Featured
In Conversation with Carlos Cippelletti
Pianist, composer and arranger Carlos Cippelletti, is a promising young Spanish, Franco-Cuban artist from the last generation of Afro-Cuban jazz musicians born outside the island. He is a two-time winner of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Scholarship, and four-time winner of the AIE Scholarship (artists and interpreters Association of Spain). He was awarded first prize in both the Málaga International Jazz Festival Competition, Portón del Jazz and the international 7 Virtual Jazz Club competition and was awarded for his outstanding academic achievements at the Alfonso X el Sabio University.
In 2018 Carlos toured Europe with the JM Jazz World Orchestra — the world’s premiere youth jazz orchestra led by renowned trombonist Luis Bonilla. In 2021 he graduated with a Master’s degree in Latin Jazz from Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam and was recently awarded a coveted Fulbright Scholarship to do a Master of Music-DMA in New York.
His most recent project and first album entitled HYBRID/C, is a musical and cultural fusion project with a common point that is Afro-Cuban music and jazz. Jazz serves as a vehicle on this journey to the roots of Cuban music and Afro-Cuban culture from a modern musical perspective. Born in Spain to a Cuban father and French mother, Carlos Cippelletti”s compositions reflect his various identities. Afro-Cuban music tradition, Jazz, Neo-Soul and classical music combine to create a sound all its own.
It is a pleasure to present this conversation/interview with Carlos Cippelletti.
How do you enter the world of music? Tell me about your formative years. Who have been your biggest influences?
Music in my family has always been present. My great-grandfather on my mother’s side, Angel García Arévalo, was a composer and professor at the Teruel Conservatory. Since I was a child, my grandmother used to tell me his stories since, in addition to being a great composer and pedagogue, he played at the Teruel Cinema and Casino. (As a little anecdote, I made a jazz adaptation of a waltz that he composed for my great-grandmother in a cell in Valencia during the Spanish civil war, which he titled “Better late than never”, since he always promised to compose a work for her). I still have his piano and the piano tradition in my family has been passed down from generation to generation, although I have been the only one since my great-grandfather who decided to make music my way of life. So the piano comes from my mother, Eva Cippelletti García.
My father Recaredo Pascual Colmillo, a Cuban born in Santiago de Cuba, was the deputy director of the Fund for Cultural Assets in Cuba and given his work, although he was never an artist, he always had a great fascination for Cuban culture and especially for everything related to the artistic, religious and cultural folklore of African descent, Yoruba (Nigeria), Bantú (Congo) among many others. As he used to say “I don’t know how to play, paint or sing, but there is no one who can beat me when dancing!” He worked with great Cuban artists, with Manuel Mendive among others, and hence my passion for Afro-Cuban music and folklore. At home you could listen to Mozart, Bach or Chopin but you could also listen to Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Omara Portuondo, Pablo Milanés, Isaac Delgado, Rubén González, Emiliano Salvador, Irakere and especially Bebo Valdés and Chucho Valdés. When I was 10 years old, I had the pleasure of going to a concert they gave as a duo on their Juntos Para Siempre (Together Forever) tour. At that moment I think: “I don’t know how but I want to do this”.
Tell me about your mother.
My mother studied classical piano at the Paris Conservatory and when I was 6 years old I began a classical education. But since I was little I loved to play over recordings of Cuban music and jazz that my parents played in my house. She decided that she wanted me to develop my creative facet and that was when, at the age of 10-11, I began studying modern music parallel to classical music in an unregulated way. As the years passed, my love for jazz and Cuban music and its folklore only increased and were evident naturally and unconsciously in my way of playing and composing. At the age of 13 I traveled to Portland, United States as an English exchange student with the school and I happened to stay with a family of musicians, and the father of that family took me to my first Big Band concert in Seattle. Right there I promised myself that I would return to the United States to play there one day. I discovered records by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Kenny Garrett among others that I haven’t stopped listening to. At the age of 18 I went to Barcelona to finish my professional studies at the Liceu Conservatory’s Jazz Classroom, focusing above all on jazz studies.
What role does Pepe Rivero play in your training as a musician?
At the age of 20 I’m introduced to the person who would change my career and my way of playing, composing and, as he says, “disorder”: Pepe Rivero. He is still one of my biggest influences and I think that will be the case for life. For 3 years I studied with Pepe Rivero in Madrid and this is where I really managed to deepen and study Cuban pianism, its tradition and folklore, all this together with jazz. During that period I play, meet and receive classes from many of the teachers who make up my project today. HYBRID/C: Bobby Martínez, Manuel Machado, Reinier Elizarde “El Negrón”, Yuvisney Aguilar and Georvis Pico.
In 2019, at the age of 23, I graduated with Pepe Rivero as my mentor, then I moved to Rotterdam to do my Master focused on Latin music, where I developed my thesis based on my HYBRID/C album. The pandemic arrives in the middle of my Master’s degree in Rotterdam and when the world seems to stop and thanks to a contest I won (7 Virtual Jazz Contest) I had the opportunity to get in touch with the record label that represents me today, OutHere Music. In the midst of world chaos, I decide to carry out all my compositions and make this HYBRID/C album, bringing together some of my favorite musicians from different generations.
When I finished my Master’s degree, I was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship to do my second Master’s degree in the United States, which will begin in September 2022. I finally keep the promise I made to myself when I was little, and I will move to this country where I will have the opportunity to not only expand my training but also take HYBRID/C to another level, and learn from American pedagogy with the desire to contribute to the preservation and development of jazz and Latin music in the world.
At what point do you decide that music is the way to go and that you want to be an artist? Do you start working for it early? Was it something conscious or rather one thing led to another and suddenly you see yourself as a professional musician?
I think it was not consciously or unconsciously that I suddenly found myself becoming a professional musician… it was a bit of both. Since I was little I have been someone very curious and creative and I have always noticed it even in my way of relating to others. One of my oldest memories is from kindergarten when the rest would go to play and I would stay painting. A colleague jerked my arm and instead of getting angry I looked at the drawing and realized that the nose I was painting was perfect, I had discovered perspective. By this I mean that I have always felt a need and almost a responsibility to dedicate myself to art. Our vocation often manifests itself in our earliest and most innocent stage, in our childhood. I try not to lose that child’s desire that is what ultimately has become my vocation, my profession and now it is practically a commitment or devotion. My parents met thanks to art and I always think that I dedicate myself to it as a celebration of my own life or existence. In my case, music has been the facet that I have developed the most, it could be anything else, but I resort to that more innocent/unconscious or natural thought that is finally what makes up our essence, we must preserve it, take care of it and work on it.
Hybrid/C is an epic album, full of symbolism, of images and musical figures coming above all from the Yoruba tradition and culture, which are deeply rooted in Cuban music, in Afro-Cuban jazz, in which you navigate as fish in the water. Congratulations for this project that both captures tradition and combines it with modernity to present a relevant work, with great respect and surprising maturity. Tell me how this project was born and how you have faced each and every one of the challenges to carry it out.
Thank you for your words that flatter me, since I see in them many of my goals with this music. I made many of these compositions years ago, during my time as a student with Pepe Rivero, others came later, even a few months before the recording, in full confinement, but their development has been progressive and they have evolved a lot to what is heard and is materialized today. Indeed, the Yoruba tradition and culture and the symbolism included in this album is very great. It is a tribute to my roots, to those of many of the musicians on this album and it is also a tribute to all the children of Cubans who were born abroad and who want to preserve the cultural legacy of Cuba that is referenced here by the syncretism of the Yoruba and Bantú religions among others. My father was a palero in Cuba, a religion from the Congo and from there my interest in this spiritual culture was born.
