Jazz Bakery’s “Moveable Feast” Presents: Alfredo Rodriguez Solo Piano

by George W. Harris • June 12, 2015 • 1 Comment

If you’re looking for the freshest and most exciting new sounds for jazz, go no further than Quincy Jones’ discovery Alfredo Rodriguez, who performed and exhilarating 1 ½ hour solo piano set at the Kirk Douglas Theater June 11. The native Cuban has released a handful of trio albums, but none of them would have prepared you for the tour de force display this misty night in Culver City.

His opening on the classic “Quizas, Quizas, Quzas” commenced with a rippling cascade that built up like tributaries to a main whitewater river that created waves and crescendos along the crashing rocks. He took this vintage piece and for almost 15 minutes leading it on various seques that went from trickles of raindrops to romantic rhapsodies to finally taking you down dramatic narrow corridors of rushing waters with a staccato climax of a waterfall. His fingers created a longing call out of reassurance on the playful “El Guije” which slowly undulated to an orchestral sounding finale. Sparkling lights of sound flickered like nighttime stars on “Venga La Esperanza.” His playing has a percussive romanticism to it that brings out both the rhythm depth and sensuous lyricism, with a chorus and refrain that make you feel like you’re imbibing a recurring movie theme.

A free improve took one of Bach’s Cantatas and turned it into a fiery Cuban mix of simmering rice and beans with the flavorful spices served as kinetic rhythms which created sparks that bounced around like a jai alai tournament. The closing take of the traditional piece “Gitamemas” had Rodriguez play the piano keys and its strings in a joyful and passionate serenade that evoked images of a flamenco guitarist driving forth a lusty table dancer. With tapping steps of the plucked strings and his own stomping feet , the pianist smoked as fervently as a Romeo et Juliet before the piece closed in a rousing chase scene in which the cops tracked down the bandits.

If music is supposed to tell a story, then Rodriguez was a bard as he told an abundance of them through his piano this evening. If there’s a moral to the story, it’s that you need to see him next time in town, and at least look for a recording of this concert when it comes out.