Live in Marciac
Release date: May 27, 2022
Label: 5Passion Records

Multi-GRAMMY® winning jazz pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and both GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY® winning vocalist Aymée Nuviola present a collective mastery on their latest collaboration, Live in Marciac, capturing an evocative and timeless live concert full of Latin jazz classics and a few originals,from the duo’s 2021 tour performance at the Jazz in Marciac festival in France at the Chapiteau Concert Hall.

Childhood friends from Cuba, Rubalcaba and Nuviola first united as musical collaborators in 2020 with the release of Viento y Tiempo – Live at Blue Note Tokyo. The record was hailed for its celebration of Afro-Cuban jazz influence, receiving a 2020 GRAMMY® nomination in the Best Latin Jazz Album category. Now with the release of Live in Marciac, the illustrious duo returns in glory, incorporating a superlative blend of masterpieces that defy musical trends. Live in Marciac follows a banner year for both master musicians; Rubalcaba just won a GRAMMY® for his jazz trio album, Skyline, the first Latin American musician to do so as a leader in the Best Instrumental Jazz Album category. Nuviola was nominated this year as well for Best Tropical Latin Album for Sin Salsa No Hay Paraíso, and performed during this years’ telecast.

Eager to perform live in a post-lockdown world, the duo seized an opportunity in 2021 to embark on a multi-city duo tour throughout Europe, which included a performance at the Jazz in Marciac Festival in late July in the Southwestern corner of France. For Rubalcaba and Nuviola, these live performances represented a dignified restoration to their musical relationship. “To play live again is to come back to life. It is to live again as we know how to do it, and doing it with Aymée is divine,” Rubalcaba reflects.

Throughout the pandemic, Rubalcaba and Nuviola began their duo work together, eventually materializing as what Nuviola describes to be a “totally genuine and unique” musical relationship “with all the rigor that Cuban music deserves.” One aspect of this relationship is the overarching message on Live in Marciac: emotional memory.

With their animated Cuban rhythm and flavor, Rubalcaba and Nuviola create a sound that connects audience members to their past experiences. They achieve this through some stunning performances of jazz classics, including “Lágrimas Negras” and “El Manisero,” two arrangements that played momentous roles in their musical adolescence and growth. Other tracks on the recording, like Nuviola’s original composition “Nada es para ti” balance the repertoire while embracing an intimacy typical of a vocal-piano duo offering.

Gonzalo Rubalcaba is a virtuoso musician and considered one of the leading artists in Afro-Cuban jazz. He has received worldwide acclaim from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Downbeat, the Chicago Tribune, and others. He has been nominated for 18 GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY® Awards collectively and has won five in total.

Aymée Nuviola, who has been nicknamed “La Sonera del Mundo,” has effectively fused timba, jazz, son and salsa throughout her impressive musical career. In 2020, she won the GRAMMY® award for Best Latin Tropical Album for her album A Journey Through Cuban Music and in 2018, she won the Latin GRAMMY® award for Best Tropical Fusion Album, for her album Como Anillo Al Dedo. 

Two accomplished, international music forces unite on Live in Marciac, a breathtaking display of music’s power to unite, heal, dream, merge and elevate our spiritual capacities. On this impressive collaboration, Nuviola and Gonzalo are found as expressive and mesmeric as ever, proving that music can create a community no matter where it comes from and travels to.

Viento y Tiempo - Live at Blue Note Tokyo
Release date: May 29, 2020
Label: Top Stop Music

63rd GRAMMY Award Nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album

Fulfilling a longtime dream of working on a project together, award-winning artists Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola have released "Viento y Tiempo - Live at Blue Note Tokyo." Childhood friends from Havana, Cuba, who have both received widespread acclaim for their work, joined forces for this live album recorded during the pair's six-night sold out stint at Tokyo's prestigious Blue Note Tokyo on August 2019. The album was produced by Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Gregory Elias.

