Tonight: Quincy Jones Presents The Alfredo Rodriguez Trio at Jazz Alley

Chuck Gee

​Quincy Jones Presents The Alfredo Rodriguez Trio. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., 441-9729. 7:30 p.m. $21.50. While this 24-year-old Cuban pianist was "discovered" and championed by none other than Quincy Jones, he obviously caught Q's serious jazz ear because there's nothing crossover about him. Rodriguez and his trio break up even 4/4 time into an elusive, polyrhythmic groove that swings hard even as it avoids every cliché of popular Latin jazz. Rodríguez channels Monk, montuno, baroque classical, soundtrack lyricism, and the power chords of the Palmieris into a sound that's gripping, original, and unpretentious. It's been about 25 years since the last piano player (Gonzalo Rubalcaba) was whisked out of Castro's Cuba to jazz superstardom, but I like this guy even better. MARK D. FEFER