Four years ago (2018) Pepe (Rivero) entered the classroom with a piece of paper he had found and told me: “you should participate on this, you never know.” It was a contest called 7 Virtual Jazz Contest. Truth is I submitted my work and forgot about it. Months later they contacted me to inform me that I had won the contest and that I was awarded a year of mentorship with Taklit, a Publishing and Management agency. The Manager contacted me and told me “I love your music! Do you think you’re ready to record your first album?” to which I agreed without having an exact idea of what that would really entail. At the age of 23, I designed this project in a sextet format, we sent a proposal to the OutHere Music label and they loved the idea.
In September 2019 I moved to Rotterdam, where I met other amazing musicians of my generation and decided to increase the number of musicians by adding synths and electronics. So I decided that I wanted it to be a conceptual, spiritual album that would bring together different generations of musicians from different backgrounds but with a common point: jazz and Latin music. I even decided to include the flamenco singer María José Llergo so that the album would be a true tribute to all my roots.
March 2020: The Pandemic is Announced
In March 2020 the pandemic is declared and I am confined to Rotterdam organizing the recording for 5 months. The world is paralyzed but I try to turn it around and see it as a huge opportunity since I had dedicated a lot of time and detail to the compositions and arrangements. All the synthesizer sounds and audios of Lázaro Ros were edited by the HYBRID/C keyboardist Gregorio Herreros and I remotely through online meetings. I had a lot of time to compose, arrange and organize the recording in Madrid but there was an impediment, I had to do all this from a room in the Netherlands without access to a real piano. (My great-grandfather’s story repeats itself in a way!) Organizing the recording of a first album while exercising oneself as a composer, arranger, producer and performer was a challenge. But if you add a global pandemic it becomes a story worth telling!
Given the pandemic, finding a rehearsal room was a job that took months. Everything had to be perfectly prepared in advance, including the clapperboard and the recording templates with the sound engineer Pablo Sánchez Soto. Everything had to be perfectly organized so that it could be recorded in three days. Organizing a recording in these conditions was like planning one of the robberies in the Spanish series “La Casa de Papel” (The House of Paper).
Choosing the Musicians / Organizing the Rehearsals
I managed to bring together many musicians of different styles and origins and with very complex compositions and arrangements… organizing the logistics in that situation was a challenge, especially to bring the Batá drums that traveled from Luxembourg. The measures were even stricter. We had three days to rehearse before the recording, we couldn’t rehearse as much as we wanted but the energy was so good I was convinced it would work out. I recorded in August without having played a real piano in 6 months and then the first thing I play is a Steinway grand piano… you can imagine the respect. We recorded the album in three days, and there were a lot of one-shots of solos and even full tracks like “Black Ballad” that we hardly got to rehearse. The energy was so great and positive that everything we played on this album is of total and absolute purity and honesty. The recording turned into a party. We were all connected and we understood that this album was more than music. It was a tribute to our roots from a current perspective, seen from the prism of the 21st century, with diversity, different generations working together… with folklore, jazz, electronic music and also flamenco.
Postproduction / Importance of the Video Clips
Once the recording was done, all the post-production was done through online meetings since each one was once again confined to their city or even country, with me back in the Netherlands. The cover design by Sophie Morisson Tansini was also done online, which was a real challenge as the symbolism on the cover is so great.
Another important part of the project are the video clips. During the recording of the album itself, two live video clips were made, a making of and later, a few months before the release of the album in 2021, a video clip with dancers choreographed by my sister Eva Cippelletti.
The Greatest Challenge: My Father Transforms into Music…
But the biggest challenge of all was yet to come. The release of the album was on September 24, 2021, two months before my father fell ill with COVID-19. My sister recorded the video clip for “Dinza” with the dancers while he was hospitalized and I left for a solo piano concert that I had in Italy on August 4, 2021 because he said it “would change my life”. The same day of my concert he entered a critical state and had to be intubated. Days after returning from my concert in Italy, on August 11, 2021, a month before the release of HYBRID/C, my father transforms into music. Without a doubt, this was the biggest challenge of all, but it makes me think that he is immortalized in this music, that he is part of something that we designed beyond my cultural homage. Finally, I want to tell this story because in addition to the musical tribute to my roots and mixture, I also want to dedicate it to all the people affected by this COVID-19 pandemic and encourage anyone in a similar situation to build their own tribute.
The musicians that accompany you in Hybrid/C play a very important role in the final product…
Indeed, the HYBRID/C musicians are all of extraordinary quality and bringing them all together has been a true blessing. Some of them I have been lucky enough to have as teachers and others have been colleagues throughout my career. They are all some of the most relevant artists of international Afro-Cuban jazz and jazz. Some of them have been and are members of well-known bands such as Irakere, Jaco Pastorius, Chucho Valdés, Ara Malikian, Paquito D’Rivera to name a few, in addition to their own careers, since this band is really made up of great soloists from different generations and styles that have come together to create something unique and organic. This is what has allowed me to mix different sounds, styles and genres in a kind of recipe that includes tradition, folklore, fusion and contemporary on different levels.
Carlos Cippelletti (Piano, Composition, Arrangements)
Bobby Martínez (Tenor Sax / Soprano Sax)
Manuel Machado (Trumpet)
Reinier Elizarde (Double Bass)
Georvis Pico (Drums)
Erik Larrea (Batá Drums / Congas)
Guest Artists:
María José Llergo: vocals (on track 1 & 10)
Yuvisney Aguilar: batá drums / congas / vocals (on track 4)
David Lorenzo Adkinson: sound design vocal effects (on track 9 & 10)
Alvaro Artime: trumpet (on track 7)
César Filiú: alto sax (on track 7)
Christian Murgui: bass clarinet (on track 1 & 10)
The choice of voices and songs (prayers) are very successful. What can you tell us about it?
The prayers are excerpts from audios, mainly Moyugbas, by Lázaro Ros, a famous Cuban akpuón that I have studied a lot and for whom I feel a very special admiration. I have studied many of his records and played on top of it to bring the batá to the piano, and many times I practiced on top of his Moyugbas since they are only voice and it allowed me to compose freely. The album begins with a song called “Moyugba”, it is clearly a declaration of intent and a warning that HYBRID/C is a journey and almost a spiritual ceremony. Each theme is dedicated to a deity of the Yoruba pantheon or at least the message that hides behind the meaning of the titles. For this reason, many themes include excerpts from Lázaro Ros’s prayers in which he implores the Orishas. I could have counted on someone else to sing or pronounce these prayers and then edit them, but above all I wanted to preserve the purity, the essence and the fusion of folklore with the modern. That’s why I decided to use excerpts from one of the figures that has most spread the Yoruba and syncretic heritage of Cuba, such as Lázaro Ros, modifying them to the right extent with electronic effects.
Finally in the last song “The Proverb” that closes the album, I chose an audio of a Yoruba priest from Nigeria “Okuku” from the documentary “The Return of the Drums”. I contacted the Nigerian producer Opubo Braide and Dr. Ivor Miller, who directed the documentary, to use this magical audio that speaks of the need to preserve the roots of our ancestors despite the fact that the world changes and evolves. These audios have served me to take the music to a more spiritual point, in a circular and organic way similar to that of a spiritual mass or ceremony.
