Vroege opname van de toen 22-jarige Cubaanse pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Met een zeskoppige band speelde hij in het Nationaal Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Havana.
"Rubalcaba has limitless technique and (even with its touches of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea) a sound of his own. His lyrical rendition of "Imagine" is a highlight as is the eccentric "Contagio" and a melancholy exploration of "Perfidia." Of Rubalcaba's sidemen, electric bassist Felipe Cabrera's very active accompaniment recalls Jaco Pastorius, drummer Julio Barreto is fine in support and trumpeter Reynaldo Melian is a virtuoso with a rather cold sound. All in all, this is a fine all-round set by Gonzalo Rubalcaba that is full of complex ideas and subtle surprises". (Scott Yanow, Allmusic).
"When rhythm section players like Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Felipe Cabrera, Roberto Vizcaíno, and Horacio "El Negro" Hernández take the stage, there is Cuban alchemy so strong that concepts like tumbao and clave become obsolete, irrelevant. The horn players, Lazaro Cruz and Rafael Carrasco, together form an amazing voice, and individually push the style to new levels. The complexity of Rubalcaba's arrangements are unparalleled in modern Latin jazz. His soloing concepts are so visceral and unchecked that they are indigestible upon first listening. Though often times quite tuneful, 1989's Live in Havana bears all the markings of a "young lion's" project." (Allmusic)
