The typical image of Latin jazz comes mainly from salsa. Certainly, large bands playing fast-tempo dance music peppered by a hot horn section, thumping bass, razor-sharp piano and a small contingent of percussionists comprise the most common -- and perhaps most exhilarating -- form of Latin jazz.
However, there is another, softer face of Latin jazz that is less often seen. The most impressive pianist working in this style of reflective, intricate Latin music is Cuban-born pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
Rubalcaba was "discovered" by Dizzy Gillespie in the mid-1980s studying classical piano by day and playing with the top Afro-Cuban bands in Havana by night. After working with visiting jazz musicians in Cuba, he moved on to international festivals and, age 27, recorded with Blue Note, winning recognition for his technique and the intelligence of his improvisations from both critics and fans alike.