The influence of Chucho Valdés and Irakere is present in your music, but more than Irakere I feel the living spirit of Chucho and his Afro-Cuban Messengers (Afro-Cuban jazz sextet format), which serves as a starting point to perform your explorations. I perceive the spirituality of Roberto Fonseca, Omar Sosa…
Many of us musicians tend to hide our influences when it comes to directly comparing our work with that of those we admire so much. That is not my case. Any attempt to hide these influences would be ridiculous on my part! One of my favorite albums by Chucho Valdés is precisely Border Free with the Afro-Cuban Jazz Messengers, which, as you say, serves as a starting point for me. As I said before, the project began as a sextet but ended up including up to 12 people as it gradually became more and more conceptual, fused and organic. I chose the fusion of jazz with the batá and the Afro-Cuban orchestration in the pure style of Irakere, the rhythm of the batá on the piano as in the Afro-Cuban Messengers and I added another musician who fulfilled the spiritual part of Omar Sosa through the electronic and the most Neo-Soul or Hip-Hop part with synthesizers and electronics. The spiritual influence that invites a ceremony is greatly influenced by “Misa Negra (Black Mass)”. Finally I wanted to include a nod to the classical music that appears in “Moyugba” and “The Proverb” by including a bass clarinet reminiscent of chamber music, and also in the solo piano part at the end of “Aite” which is an excerpt from the end of the second movement of Rubinstein’s Sonata for Piano and Viola (Op.49).
The use of electronic sound elements, keyboards, synthesizers creates a very special and exciting atmosphere…
When I was designing and writing this album, I was trying to imagine my favorite musicians playing together and creating something unique and organic. Little by little the music asked for more options, so I added a bass clarinet (Christian Murgui) to the opening theme of the album [“Moyugba”], and to the closing theme [“The Proverb”], to bring a bit of the sound of chamber music to Afro-Cuban jazz that even has certain airs of a movie soundtrack. Finally, I needed something that would make me sing, a voice that conveyed the Spanish and Arab roots, and without a doubt the voice of María José Llergo was the best option. Finally, other elements that I introduced in this music were the harmonies that are brought from the Neo-Soul of artists like Robert Glasper, and electronic effects and drum rhythms more typical of hip-hop mixed with percussion as can be heard in artists like Miles Davis or Christian Scott. I have also wanted to play with complex time signatures in order to propose agreed variations of the key itself and traditional batá touches adapted to those complex time signatures. Musically, all this fusion makes up HYBRID/C.
Chucho Valdés has said about HYBRID/C that “This album is a work of deep inspiration based on Afro-Cuban roots and Jazz, done with great quality and impeccable development by a young artist with a promising, beautiful musical career ahead.”
Having the support and review of the most influential master of this genre that I admire the most, Chucho Valdés, is without a doubt a key element of the respect and homage that I want to show for this music and its legacy.
You are moving to New York in a few months, since you received the prestigious Fulbright scholarship. What does this step mean or will mean in the advancement of your musical career?
I am moving to the United States in August of this year, 2022. I have never been to New York and for me the Fulbright scholarship is a great boost in my career because, as the Fulbright Commission itself says, “Fulbright is much more than a scholarship.” This step means a great advance since it will allow me to take my work to another level, possibly more international. I don’t know what awaits me and I don’t know if I want to know! What I am sure of is that the diversity it offers will change the way I understand music and jazz, understand its musical tradition, and it will give me the opportunity to meet great musicians and make my way in the music industry… possibly the trigger for my next project? Who knows! I think it is a very vibrant city that will allow me to introduce and develop my work in a much broader way and explore new paths.
I imagine that you pay a lot of attention to the promotional aspect of your career, to your presence as an artist in the digital world, on social networks.
I started having social networks a few years ago, when I understood that all the promotion happens mainly through there. I do not include any personal or pure entertainment aspect in them because one of my favorite things is to enjoy my time with my friends and family, but it is true that they are an effective method to spread your work and meet other artists or connect with them. Most of my time in them is dedicated to seeing what is moving art in the world. However, I think there is still a lot to be done to give artists visibility and talking with my fellow artists many of the aspects that remain to be corrected are discussed. It is not enough with a hashtag, nor with tagging someone. The amount of material that a musician can share on social media is often limited as it takes months, even years to develop a video of a composition that may not go viral. It is betting everything on one knowing that possibly after all the time, effort and money invested, very few people will share it. However, it is the responsibility of the artists to share quality material and to make it perennial on the networks beyond the scope it may have… if it is good, I trust that it will always be successful in one way or another because it is a sincere work. We musicians work with sound and the networks have made the sound enter through the eyes rather than through the ears. This has its advantages and disadvantages, in my case I try to transform it into something positive by launching a conceptual proposal since I think that is what the art industry tends towards in general. It is no longer enough to be a good musician, performer, a good painter, designer, dancer etc., one must develop a complete and diverse product that understands globalization as something positive within everyone’s reach. In this sense, two parameters that have been imposed as a guarantee of quality intersect: one is the product itself (music, painting, dance, etc.) the other is the followers (social networks). It is the responsibility of the artist to ensure the quality of the first, and that of social networks to facilitate the diffusion and visibility of the second.
In this day and age when CDs sell much less than before and the big online music streaming companies don’t do much to promote artists and their music (and don’t compensate them as much as they should either), how do you see the future of the music industry in general?
Here is the dilemma of streaming technology! The 21st century marks a before and after in the music industry. Undoubtedly, we artists are still learning how they [streaming platforms] behave and the platforms also do the same with us. The world tends to a general dematerialization that is noticeable in the art industry, and that is largely positive because it is more ecological and contributes to an enormous and universal accessibility without discriminating against the consumer. We all have access to the same amount of information, in this case music, whenever and wherever we want. THAT’S GREAT! WE DID IT! But here there is a conflict between scientific advancement and art that must be clarified in order to work together and contribute to the common benefit. Science is always ahead of any imaginable regulation, which is good because it contributes to greater flexibility for the development of something as positive as streaming platforms. However, once these fulfill their function, a way must be found to regulate them in order to make it easier for artists to enter an amount proportional to their reach, which is measured in listeners and reproductions, and to what the physical format used to correspond to. If we realize, unlike in the past, artists are increasingly using the “single” format before releasing an album. This is because the time and amount of work behind it is much greater than it was before, since an entire product and an infrastructure are generated around that “single”. It is difficult to imagine an artistically developed society if artists do not perceive the proportional part of their contribution as such, but I am convinced that this is a long way to go and that it is the result of a technologically changing society that progresses and advances but that must gradually include the rights of artists in order to contribute to the preservation and development of art and artists.
Tell us about the educational aspect of your career, to which I see you give the attention it deserves.
Pedagogy has always interested me, both as a student and to aspire to be a good teacher. I have been lucky enough to travel and be part of good universities and music conservatories in Europe (Barcelona, Madrid and Rotterdam) at the same time that I have obtained the support of scholarships such as the AIE (Society of Performing Artists of Spain) and the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, which have allowed me to pay for a large part of my studies. I have always been interested in the institutional and pedagogical world. There are two main ways for me to learn, one is with teachers who inspire you, generally linked to academic institutions, and another is by putting that knowledge into practice – experience and initiative to create projects.
In my Master at Codarts University of The Arts in Rotterdam, I developed my thesis based on my HYBRID/C album: “From Afro-Cuban folk to Modern Jazz: Tradition and Avant-garde of a Genre”. Thanks to the guidance I have received from my teachers Pepe Rivero and Bobby Martínez, among others, I consider that I have developed an empathic and critical perspective, which has allowed me to project my personality with a proactive intention and an approach committed to the real problems of pedagogy and the preservation of Latin music.
