JAZZ REVIEW : Fascinating Improvisations From Rubalcaba

Solo jazz piano performances tend to be of two types: standard tunes masked in endless variations on a theme or pointless horseplay. To his credit, Gonzalo Rubalcaba avoided both pitfalls during his opening set Tuesday at Catalina Bar & Grill.

Making his first solo performance appearance in Los Angeles, the 31-year-old Cuban-born keyboardist employed prodigious technique in a stream-of-consciousness display that fascinated the nearly full house. His standard treatments were indeed veiled affairs, with themes playing only a minor role in the presentation. But the improvisations on these themes were heady, multifaceted explorations that ran deep with thought and even deeper with emotion.

His unraveling of Thelonious Monk’s “Well You Needn’t” was typical. Opening with reserved lines, each isolated by short pauses, Rubalcaba began to roll through a variety of rhythms and intensities while touching only here and there on the theme. At times, his ideas seemed disjointed, with sharp breaks and splashy dynamics providing contrast. But, more often, the segments fell easily in place, one after the other, despite a volume range that shifted from shouts to whispers.

Rifling, right-hand runs were backed by the moody shift of left-hand chords. At one point, Rubalcaba moved from a dainty, minuet-styled dance into a salty boogie-woogie. As the rhythms changed, sometimes in mid-phrase, the pianist fell into a dignified, classical mood before drawing the tune to an ethereal close.

Charlie Haden’s “First Song” was given a more consistent, although no less inventive treatment that found the pianist playing to the tune’s lyrical attractions. A be-bop number was an exercise in shifting tempos, filled with hard cornering and acceleration. A tune that used a single line suggesting Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” grew outward in concentric circles from this attractive touchstone.

Only at rare, short-lived moments did the music seem to lose flow and focus. Rubalcaba’s is a voice inspired by possibility and pushed by a sense of adventure, deserving of all the attention it has garnered.

* Gonzalo Rubalcaba appears at Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood; tonight through Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. (213) 466-2210.