Solo music CDs
$9.65 Recorded between March 1956 and September 1960. Includes liner notes by Bob Belden.
In short, this collection of Coltrane performances is fantastic. Though each tune here is based on more or less traditional 12-bar blues structures, there is never a dull or predictable moment. The changes are as natural as breathing. Coltrane, flanked by such legends as Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, McCoy Tyner, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey, simultaneously reveres and subverts the form with his wild, supremely inventive approach to harmonic expression. On "One And Four" (later recorded as "Mr. Day"), Coltrane modernizes the blues by superimposing the major third over the suspended chords, creating compelling, angular tensions.
"Trane's Blues," a tune Coltrane later re-recorded with Miles Davis, represents the saxophonist's gift for composing catchy themes around his challenging solo flights. The inclusion of two cuts from BLUE TRAIN makes this set a must. Both "Blue Trane" and "Locomotion" are modern jazz classics that feature definitive, virtuousic soloing by all of the musicians. TRANE'S BLUES is a keeper. This is a case study in how a musician can embrace ...
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Solo songs
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| | Aristry Of Artie Shaw 1949 CD (2005) (Import)
Solo album
$24.95 In 1949 just before he was about to start yet another big band, Artie Shaw made the following statement: 'We'll find an identity. Perhaps it would be fairer to say I'll find one. Sooner or later all bands that stick find an identity, and find it through their leader. All the sounds, the creative arrangements, the pop tunes and the originals, must be channelized through the leader''. And on September 14, 1949 Artie Shaw was back on the bandstand, opening at Symphony Hall, Boston. The band's book contained both old and new material, and it was the first time Shaw had gone on ...
| | Lambchop Thriller/Hank EP CD (1997) (Import)
Solo CD music
$18.29 While THRILLER retains the folk- and country-influenced, lushly arranged, laconic alt-rock sound of Lambchop's previous work, an important stylistic element (that would blossom in the group's future work) takes root here. The introduction of R&B/soul sounds distinguishes THRILLER as one of the most important releases in Lambchop's impressive canon. The peppy, staccato horn section that punctuates "Your Fucking Sunny Day" and the languid Philly Soul rhythms and harmonies of "My Face Your Ass" stand in stark contrast to the dreamily orchestrated folk-rock the band was previously known for. F.M. Kornog (elsewhere known as East River Pipe) contributes several strong compositions here, but mainman Kurt Wagner's metaphysical musings on the aforementioned "My Face Your Ass" and his ominous, poetic "The Old Fat Robin" steal the show.
Import only coupling of their 1997 full length album, Thriller and their 1996 EP, Hank. LAMBCHOP is Nashville's most fucked-up country band. They aren't influenced by country music--they influence country music. Their music is even smoother than Del Reeves, and they have more musicians than Tanya Tucker's bathroom antics: two guitars, one bass, two drummers, pedal steel guitar, open-end wrenches, lacquer-thinner can, organ, xylophone, euphonium, trombone, baritone sax, trumpet, clarinet, bongoes, resonating metal square, and a vanilla extract bottle. Although they strive to be ...
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