Now the Fulbright scholarship is going to allow me to take this interest in academia to another level.
A New Example of Music Instruction
There is a need for a new example of musical instruction, a model for future artists who understand the centrality of their roles. Given the important contribution of Jazz and Latin Music to world culture, my goal is to formulate innovative methods of preservation and development of this artistic genre. The triple concept of the Master, and DMA (Doctor in Musical Arts) if I manage to do it in “Performance, Composition and Pedagogy” in the United States will make me “the complete artist”, also standing out as a performer, composer, arranger, teacher, director of workshops and clinics, and professor, with the purpose connatural to my career and personality to perpetuate and develop this form of art in Spain and Europe.
In order to expand my career as an artist and contribute to the promotion, development and preservation of Jazz and Latin Music in international institutions, I am going to broaden my training with the entrepreneurial and pedagogical vision offered in the United States.
Throughout my training process, musical composition has been as fundamental and significant as interpretation. Despite simultaneously studying Classical, Jazz and Cuban Music, influenced by the cultural legacy received directly from my father, who was born in Cuba, I feel the need to go beyond my role as a pianist, uniting these elements from a more modern and hybrid approach, which equally understands the importance of the level as an artist, teacher and entrepreneur. With this objective, expanding my training as a composer and performer and working with North American musicians is an essential step in my career, to apply the pedagogical methods of their institutions and companies to ours in Europe and in my case Spain.
I realize you have high expectations for your next educational experience in the United States…
Studying in the United States is a unique opportunity to immerse myself in the cultural variety as well as the essence of jazz. In addition, it would mean being in direct contact, as a musician and student, with the artistic references that I have always admired.
Art has always been present in my life, since on my mother’s side, my great-grandfather was a pianist, composer and professor at the Superior Conservatory of Teruel, which may have unconsciously fueled my educational interest.
Due to my family background, I have always been curious about different cultures. At the age of 16 I had the opportunity to participate as an expeditionary with a scholarship for an original composition in the Edition of the Quetzal Route through Colombia and Spain. During the trip I met other young people from 50 different nationalities. In the same way, I have participated in different Jazz seminars abroad, such as the Berklee College of Music in Boston, in Perugia (Italy), and in a tour of the Balkans with the JM Jazz World Orchestra, among other experiences abroad that have made me an open, flexible and curious person.
Tell me about the tour with the JM Jazz World Orchestra.
During this tour, I had the opportunity to mix with some of the most promising students from universities as relevant as the Manhattan School of Music, Julliard or Temple. Without a doubt, this feeds my interest in increasing my education in American universities, since it has the necessary quality, diversity and entrepreneurship that I aspire to promote when I return to Spain.
What are your plans for the future?
In the future, I want to participate in the most relevant projects on the Latin Jazz scene, with the intention of adapting and including them locally in specific areas of Europe. This work requires a solid and hybrid training that allows me to go beyond the limits of a single discipline.
There is something in Cuban music and folklore and Ibero-American music in general that seems to interest both the most traditional and avant-garde jazz musicians. For those who feel this affinity for this genre, its fusion with other genres is undoubtedly an exciting topic of study. This is an opportunity to deepen my research from a more specific entrepreneurial and pedagogical vision in order to formulate methods applicable to this genre. Representing my country in the national and international Jazz scene is a unique opportunity to carry out the important task of building ties between the North American Jazz community and Latin Jazz. In my case, this would mean helping to promote new institutions and university music studies between Spain and the United States. In this sense, the American training is ideal for me, since it focuses on a pedagogy that seeks to create cultural and artistic links of common institutional and professional interest, which I aspire to carry out upon my return to Spain.
Photographs courtesy of Carlos Cippelletti
For three days in August, downtown San José, California, was the epicenter of some great music in the SF Bay Area. We heard bands that put a contemporary spin on music of the last century, from the Latin soul sounds of Joe Bataan to the sophisticated singing of René Marie, and a particular highlight for me was the performance by the one and only Patti LaBelle. This year marked forty years that the Festival has been in existence, and I hope it goes on for at least forty more years. With new director Christian Vela doing an outstanding job of booking, the future of the Festival looks bright.
Friday Night: Soul, Zydeco, and Latin Rhythms
MC for the Main Stage was Greg Bridges, a mainstay in Bay Area radio for many years, currently at KCSM 91.1 on the FM dial. It is always reassuring to hear his voice at the Festival, as I know some enjoyable music will follow. Sure enough, Adi Oasis came out that Friday night and gave a good opening performance. Handling the vocals and the electric bass playing, she impressed the crowd with her musicianship. Oasis brought us back to 1998 with her version of Lauren Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” mixed in with some slow jams and her own material. Oasis’ music was a nice way to ease into the Festival atmosphere.
On the Blues/BigEasy Stage, local group Zydeco Flames held forth with their southern Louisiana sound. They took some familiar New Orleans favorites like Fats Domino’s “Hello Josephine” and “Iko Iko,” added some washboard and accordion and turned them into Zydeco tunes. One of the most notable songs was an original waltz called “Never Alone.” Then the dancers came out in full force when they broke into Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya.” Rock guitar wafted through B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone” and The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There.” Zydeco Flames proved that any tune can be turned into a Zydeco song.
Moving on to the Latin Tropical Stage, 83-year-old Joe Bataan and his band revived the Latin-soul sounds that he pioneered in the ’60s. There were echoes of Doo Wop and classic ’50s R&B along with the conga drum to give the music a Latin twist. Bataan was in good spirits, starting off singing “The Lord’s Prayer” with his wife and then getting into some serious boogaloo. He dedicated one song to the Philipinos and another to the Puerto Ricans, even plunging into some of what could be called “Oldies But Goodies.” The horn players, C.P. Salas (tenor saxophone) and Tony Hernández (trumpet), kept the old-school vibe going. Guitarist Adrian Carmine took a solo turn singing that old chestnut “Daddy’s Home,” and Bataan showed he could croon with the best of them on “I Wish You Love.” The packed crowd reveled in the nostalgia-laden music, proving that Joe Bataan is back!
My friend Jonathan told me about Thee Sinseers several weeks before I caught them at the Festival, and if it is ’60s Rhythm & Blues with a Mexican flair, there is no better band. Led by the vocals of Joey Quiñones, Thee Sinseers lay down a heart-on-your-sleeve, slow jam sound that never lets up. Teasing the audience with the horn riff from Tower of Power’s “You’re Still A Young Man,” they took us back to a time when cars were big, and everyone went to the soda fountain to put quarters in the jukebox. Proud of their East Los Angeles heritage, the group plays a kind of updated version of LA bands from the ’60s like Thee Midnighters. “Little” Willie Garcia, lead vocalist of Thee Midnighters, must be very happy to hear this music seeing a resurgence in popularity.
Saturday: New Voices and Veteran Masters
On to Saturday, where the Monterey Jazz Vocal Ensemble sang with great harmony in the San José Art Museum. Comprised of high school students and recent high school graduates, the Ensemble performed a variety of tunes from all over the map. With 12 singers (7 women and 5 men), they poured out a strong, tight-knit sound. Backed by a quartet of high school-age musicians, the Ensemble sang Chick Corea’s “You’re Everything” and a bossa nova-tinged “Angel Eyes.” It was a most enjoyable way to start the second day of the Festival.
