Gonzalo Rubalcaba

Name: Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Start: 2026-07-18T11:00:00+03:00
End: 2026-07-18T11:00:00+03:00
Location: Kirjurinluoto Arena

took place · 18 Jul 2026

Kirjurinluoto Arena, Pori

concert Jazz date culture

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Description was written before the event

"First Meeting" Gonzalo Rubalcaba / Chris Potter / Larry Grenadier / Eric Harland

About the event: Gonzalo Rubalcaba

August 2022

debut concert

Good to know

Part of Pori Jazz Festival 2026, Saturday 18 July - the closing day of the festival
Venue: Kirjurinluoto, Pori
Tickets available via Ticketmaster Finland
Quartet lineup: Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano), Chris Potter (tenor sax), Larry Grenadier (double bass), Eric Harland (drums)
Styles: contemporary jazz, post-bop, Afro-Cuban jazz
Outdoor festival site - dress for variable summer weather
Part of a busy multi-artist day also featuring Scissor Sisters, John Legend, Juanes, Corinne Bailey Rae, Victor Wooten, Fred Hersch Trio and others
European summer 2026 tour stop - the quartet also plays North Sea Jazz (Rotterdam) and Umbria Jazz (Perugia) the same month

What's new

2026-04
Pori Jazz confirmed the First Meeting quartet for the closing Saturday of its 2026 festival edition.

Line-up

About: Gonzalo Rubalcaba

A Havana-born piano virtuoso with Grammy wins spanning three decades, Rubalcaba weaves Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz harmony into a sound that is entirely his own - shaped by a musical lineage going back to his danzon-composing grandfather.

3+4

Grammy + Latin Grammy wins (3 Grammy, 4 Latin Grammy)

59.4K

Spotify monthly listeners

2.28M

Spotify streams on top track 'En La Orilla Del Mundo'

Amazon Critics' Choice Jazz Album of the Year 2009 (Avatar)

What's new

2025-07
Rubalcaba released 'First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club' (5Passion Records) on July 11, 2025, a live quartet album recorded in August 2022 with saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Eric Harland.
2025
Rubalcaba released 'Gonzalo Plays Pino' in 2025, a Latin jazz tribute to iconic Neapolitan singer-songwriter Pino Daniele.
2025
He released 'A Tribute to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole' in 2025, a collaborative album with Yainer Horta and Joey Calveiro.

Tour

Saratoga SpringsWarsawRotterdam

Tracks

SkylineGrammy-winning 2021 trio album with Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette; first Latin American musician to win Best Jazz Instrumental Album as leader

NocturneGrammy-winning 2001 album of Latin ballads and boleros recorded with Charlie Haden

SupernovaLatin Grammy-winning 2001 trio album, reached #25 on the Jazz Albums chart

First Meeting (Live at Dizzy's Club)2025 live album with Chris Potter, Larry Grenadier and Eric Harland; praised by critics as a contender for year-end best-of lists

En La Orilla Del MundoMost-streamed track on Spotify, recorded with Charlie Haden, over 2.2M streams

Recent shows

Jul 10, 2026 Ahoy, Rotterdam (NL)
Jun 14, 2025 Miner Auditorium, San Francisco (US)
Mar 29, 2025 Zaryadye Hall, Moscow (RU)

About: Chris Potter

A titan of the tenor saxophone, Potter brings decades of sideman experience alongside jazz legends - Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Steely Dan - to his own ambitious projects, most recently the 2026 concept album Alive With Ghosts Today, a suite inspired by abolitionist John Brown.

41.9K

Spotify monthly listeners

20+

albums released as leader

150+

sideman album credits

What's new

2026-05
Potter released Alive With Ghosts Today (Edition Records, May 8, 2026), a concept suite inspired by abolitionist John Brown, featuring Bill Frisell, Nate Smith and Burniss Travis.
2026-06
All About Jazz reviewed the album's lead track 'Osawatomie Brown', praising the record for combining intense playing, compelling writing and sophisticated orchestration.
2025-07
Potter appeared as a sideman on First Meeting (Live at Dizzy's Club), a live album led by pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba with Larry Grenadier and Eric Harland, released on 5Passion Records.

