Hamilton De Holanda and 3x GRAMMY® Winner Gonzalo Rubalcaba Earn GRAMMY® Nomination for Collab
(Sony Music Brasil)
’Collab’ has been nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 67th GRAMMY® Awards
“…Impeccable…” – Songlines
“A high water mark for both of them…fantastic.” – NPR Alt. Latino
“This beautifully paced recording blends Rubalcaba’s aggressive Afro-Cuban influences with de Holanda’s softer, no less intricate Brazilian strains, freeing both master’s to craft their own unique styles.” – DownBeat
New York, NY – Collab, the new duo album by world-renowned mandolinist Hamilton De Holanda and virtuosic pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, has earned a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. Collab is personified by two music superstars in the renowned Afro-Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, named one of the great pianists of the 20th century (Piano & Keyboard Magazine) and known for his impeccable technique and rhythmic innovation, and the impeccable Brazilian mandolinist Hamilton de Holanda, whose skill and creativity has revolutionized the instrument and Brazilian music. Equal parts challenging and accessible, Collab is a musical journey through varied soundscapes, with each track offering a new discovery rooted in their common African ancestry.
The 67th GRAMMY® Awards will take place on February 2, 2025.
“‘Collab’ has allowed us to embrace each other, and then discover how much love, respect and admiration there is between us and for the music we make,” Rubalcaba reflected. “I recognize this nomination with sincere joy and emotion and I bless the opportunity to share this honor with fellow masters in the same category. Thanks to music, that divine and extraordinary bridge that allows us to dream, visualize, stimulate and create a better image or idea of human existence.”
“I have been listening to Gonzalo’s piano for many years. He is one of those musicians that you can hear and already know who is playing. I always wanted to play with Gonzalo one day because I thought he did things that I recognized in my vision of music, especially his national accent and international perspective,” shared Hamilton de Holanda in a statement. “We played in Brazil in 2023 and it was extraordinary, it felt like I had been playing with him for a long time. We recorded our album in 2024 and to our delight, we are nominated for the 2025 GRAMMY ®️ Awards. See you in Los Angeles!”
Collab has received universal praise, and was honored earlier this year by a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. NPR’s Alt. Latino called the album “fantastic”, and respected outlets such as DownBeat Magazine, Paste, Latin Jazz Network and Sonlines showered on similar praise. Along with Holanda and Rubalcaba, contributions from Brazilian star João Bosco and the wondrous harmonica player Gabriel Grossi elevate Collab to soaring heights.
This is Holanda’s first GRAMMY® nomination and Rubalcaba’s eleventh. Rubalcaba was last nominated in this category in 2020 for Viento Y Tiempo – Live At Blue Note Tokyo, his duo album with Aymée Nuviola, and his last GRAMMY® win came in 2021 for Skyline, his trio project with Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette in the Best Instrumental Jazz Album category. While this is Holanda’s first GRAMMY® nomination, he has been nominated for 17 Latin GRAMMY® Awards, winning 4. Just this year, Holanda took home the Latin GRAMMY® for Best Instrumental Album for Tembla with his C4 Trío.
Gonzalo Rubalcaba is a multi-Grammy ® Winner, pianist and composer. A native of Cuba, he was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie in 1985 and has since been named by Piano & Keyboard Magazine one of the great pianists of the 20th century, alongside figures such as Glenn Gould, Martha Argerich and Bill Evans. He has won two Grammys and two Latin Grammys and has garnered 16 nominations between the two. In 2010, he co-founded his recording label, 5Passion Records and in 2015 Rubalcaba joined the faculty of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. In 2020, he founded his own academy, Rubalcademy, offering remote Masterclasses to musicians across the world.
Hamilton de Holanda is a Brazilian mandolin virtuoso renowned for his innovative technique and groundbreaking approach to the 10-string mandolin. Blending choro, samba, jazz, and classical music, he has redefined contemporary Brazilian instrumental music with captivating improvisations and expressive solos. Throughout his career, he is a multi-Latin Grammy ® Winner, has won numerous awards and received nominations at major international music events. He has also shared the stage with renowned artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, Chucho Valdés, and many others. His social media presence is remarkable, with over 800,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Holanda and Rubalcaba join an esteemed list of nominees in the Best Latin Jazz Album category, including Michel Camilo & Tomatito, Zaccai Curtis, Donald Vega, Eliane Elias, Horacio ‘El Negro’ Hernández, John Beasley & José Gola, and Chucho Valdés & Royal Quartet.