Drummer Mike Clark’s Post Boptet band took the early afternoon slot at the Montgomery Theater, going through an exciting hour of contemporary music. The Post Boptet boasts a superb lineup: Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Craig Handy (tenor saxophone), Essiet Okon Essiet (acoustic bass) and David Kikoski (piano). They began with a very appropriate tune, “East Broadway Rundown” by the recently departed Sonny Rollins. After a wonderful ballad featuring Henderson, they played a jazz/funk hybrid called “Loft Funk,” where Clark got to display his formidable chops on drums. Then in a kind of tribute to Herbie Hancock, the band dug into his composition “Toys.” Three of the members of the band were employed by Hancock at various points in his career: Henderson during the Mwandishi period, Clark during the Head Hunters time and Handy on the road with Herbie. All three musicians have ties to the SF Bay Area: Henderson played music and practiced psychiatry in the Bay for many years, Handy is the son of John Handy, born in Oakland, and Clark was born in Sacramento. New York-based pianist Kikoski has played with a wide range of jazz musicians, so it was a treat to finally see him live. With his white hair flying in all directions, Kikoski was in constant motion, swaying to the music, seemingly possessed. Clark’s new album, Kuan Ganjo (Time Without Beginning), has the same cast minus Kikoski and adds Patrice Rushen. It is definitely worth a listen or two or three.
Back at the Main Stage, Parlor Greens were into their set, a groove-oriented Hammond B3, electric guitar and drum sound harkening back to the ’50s and ’60s soul/jazz records. The guitarist Jimmy James laid down tantalizing chords and single-line notes while Tim Carman supplied the heavy backbeat. The organist was a fill-in for Adam Scone and did a very nice job during their set. An interesting thing happened during Parlor Greens’ set: James said they were going to play a Dolly Parton song and the audience had to guess which one. Well, this is a hip crowd, and they came up with “Jolene” right away. Again, it was reassuring to find out that the organ trio concept is still alive and being taken a step forward with Parlor Greens.
One of the great things about the Festival is finding new acts that are surprisingly good. Such was the case with the Nicole Zuraitis Quartet, an original singer/pianist/songwriter, whose self-deprecating manner and voice charmed the crowd. Starting with her own compositions, Zuraitis sang and played piano with wondrous dexterity. The band, husband Dan Pugach (drums), Sam Weber (acoustic bass) and Idan Morin (electric guitar), supported Zuraitis with steady assurance. After singing her own tunes, Zuraitis then broke into a series of covers: “Jolene” (hearing it a second time in the space of an hour), “The Nearness of You,” “Wichita Lineman” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” all done with taste and feeling.
Roger Glenn, preeminent musician extraordinaire, plays 18 different instruments and presented his group that Saturday afternoon to a very enthusiastic audience at the Signia Regent Stage. Taking most of the material from his 2025 album My Latin Heart (produced by special guest Ray Obiedo), the group navigated seven tunes, enjoying every moment. Switching between vibes, flute, alto saxophone and percussion, Glenn made the most of his countless abilities. Obiedo contributed his composition “Child’s Dance” and his inimitable stinging electric guitar. Glenn noted early on that he and Obiedo have been playing music together for 55 years, quite a long and fruitful association. Longtime band members, Marcos Silva on electric piano, Robb Fisher on acoustic bass, Michelle Gerlitz on congas and percussion and newcomer Kelly Fasman on drums played with supreme cohesion. Late in the set, Gerlitz and Glenn picked up chekeres and held the audience spellbound for a while. Glenn and company left a prodigious amount of excellent music in our ears that afternoon.
Saturday Evening: Afro-Cuban Fire and Patti LaBelle
The Main Stage hosted the always enjoyable Afro-Cuban All Stars led by Juan De Marcos González. The talent level in Cuba is so deep that I didn’t recognize any of the current band members. It might be that the original group had some of the older established artists, and many have passed away or are unable to travel. Be that as it may, the All Stars were in fine form that evening, showcasing a singer with a declarative style. As De Marcos González stayed in the background playing the güiro, the band executed intricately arranged passages. Horns and percussion were tightly knit together in a delicate balance.
A short walk to the Latin Tropical stage where Orquesta Akokán began their re-creation of classic Cuban music from the ’40s and ’50s. Focusing on the Mambo, Orquesta Akokán brought back that familiar sound from the past. Pianist and arranger Michael Eckroth dove deep into the genre, respecting the past and adding his own ideas to create a modern take. The music was enhanced by the vocals of Kiko Ruiz, who handled the crowd, exuding natural charisma. The electric tres guitar combined with the soaring horns made the set quite enjoyable. Akokán means from the heart in Yoruba, and the group proved that they had plenty of it on that sultry night in San José.
Wedged in between Orquesta Akokán and headliner Patti LaBelle, Jubu Smith soulfully sang and played guitar. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Jubu borrows liberally from gospel, soul, blues and funk to display his singular electric guitar playing. Last year he was seen at the Summer Festival backing up Lilah Hathaway; this year headlining the Blues/Big Easy Stage. Hammond B3 organ (Mike Halberg), electric bass, and drums backed Jubu’s compelling vocals and superior guitar work. B.B. King’s immortal “The Thrill Is Gone” was a perfect vehicle for Jubu’s mastery. Nodding our heads, the crowd acknowledged Tony! Toni! Toné!’s song “Anniversary,” which the normally reserved Jubu said he helped the group record. After a long time spent backing other artists, Jubu finally struts his stuff and leads his own group.
The ageless Patti LaBelle sang her way into our hearts with fire and consummate expertise. At 82 years young, LaBelle showed absolutely no signs of slowing down. All the high and low notes were there; a stellar performer, having the time of her life. Her longtime pianist/musical director, Sam Lewis, made all the musical transitions smooth and seamless. One of her backup singers took center stage for the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” while LaBelle was busy changing her wig and clothing. LaBelle returned to the stage and continued to entrance all the folks, from the front of the stage to those seated in the back in their lawn chairs.
Sunday: Ska, Miles Davis, and René Marie
The first act on Sunday, hitting the Main Stage at precisely 1 p.m., the Western Standard Ska Orchestra took us back to Jamaica in the ’50s, when Ska music was at its peak. Trumpeter Eitan Avineri directed the band, some twenty instruments including a full horn section; trumpets and saxophones filled the stage along with guitar, acoustic bass and drums. Invoking the sounds of yesteryear and using the template of the Skatalites (The group who invented ska), the Orchestra blasted out a huge, powerful sound. Using Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder,” the Orchestra left no doubt that Ska and Jazz could co-exist in the same song. I found myself bopping up and down to the highly percussive ska rhythm, another unexpected musical treat.
Educator and bassist Marcus Shelby led a nonet which faithfully revisited the Miles Davis session Birth Of The Cool. Highly appropriate choice of material, as this year many artists are celebrating Miles’ centenary. Each selection introduced by Shelby received an informative description, noting the composer and the principal soloist. The nonet, composed of all Bay Area musicians, featured Heidi Tretheren (horn), Remee Ashley (trombone), Mike Olmos (trumpet), Tony Pebbles (alto saxophone), Melecio Magdaluyo (baritone saxophone), Jonathan Seiberlich (tuba), Greg Jacobs (piano), Jamal Ramírez (drums) and Marcus Shelby (acoustic bass). Especially notable contributions came from Olmos, Pebbles and Magdaluyo as they filled the shoes of Miles Davis, Lee Konitz and Gerry Mulligan. The music still sounded quite fresh, even though the record was made almost 80 years ago. “Boplicity,” “Jeru” and “Budo” came to precise and vivid life under Sheiby’s direction. Birth of the Cool was not treated as some museum piece by this group—to be dusted off and only played on special occasions—instead as a vital part of American music history.
