Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Our music is a fantasy of rice and beans

The headliner of the second day at the Koktebel Jazz Party 2015 is the band of Cuban pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba, a four-time Grammy winner.

"It is a great pleasure for me to be here. This is our first visit to Russia. It is an honor for us to be here, to perform at the festival along with other musicians," he said.

Horacio Hernandez, one of the band's musicians, stressed that he was happy to participate in the festival and thanked the organizers for the invitation. "Our music is like a living fantasy. It is special, in view of our origin — Cuba and Puerto Rico. People are fond of rice and beans there, so you can say that our music is a fantasy of rice and beans. While living in the present, we are trying to play the music of the future, he explained.

According to the musicians, they do not fear the sanctions and hope to come to Koktebel again.

"This is not a problem for us. We are free people, so we can go wherever we want to. If something follows, we will still remain free people, Gonzalo Rubalcaba added.