Both from Havana, Cuba, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola have been friends since childhood. Finally, after years of planning and preparation, these two consummate artists come together to produce a work of true artistic significance. This firey new release features unique renditions of Cuban classics such as "El Manisero," "Bemba Colorá" and "Lágrimas Negras", as well as an original composition by Nuviola, "Rumba Callejera," which features her sister Lourdes Nuviola.

Earlier this year, the artists teased their collaboration with the release of the single "Azúcar Pa' Tu Café," song that blends Tropical Latin Jazz with Funk, and features a special appearance by Cuban artist CimaFunk.

"It brings me joy, satisfaction, melancholy, and pride to hear this project. It's brought on by many things: the grandness of Aymée, the place and its inhabitants, the band, the loved ones and business partners present, and the awakening of memories now converted to a wish to see my mother & other loved ones dance to this music that had already existed then and continues to flourish now. Thanks to the music!" said Gonzalo Rubalcaba on this new project.

"Viento y Tiempo" is a childhood dream come true. In a way, it's telling our mothers, who are no longer with us, that their efforts weren't in vain, and that those two kids that they fought for are still united. It's a tribute to the music that flows through the streets of Havana which we grew up with. I thank God and Top Stop Music's visión for making this dream a reality," said Aymée Nuviola.

Rubalcaba is a virtuoso musician considered one of the leading artists in Afro-Cuban jazz. He has received worldwide acclaim from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Downbeat, the Chicago Tribune, and others. He has been nominated for 16 GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY®  Awards and has won two each.

Nuviola, who has been nicknamed "La Sonora del Mundo," has effectively fused Timba, Jazz, Son and Salsa, with led to Fer winning the GRAMMY® award for Best Latin Tropical Album in 2020 fr her most recent release "A Journey Trough Cuban Music"; and in 2018, she won the Latin GRAMMY®  for Best Tropical Fusion Album, for her album "Como Anillo Al Dedo."

for Live in Marciac

JAVON ANDERSON
JAZZ.FM91
Read the news announcement here.

LEONID AUSKERN
JAZZ QUAD
Read the review in Russian here.

BRIAN PRIESTLEY
JAZZWISE
"It must have been a ball to witness in person.." Read the complete review in the August 2022 issue of Jazzwise Magazine.

TURGAY YALÇIN
DARK BLUE NOTES
Read the full review in Turkish here.

DEE DEE MCNEIL
MUSICAL MEMOIRS
"This is a musical art experience that you will want to relive time and time again." Read the review here.

PATRICK DALLONGEVILLE
PARIS-MOVE
Read the 4-star review in French here.

RAUL DA GAMA
LATIN JAZZ NET
"The pairing of Mr Rubalcaba and Miss Nuviola – after the two live recordings they have captured on record – is a match made in heaven." Read the review here.

MATT MICUCCI
JAZZIZ
"Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and vocalist Aymée Nuviola offer an evocative, timeless showcase of Latin jazz classics and a few originals on their new live album.." Read the album announcement here.

PATRICIA ALOY
VENEZUELA SINFONICA
Read the Latin Grammy nomination announcement in Spanish here.

BURAK SULUNBAZ
DARK BLUE NOTES
"For as long as I can remember myself, I have listened to all of Rubalcaba's projects.." Read the complete review in Turkish here.

ALLEN SCOTT
ALL THAT'S JAZZ PODCAST
Listen to the full interview here.

GEORGE HARRIS
JAZZ WEEKLY
"Palpable emotions." Read the review here.

KEN FRANCKLING
KEN FRANCKLING'S JAZZ NOTES
Listed as one of Ken's favorite 2022 vocal recordings here.

D. OSCAR GROOMES
O'S PLACE
"Rubalcaba and Nuviola are a powerful duo that command the attention and engagement of their audience." Read the review here.