I was really looking forward to hearing Lakecia Benjamin, having experienced her wonderful alto saxophone playing. To my surprise, she could not make the gig; instead, the replacement was the marvelous vocalist René Marie. Backed by an exceptional trio—Xavier Davis on piano, Elias Baily on acoustic bass and Quentin E. Baxter on drums—Marie sang a medley of tunes around the theme of imagination; the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” was the core, with a deviation into John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Marie told a great story associated with her original tune, “Colorado River Song.” Her trip down the river with a man resulted in a wonderful thing: marriage. There was a call-and-response scat singing with the audience, where Marie showed off her considerable scat singing abilities. Marie captivated the crowd with her warm and inviting songs, a pleasant surprise for everyone.
The Women Who Lit Up the Festival
Sure, there were some cool moments in the Festival: Joe Bataan crooning, Afro-Cuban All Stars dealing, Jubu Smith playing guitar, even the Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra skanking, but the soul of the summer Jazz Fest belonged to the women, who played and sang their hearts out.
The Festival this year was worth attending due in no small part to the powerful women who graced all of the stages. From Adi Oasis to Nicole Zuraitis, on to Patti LaBelle and ending with the incomparable René Marie, women and their considerable gifts made the Festival exceedingly bright.
Artists Performing at the San José Summer Jazz Fest 2026
Photo Gallery by Brooks Geiken (click to enlarge)
The Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference 2026 returns for its third edition from September 25 to 27, bringing together musicians, educators, students, and audiences to celebrate the growing presence of Latin jazz in Canada. At the center of the conference is Cuban pianist, composer, and musical director Miguel de Armas, whose journey from Cuba to Canada has shaped both his artistic career and his vision for creating a stronger Latin jazz community in Ottawa.
The story of the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference (OLJC) is, in many ways, a story of growth, discovery, and community. From its first edition in 2024 to the second in 2025, the conference has steadily expanded its reach while remaining committed to its original purpose: creating a space in Ottawa where Latin jazz can be heard, discussed, studied, and experienced as part of Canada’s multicultural musical landscape.
Those first two editions also made something increasingly clear: there is a growing audience and a growing community for Latin jazz in Ottawa. The conference has become more than a series of performances. It is developing into a platform for cultural exchange, artistic discovery, education, and collaboration among musicians from different backgrounds and generations.
Miguel de Armas has played a central role in that evolution. His own journey has profoundly influenced the way he approaches the conference. His perspective is rooted not only in his experience as a musician, but also in his desire to recognize and showcase the talent that already exists within Canada’s diverse communities.
That was one of the central themes of our conversation as we looked ahead to the 2026 edition: how can the conference continue to grow while remaining open to new voices, new ideas, and the next generation of Latin jazz musicians?
That question brought us back to the beginning. Looking at the first two editions, I asked Miguel how he felt the conference had evolved and what lessons had helped shape this year’s edition.
Miguel de Armas: From Cuba to Canada
To understand the conference, it is also important to understand Miguel.
Trained musically in Cuba, de Armas developed a career connected to some of the most important experiences in Cuban popular music and contemporary jazz. He was a founding member of N.G. La Banda, one of the defining groups of the Cuban timba movement, and throughout his career in Cuba he worked and recorded with numerous artists and projects, building extensive professional and international experience.
Since moving to Canada, Miguel has continued to develop his career as a pianist, composer, arranger, and musical director. In Ottawa, he created the Miguel de Armas Quartet and later founded the Ottawa Latin Jazz Orchestra, a project that brings together members of the Cuban diaspora with musicians born or trained in Canada.
The orchestra combines original compositions, traditional Cuban melodies, jazz improvisation, and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
But perhaps one of Miguel’s most interesting qualities is not simply his work as a musician. It is the way he observes the musical community around him.
He explained this to me during our conversation. For Miguel, organizing a conference like this means constantly looking, listening, and discovering.
“I have the time to go out there and discover each artist. That’s what we always do.”
That sentence says a great deal about his philosophy. Miguel does not seem to view programming simply as a list of established names. Instead, he sees it as a process of discovery.
A Conference That Learns From Itself
When I asked him how the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference had evolved through its first two editions and what lessons had helped shape the 2026 edition, his answer was very clear: the conference has to continually learn from itself.
After each edition, the team talks with artists, collaborators, and participants to hear their impressions, identify problems, and find ways to improve.
“Every time an edition ends, we sit down with the people who have been part of it and ask how the conference was, what we can improve, and what we can do differently.”
I found this particularly important because it explains one of the characteristics that distinguishes the project. The goal is not to repeat the same model every year.
“Every year we have to keep building on it and make it better.”
That self-critical attitude is also present when Miguel talks about the conference’s long-term vision. For him, the success of an edition is not measured only by audience numbers or by the names appearing on the program. After every conference, the team needs to listen to the audience, evaluate the response, and determine what can be improved.
“We will get together, draw our conclusions, see how the audience responded, look at the reactions, and then try to improve the next edition.”
In other words, the conference is conceived as an evolving process.
Canada’s Multicultural Talent Takes Center Stage
The third edition introduces another particularly significant emphasis: celebrating the extraordinary talent of Canada’s multicultural diaspora and its growing influence on the evolution of Latin jazz.
For Miguel, this direction did not emerge from an abstract concept. It came from something he has been observing personally in the Canadian music scene.
Over the past few years, he has been listening to musicians, attending concerts, following projects, and discovering artists who may not yet have the visibility they deserve.
“There is so much talent. And that is also what the conference is about: highlighting the cultural talent we have here in Canada.”
That “we” is important. For Miguel, Canadian Latin jazz should not be understood simply as music imported from Latin America. It is also music being transformed by the communities and artists who live and work in Canada.
And this brings us to one of the major themes of the 2026 conference: belonging.
Miguel believes that when Canadian audiences begin regularly hearing these artists, something changes. The Latin American musician is no longer perceived as an outsider and begins to become part of Canada’s cultural landscape.
As he told me:
“They begin to feel that they are artists who also belong here… and then they feel proud.”
For Miguel, that phenomenon is fundamental. He points to Hilario Durán as an example of another Cuban musician who has developed an extraordinary career in Canada.
“Hilario is Cuban, but he is also a Canadian musician.”
That sentence summarizes much of the philosophy behind the conference: it is not about choosing one identity over another, but recognizing the identities that coexist and enrich one another.
Discovering Artists Before They Become Well Known
One of the things I found most interesting in our conversation was learning how Miguel puts together the conference program.
His method is quite simple: listen.
He told me, for example, that he discovered Joy Lapps at Sunfest. He heard her perform live, watched her connect with the audience, and immediately became interested in her project.
“As an audience member, I watched her show and saw how she interacted with the audience.”
And that was where the invitation began.
With pianist Orlando Cardoso, the process was different. Miguel did not know him personally, but he did what he calls “the homework”: he followed his career, listened to his music, and became particularly interested in his recent work.
“This young man is serious, and he has a different proposal.”
That search for new voices explains the diversity of the 2026 program, which brings together artists from different backgrounds and generations.
Miguel also emphasizes the importance of balancing established figures with emerging artists.
“We have to go looking for the generations that are coming, because they bring their own language, their own way of doing things, and their own artistic vision.”
That balance appears to be one of the conference’s fundamental principles.
Hilario Durán: Memory, Experience, and Passing It On
The participation of Hilario Durán occupies a special place in the third edition.
For Miguel, this is not simply a matter of inviting an internationally recognized musician. There is a personal relationship that goes back to Cuba and, above all, an admiration that began many years ago.
