Pino Daniele in latin jazz version

Get your hands on the repertoire of Pino Daniele it is an already difficult mission in itself; revisiting it in another key is even more so. He tries Gonzalo Rubalcabapianist and star of Latin jazz, with the album “Gonzalo plays Pino“.

Recorded between Naples and Miami and mastered in San Francisco, the album reinterprets some iconic songs of the great Neapolitan singer-songwriter who passed away ten years ago and will be released on December 19th. Rubalcaba, Cuban musician and composer born in Havana, winner of three Grammysis considered one of the best pianists on the contemporary jazz scene.

Joining him on this journey through jazz, Mediterranean sounds and gems of the “Latin rascal” are there Daniele Sepe (on tenor sax), Aldo Vigorito (double bass), Claudio Romano (drums), John Learned (percussion), Giovanni Francesca (guitar) e Maria Pia De Vito (voice).

In addition to the most famous songs, Rubalcaba also chose lesser-known pieceslike “Peace and serenity”, a ballad taken from “Che Dio ti bless”. And again from this album he chooses Coreana memoria’s “Sicily”. Perfectly congenial to the pianist’s musical ways, the Afro-Cuban “Cumbà” from the album “Schizzechea with Love”, from which “Gesù Gesù” is also taken. From the shorterian “Bella ‘Mbriana” comes the fusion of “Toledo”, “Maggio se ne va” and the generational anthem, “Tutta n’ata storia”; and then review i timeless masterpieces by Daniele, such as ” Quando “, ” Napule è “, ” Happy Lazzari ” and ” Chi tene ‘o mare “.

Discovered and launched in the 1980s by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Haden, Rubalcaba is today a pianist internationally acclaimed for his virtuosity and ability to continuously innovate. Throughout his career he has collaborated and shared the stage with great musicians such as Paul Motian, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Richard Galliano, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. His last European tour saw him alongside Brazilian musician Hamilton de Holanda.

This project dedicated to Pino Daniele was immediately a challenge for me. Since, in 2021, Onofrio Piccolo invited me to play at the Pomigliano Jazz festival. From that moment I started working on the original scores of the songs and immersing myself in Pino’s music and world, involving musicians from his land. He was a huge artist who transcended genres and labels by creating his own sound, a unique style that made him a legend far beyond the borders of the city of Naples.