GEORGE KANZLER
NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
“'Besame Mucho', which undulates along on lush piano chords, Nuviola’s honeyed voice exhaling the familiar lyrics at a slow, sultry tempo.." Read the full review in the March 2023 issue here.

for Viento y Tiempo - Live at Blue Note Tokyo

ALLEN SCOTT
ALL THAT JAZZ

Fulfilling a longtime dream of working together, award-winning artists Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola released Viento y Tiempo – Live at Blue Note Tokyo. Childhood friends from Havana, Cuba, who have both received widespread acclaim for their work, they joined forces for this live recording that took place during the pair’s six-night sold out stint at Tokyo’s prestigious Blue Note in August 2019. This album has been nominated for "Best Latin Jazz Album" for 63rd Grammy Awards. Check this podcas here.

 

MAC RANDALL
JAZZTIMES

JazzTimes is honored to premiere the video for one of the tracks on that album, a rendition of José Claro Fumero’s “Bemba Colorá.” Besides Nuviola on vocal and Rubalcaba on piano, the lineup here consists of alto saxophonist Kazuhiko Kondo, bassist Cristobal “El Profe” Verdecia, drummer Reinier Guerra, percussionist Neiger “Majito” Aguilera, and backing vocalists Lourdes Nuviola and Alfredo Lugo. Check this video premiere here.

 

JOHN FORDHAM
JAZZWISE
"Rubalcaba has understandably remarked on his joy, satisfaction, melancholy and pride in this venture - he and the jubilantly spontaneous Aymée Nuviola could hardly have celebrated their country's musical past and present with more inventive passion." Four star review in Jazzwise, September 2020. 

CAROLINE TAYLOR
CARIBBEAN BEAT MAGAZINE
Check this playlist  here.

FRANCIS DAVIS
NPR

Voted #3 (tied) Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year. See here

RAUL DA GAMA
LATIN JAZZ NETWORK
Read this announcement here.

HÉCTOR MARTIN 
CANCIÓN A QUEMARROPA
Nuevo programa de Canción a quemarropa, en esta ocasión con una importante mezcla de discos que nos han llegado orientado a la música más bailable y latina. Hoy puedes disfrutarlo en versión podcast, como es habitual: Para escuchar este programa presione aquí.

 

SOLAR LATIN CLUB
"Nuviola es magnifica y Rubalcaba “acaba” con el Bösendorfer que le pusieron a disposición los japoneses." Lea esta reseña aquí.

ANGEL ROMERO
WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL
"Viento y Tiempo is a wonderful celebration of Latin Jazz and Cuban musical forms such as rumba, changüí, son cubano, danzón (Gonzalo’s father was a well-known danzón musician) and timba as well as passionate bolero, a genre that is widely beloved in Spanish-speaking America and Spain." Read the full article here

RAUL DA GAMA
LATIN JAZZ NETWORK
"What his recording captures is a flamboyant staging of Afro-Cuban music at the venerable Blue Note club in Tokyo, where both Mr Rubalcaba and Miss Nuviola offer in a flawless display of pianism and vocalastics aided by a group – and a wonderfully engaged audience – that follows their every glorious and vaunted musical strut in lock-step." Read this review here.

 

HECTOR MARTIN
CANCIÓN A QUEMARROPA
Lea esta anuncio aquí.

 

TOM HULL
HULLWORKS
" Cuban pianist, promoted by Dizzy Gillespie, based in Florida since 1996, 30+ albums since 1986. Nuviola is a Cuban singer/actress, handful of albums, makes this a pop album, though the horns and piano are jazzy enough, and the percussion is brilliant. A-." Review here

TAK TOKIWA
JAZZ LIFE
Review in Japanese here

LAVENDER SUTTON
LONDON JAZZ NEWS
"For the band, this must be a very special memory to recall during such a difficult time in our world. If you need something to soothe your soul, look no further." Read this review here.

 

MICHAEL RICCI
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
"Finally, after years of planning and preparation, these two consummate artists come together to produce a work of true artistic significance. This firey new release features unique renditions of Cuban classics such including “Bemba Colorá.” Read the Track of the Day article here.