When we talked about Hilario, Miguel remembered how young Cuban musicians of his generation followed his work and tried to learn his solos.
“Hilario was the reference point. We all wanted to learn his solos.”
But Miguel also emphasizes something he considers essential: Durán’s extraordinary preparation as a pianist, composer, and orchestrator.
He remembers Durán’s classical training, his work with Cuba’s Orquesta de Música Moderna, and his experience performing with musicians of the highest caliber, including Arturo Sandoval. All of that experience, he says, allowed Durán to arrive in Canada with an exceptionally strong professional foundation.
“He arrived with all the tools he needed to build a successful career here.”
In this third edition, Durán will not only perform. His participation will also have an educational dimension, particularly important for young musicians and students.
For Miguel, that generosity as a teacher is one of Durán’s greatest qualities.
“He is extremely generous when it comes to teaching.”
Durán’s presence therefore represents a connection between generations: a musician who was a reference point for a generation of young Cuban musicians, and an artist who has now become a reference point for a new generation of musicians in Canada.
Learning the Language of Latin Jazz
The educational dimension of the conference is another one of its pillars.
This year there is a special emphasis on Afro-Cuban rhythmic traditions and on strengthening the teaching of Latin jazz in Canada. For Miguel, this education is necessary because Latin jazz cannot simply be reduced to a label.
“It has its own language, its own way of feeling and organizing rhythm.”
He explained that even Canadian musicians with strong jazz backgrounds can initially find themselves challenged when they have to play certain Afro-Cuban rhythms.
“At first they are a little intimidated, but as time goes by, they become more flexible.”
The key, according to Miguel, is direct experience.
It is not enough to hear an explanation about these rhythms. Musicians need to play them, experience them, and interact with musicians who understand them from within.
“It is one thing to hear someone explain it. It is another thing to become involved in the project. That is when things change.”
This idea of immersion connects directly with the educational mission of the conference. The goal is not simply to talk about Latin jazz, but to create opportunities to experience it.
Inclusion as a Way of Building Community
Another concept that appears repeatedly throughout our conversation is inclusion.
The conference seeks to present established artists while also creating opportunities for emerging musicians and lesser-known projects.
“The conference has always been about inclusion, about bringing in young talent and international artists.”
Miguel believes that one generation cannot simply reproduce itself. More experienced musicians have a responsibility to seek out those who are coming next.
And this has a much broader cultural dimension.
As Canadian audiences discover these sounds and artists, a sense of belonging develops. Latin jazz begins to be recognized not as a peripheral expression, but as part of the country’s cultural landscape.
In this sense, the conference serves a purpose that goes beyond the stage: it helps build community, develop audiences, create opportunities, and establish relationships.
The National Arts Centre as a Partner
The relationship with the National Arts Centre has also been fundamental to the conference’s growth.
The first and second editions presented a well-organized project, a three-day program featuring concerts, panels, workshops, and networking opportunities.
The third edition continues that relationship, once again making the National Arts Centre a central venue for the conference.
For Miguel, this relationship represents much more than having access to a prestigious stage.
He remembers his early experiences at the NAC and the process of building an audience through consistent work.
“Working hard to build your own audience, to make people believe in you, and being truthful and sincere about what you represent is very important.”
Over time, that work creates trust.
“Now, when we present something, they say, ‘This is going to have quality.’”
That “seal of quality,” as Miguel describes it, is one of the important consequences of building a strong relationship with an institution like the National Arts Centre.
It also contributes to giving Latin jazz greater visibility and recognition within Canada’s cultural landscape.
Looking Ahead
At the end of our conversation, I asked Miguel where he sees the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference five years from now.
His answer was once again consistent with everything he had said throughout our conversation.
He did not talk about turning the conference into a personal project or imposing a permanent formula. He talked about evolution and continuity.
“Evolving, obviously.”
And then he added something that I found particularly revealing:
“There is no exclusivity here. There is inclusivity.”
Perhaps that is the best way to summarize the spirit of the conference, and especially of this third edition.
The Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference was created to open a space for Latin jazz in Ottawa. And that space includes different generations, cultures, musical languages, and immigrant experiences.
“Since the beginning, the conference has been looking at the talent that already exists in Canada and recognizing that much of the future of Latin jazz is being built right here.”
Miguel de Armas knows this because he is seeing it firsthand. He hears it on stages, discovers it at concerts, talks to musicians, and follows their projects. Above all, he understands that a musical scene can only grow if there is a willingness to listen to those who are coming next.
The third edition of the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference is not intended to close a chapter. On the contrary, it is designed as another chapter in a story that is still being written.
And, true to Miguel’s spirit, once the conference is over, the work will begin again: listening, asking questions, evaluating, learning, and looking for new ways to make it better.
Because, as Miguel himself told me, the conference must continue to evolve.
And perhaps that is precisely its greatest strength.
At a moment when creative work is increasingly mediated by algorithms, digital shortcuts and frictionless convenience, Emilio Solla offers an eloquent argument for something more tangible. Handmade, the Latin GRAMMY-winning pianist, composer and arranger’s fifteenth album as a leader, is more than a collection of sophisticated compositions. It is a defence of craft, patience, collaboration and the physical act of making music.
Released on March 13, 2026, by Club del Disco, the album reunites Solla with La Inestable de Brooklyn, his remarkable nine-piece New York ensemble. Its instrumental palette—winds, brass, violin, bandoneon, piano, bass, drums and percussion—allows him to create music with the detail and breadth of a chamber orchestra while retaining the responsiveness and improvisational freedom of a jazz group.
“Handmade is an apologia of the tactile,” Solla explains. “We are what we do, and what we make.” His statement establishes the album’s central idea: meaningful art emerges from sustained physical engagement, personal discipline and the interaction of human beings working together.
That philosophy is audible throughout the recording. Rather than using tango, jazz, Argentine folklore and classical composition as separate stylistic ingredients, Solla treats them as interconnected parts of his musical language. His arrangements can be intricate, but complexity never becomes an end in itself. Every shifting rhythm, instrumental colour and contrapuntal exchange serves an expressive purpose.
A Composer Between Buenos Aires and Brooklyn
Born in Argentina and based in New York, Solla studied classical piano at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires before earning a master’s degree in jazz composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music. He lived in Barcelona before relocating to New York, gradually developing a personal approach commonly described as tango-jazz: a language that combines Argentine tango and folk traditions with jazz improvisation, classical techniques and contemporary composition.
His career has included collaborations with Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, Yo-Yo Ma, Edmar Castañeda, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the WDR Big Band. His 2019 album Puertos: Music from International Waters won the 2020 Latin GRAMMY for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album, while earlier and subsequent projects received multiple GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY nominations.
The late Latin Jazz Network critic Raul da Gama consistently recognized the depth of Solla’s writing. Reviewing Second Half, the first recording by La Inestable de Brooklyn, da Gama praised music that “soars in a manner that is rarely heard,” emphasizing the sophistication of the charts and the ensemble’s seemingly instinctive understanding of them. He also noted that the solo space served the music rather than individual display—a principle that remains fundamental to Handmade.
Five years later, reviewing Puertos – Music From International Waters, da Gama described Solla as a “poet of orchestral sound” and celebrated his ability to make individual instrumental colours stand out while still merging them into a unified texture. That assessment feels especially relevant here. Handmade may use a smaller ensemble than the 17-piece Tango Jazz Orchestra, but Solla draws an astonishing range of sonorities from nine musicians.
