Lots of people who adore jazz have only a passing appreciation of how other cultures contribute to the form. The impact of two small islands in the Caribbean Sea are especially noteworthy. For decades, American jazz musicians have both sought inspiration from these cultures and cultivated an eager audience for jazz originating from the United States. Both Puerto Rico and Cuba have proven to be cauldrons of creativity and innovation producing greats like Tito Puente born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents and the illustrious Afro Cuban virtuoso Chucho Valdés.
Friday night’s outstanding performance at Orchestra Hall (Symphony Center) had a Cuban focus and featured the exceptional jazz pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba as well as that of the peerless Valdés. Although they hail from different generations, they are perfectly matched. Two jazz pianists, to quote a woman seated in the row immediately behind us, who are “on another level”. That level is exceedingly high. Extraordinarily gifted piano virtuosos who intimately know the texture of music of two worlds; their program weaved between standards intimately familiar to an American audience and work soaked in the sounds of Cuba and Latin America.
A technical perfectionist whose intricate piano work is rife with complexity, Rubalcaba’s fingers seemed hardly to touch the keys as he produced some of the most sublime music anyone could hope to enjoy.
His 50-year long career as a professional artist endows Valdés with much more than technical expertise. He has such an innate sense of timing and phrasing; both the younger Rubalcaba and the audience shook their heads in wonder. To hear their combined rendition of “Over the Rainbow”, as performed that evening, was a gift. The piano duet reminded you of the incredible range of the instrument and its capability to take on so many emotional hues.
In the balcony’s front row, an 8-year-old in short blond pigtails stared intently down on the stage. Occasionally her fingers would rise to the rail and quietly run through the motions of playing. An ideal example of the power of music to move the young.
Chicago Symphony Center Jazz Series
Chucho Valdes and Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Symphony Center
February 23, 2018
8:00 pm
220 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60604