Tracks

Alive With Ghosts Today2026 concept album on Edition Records, inspired by abolitionist John Brown; Potter's most recent major statement

Eagle's Point2024 album featuring Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci and Brian Blade

Circuits2019 Edition Records debut; widely praised as a landmark modern jazz album

Underground2006 electric groove-based quartet album; a turning point in Potter's career

Vertigo1998 album named one of the year's top ten jazz CDs by both Jazziz and The New York Times

Recent shows

Jul 10, 2026 Ahoy, Rotterdam (NL)
Jun 7, 2026 Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington (US)
May 30, 2026 Sardinen USF, Bergen (NO)

About: Larry Grenadier

A cornerstone of the Brad Mehldau Trio since the early 1990s, Grenadier has shaped the sound of contemporary acoustic jazz through decades of recording and touring with the genre's leading names - from Pat Metheny and Paul Motian to Charles Lloyd. His 2019 ECM solo debut The Gleaners revealed a deeply personal voice on unaccompanied double bass.

What's new

2025-07
Grenadier appeared on First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club, a live album with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, saxophonist Chris Potter, and drummer Eric Harland, released July 11, 2025 on 5Passion Records.
2025
Grenadier appeared on guitarist Jakob Bro's Live at the Village Vanguard (Loveland, 2025), a double album capturing a 2023 residency featuring Joe Lovano and others.
2025
Grenadier was listed as performing upcoming concerts at Blue Note Los Angeles.

Tour

Los Angeles

Tracks

The GleanersGrenadier's debut solo album on ECM Records (2019), unaccompanied double bass; widely praised by The New York Times and others

Art of the Trio (Vol. 1-5)Landmark series with the Brad Mehldau Trio (Warner Bros., 1997-2001); cornerstone recordings of modern piano trio jazz

Sky & CountryAlbum by the trio Fly (ECM, 2009) with Mark Turner and Jeff Ballard

HudsonSelf-titled album (2017) by the jazz supergroup Hudson with John Scofield, John Medeski, and Jack DeJohnette

First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's ClubLive album (5Passion Records, 2025) with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter, and Eric Harland

Recent shows

About: Eric Harland

A first-call drummer for jazz's biggest names - Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, Joshua Redman - Harland brings close to three decades of high-level sideman and bandleader experience to every performance. His playing spans hard swing, free improvisation and cross-genre experimentation, all held together by an exceptionally sensitive ear.

109K

Instagram followers

52K

Facebook page likes

~480

Career recordings credited on

2×

DownBeat Rising Star on Drums award wins

What's new

2025-07
The quartet album 'First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club' - featuring Harland alongside Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter and Larry Grenadier - was released on July 11, 2025 via 5Passion Records.
2025
The 'First Meeting' quartet embarked on a multi-city European tour in May 2025, with further dates planned through 2026.
2025
Harland appeared in Drumeo's educational video series 'The Sound of Modern Jazz', demonstrating his techniques for an online audience.

Tour

Utrecht

Tracks

Voyager: Live by NightHarland's 2010 debut album as leader, featuring Julian Lage, Taylor Eigsti and Walter Smith III.

VipassanaHarland's second solo album, released August 2014.

First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club2025 quartet album with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter and Larry Grenadier; recorded live August 2022.

James FarmSelf-titled 2011 album with Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks and Matt Penman - one of Harland's most celebrated ensemble projects.

SangamTrio recording with Charles Lloyd and Zakir Hussain, showcasing Harland's cross-cultural rhythmic range.

Recent shows

May 7, 2022 North Shore Community Center, Miami Beach (US)
Oct 10, 2021 Village Vanguard, New York (US)
Oct 10, 2021 Village Vanguard, New York (US)

Gonzalo Rubalcaba

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