Suite de los Abrazos: Loss, Disorder and Recovery
The emotional and structural centre of the album is Suite de los Abrazos, a three-part meditation on the COVID-19 pandemic. Its movements are deliberately separated and presented out of narrative order—tracks one, three and five—following a sequence inspired by Julio Cortázar’s nonlinear novel Rayuela. Solla described the ordering as 3–5–1: the third movement appears first, followed later by the first and second.
“Suite de los Abrazos, III – Bodegón Caníbal” opens the album with layered percussion and a melody distributed among bass clarinet, saxophone, bandoneon, violin and trumpet. Tim Armacost delivers an expansive tenor saxophone solo before a tightly constructed fugato pushes the ensemble toward a vigorous joropo-inflected conclusion. David Smith’s trumpet brings brightness and release to music that initially seems shadowed by uncertainty.
“Suite de los Abrazos, I – Milonga Mutante” is more unsettled. Conceived as an evocation of the emergency-room chaos of early 2020, it begins with Rogério Boccato’s nervous brushwork as a twelve-tone-derived theme moves among Alejandro Avilés’s flute, Sara Caswell’s violin and Rodolfo Zanetti’s bandoneon. Mike Fahie’s trombone solo rises from the arrangement with force and imagination, embodying both instability and resistance.
The second movement, “The Loss,” is the suite’s emotional reckoning. Solla’s mournful piano melody is surrounded by restrained ensemble writing, while Edward Perez’s acoustic bass solo provides the performance with extraordinary warmth. Rather than dramatizing grief, the piece creates space for reflection, memory and tenderness.
By separating the movements, Solla avoids presenting the pandemic as a simple progression from crisis to resolution. Trauma, absurdity, grief and recovery appear as overlapping states—revisited rather than completed.
Homages, Borders and Musical Memory
The remaining compositions extend the album’s celebration of artistry, movement and cultural connection.
“Joni Mitchell” is an affectionate tribute rather than a direct stylistic imitation. Its syncopated piano figure reminded Solla of Mitchell’s own relationship with jazz, prompting the title. Alejandro Avilés’s alto saxophone moves confidently through an arrangement that is rhythmically playful yet meticulously structured.
“Miles Tango” joins Argentine dance rhythm to harmonies associated with Miles Davis’s second great quintet. Solla’s piano improvisation and David Smith’s muted trumpet animate the piece, which acknowledges Davis without resorting to quotation or pastiche. Solla instead imagines a meeting between two musical worlds, allowing tango’s pulse and modern jazz’s harmonic openness to reshape one another.
Sara Caswell becomes a central narrative voice on “Bird Song.” Written in the rhythm of the Argentine chacarera, the composition imagines a bird crossing the United States–Mexico border without recognizing the political boundary below. Caswell’s violin soars between contrasting musical environments, transforming the bird into a symbol of freedom, migration and the capacity of music to move beyond borders.
Caswell is equally compelling on “Para el Agua,” originally conceived for solo piano and later orchestrated for La Inestable. The expanded arrangement retains the intimacy of its origins while opening space for ensemble colour and an extended improvisation from Solla. The performance demonstrates why his music feels both composed and alive: formal detail establishes the architecture, but improvisation gives it breath. “La Carta” adds another dimension to the programme, while the closing “De Viento y de Sal” brings guest vocalist Sofía Tosello into the ensemble. Her warm, expressive delivery floats above a slow milonga, complemented by Zanetti’s evocative bandoneon. The result is an intimate conclusion—a return to the human voice after an album devoted to the many ways instrumental sound can communicate.
An Ensemble Built on Individual Voices
La Inestable de Brooklyn is not simply a vehicle for Solla’s compositions. Its musicians are essential to the work’s identity.
Tim Armacost moves between muscular tenor statements and the darker shades of clarinet and bass clarinet. Alejandro Avilés supplies agility and colour across soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, flute and piccolo. David Smith brings clarity and rhythmic precision to trumpet and flugelhorn, while Mike Fahie’s trombone provides both weight and mobility.
Sara Caswell’s violin and Rodolfo Zanetti’s bandoneon establish a particularly important connection to Solla’s Argentine heritage. Yet neither instrument functions as an emblem pasted onto a jazz ensemble. They participate fully in the counterpoint, improvisation and internal drama of the arrangements.
Edward Perez and Rogério Boccato form a rhythm section capable of navigating jazz swing, tango phrasing, chacarera, milonga and joropo without making those traditions sound compartmentalized. Guest percussionist Facundo Colmán expands the rhythmic foundation, and Sofía Tosello brings the album to a moving close.
Solla recorded the project at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn in May 2025 after the band had spent more than a year performing and refining the repertoire. He has described the music as chamber-oriented and dependent on precision, while also acknowledging Duke Ellington’s influence on his practice of composing for the distinctive voices of particular musicians.
Music That Could Only Be Handmade
Paquito D’Rivera has praised the album’s balance between Solla’s Buenos Aires roots and the elegant jazz language that permeates the writing, calling it a recording worth hearing repeatedly.
That balance is indeed one of Handmade’s greatest achievements. The music is intellectually rigorous without becoming remote, emotionally resonant without becoming sentimental, and culturally grounded without treating tradition as something fixed. Tango, folklore, jazz and classical composition are not displayed behind glass. They are handled, tested, transformed and brought into contact with the musicians’ personalities.
Raul da Gama once observed that Solla’s compositions translate lived experience into orchestral settings. Handmade continues that work on an intimate scale. It transforms pandemic memory, artistic admiration, migration, environmental reflection and the daily discipline of craft into a living musical environment.
For listeners drawn to ambitious Latin jazz, contemporary orchestral writing, tango-jazz and deeply collaborative ensemble music, Handmade is essential. It rewards careful listening, but it never asks the listener to admire technique from a distance. Its craftsmanship is inseparable from its humanity. In an age of artificial convenience, Emilio Solla and La Inestable de Brooklyn remind us that the most meaningful music is still made through touch, breath, risk, attention and trust. Handmade is not simply an argument for preserving those values. It is their vibrant and persuasive embodiment.
Tracklist – Two-LP Edition
Side A
1. Suite de los Abrazos, III – Bodegón Caníbal
2. Joni Mitchell
Side B
1. Suite de los Abrazos, I – Milonga Mutante
2. Para el Agua
3. Suite de los Abrazos, II – The Loss
Side C
1. Miles Tango
2. Bird Song
Side D
1. La Carta
2. De Viento y de Sal
Credits – La Inestable de Brooklyn
Emilio Solla — piano, compositions, arrangements and conducting
Tim Armacost — tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet
Alejandro Avilés — soprano and alto saxophones, flute and piccolo
David Smith — trumpet and flugelhorn
Mike Fahie — trombone
Sara Caswell — violin
Rodolfo Zanetti — bandoneon
Edward Perez — acoustic bass
Rogério Boccato — drums and percussion
Guest Artists:
Sofía Tosello — vocals
Facundo Colmán — percussion
Album and Production Info
Album: Handmade
Artist: Emilio Solla & La Inestable de Brooklyn
Release date: March 13, 2026
Label: Club del Disco
Format: Double album; also released as a two-LP edition
Recorded: May 2025
Recording location: The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, New York
Music: Nine original compositions by Emilio Solla
Production assistant: Raphaella Hero
-
25 Most Read Posts12 years agoJuan García-Herreros “Snow Owl” – Normas
-
25 Most Read Posts14 years agoEdy Martínez, the Music Architect Behind the Piano
-
25 Most Read Posts16 years agoRaphael Cruz Reaffirms His Commitment To Latin Jazz!
-
25 Most Read Posts11 years agoRubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta: Son de Panamá