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Natalia Kordiak – A Journey Through Music, Improvisation, and Education

by José Cabello Llano | Mar 8, 2025 | Album review, Interview, Posts

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NATALIA KORDIAK

A Journey Through Music, Improvisation, and Education

08

March, 2025

Text: Krzysztof Komorek

Photos: Artist’s concession

“I’ve always loved to sing. Wherever I went, I’d hum or sing something” recalls Natalia Kordiak about her first encounters with music. Natalia is a vocalist, improviser, educator, and event organiser. Her extensive portfolio is impressive for someone whose career has not yet spanned many years. Curiosity about the world has always been a defining trait for Natalia. Combining her musical interests with sports training, she began her music school education not with singing but with the saxophone. She even explored opera singing for a time.

As a teenager, Natalia attended the Voicingers Festival – an event that combines showcases, competitions, and workshops for vocalists. Voicingers serves as a platform for exchanging ideas, musical inspirations, meeting artists, and establishing long-term relationships. For Natalia Kordiak, it also became the beginning of numerous ventures. She started with workshops and, in 2018, won the Grand Prix at the International Competition for Singing Musicians, which allowed her to record her debut album. “Bajka” (“Fairy Tale“), released by the Slovak label Hevhetia, and received a nomination for Poland’s prestigious music industry award, the Fryderyk. Over time, Natalia began collaborating with Voicingers as a co-organiser, coordinator, and producer of subsequent editions of the event.

Voicingers is also a space for exchanging artistic experiences, exploring teaching methods, and engaging with intriguing creators from around the world. Natalia had the opportunity to work with artists such as Sofia Ribeiro, Andreas Schaerer, Michael Schieffel, Leïla Martial, Grzegorz Karnas (the founder and director of Voicingers), and Anna Gadt (who later became her lecturer at the Academy of Music and now collaborates with Natalia on a musical project). “Their perceptions of music and the world gave me immense inspiration for my creativity, composing original works, and daily vocal practice. It also eventually led me to teaching,” says Natalia.

In 2017, in collaboration with the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Natalia initiated a series of jazz educational concerts. She organised recurring workshops, taught lessons, and worked with vocalists during festivals, such as Voicingers and the Wesoła Jazz Festival. In recent years, Natalia has spent significant time outside Poland. The Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Chennai, India, offered her an artistic residency. During her seven months there, she created an original vocal class and travelled across India conducting workshops for children and youth. After her residency in India, Natalia began working in China and Vietnam, conducting workshops for jazz vocalists. These sessions focused on improvisation, fostering creativity, spontaneous authenticity, and building artistic autonomy. “Teaching also means caring for one’s own development,” she notes, explaining her decision to pursue doctoral studies at the Academy of Music in Łódź. “Teaching singing, music, and improvisation is highly complex. A teacher engages with a sensitive medium influenced not only by skill but also, perhaps primarily, by the emotional sensitivity of the individual. It’s a tremendous responsibility to avoid stifling their autonomy, to ensure that advice doesn’t lead to copying others or what is already known, liked, or easy. Teaching should guide individuals to discover their truth.” She continues: “The voice is an instrument connected to our bodies. It works symbiotically with us, which is why understanding and safety are crucial for freedom of expression. Of course, this all sounds nice in theory. In practice, it’s much harder and requires patience. I’ve met many people who helped me (though some did not). Meaningful encounters always changed me, developed me, and made me reflect, sometimes even questioning my perspective on certain aspects of life.”

The most important ensemble Natalia works with is her quintet, with which she has recorded two albums. The most recent, titled “Ytinamuh” (read it backwards as well), was recorded during Natalia’s diploma concert at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. In this paratheatrical performance, music intertwined with meaningful words. Alongside Natalia’s original lyrics, the performance included excerpts from works by notable authors such as Ayn Rand, Olga Tokarczuk, Jolanta Brach-Czaina, and Sylvia Plath. The concert also featured vocal improvisations, enriched with electronic effects. She was joined on stage by Przemysław Chmiel (tenor and soprano saxophone), Mateusz Kołakowski (piano), Alan Wykpisz (double bass, bass guitar), and Grzegorz Pałka (drums). Her attention to words is also evident in another project, TANOK, a duo formed with Ukrainian pianist Kateryna Ziabliuk. Together, they perform a programme featuring the suite “Pieśń Lasu” (“Song of the Forest”), based on the works of Ukrainian poet, writer, translator, and literary critic Lesya Ukrainka. One of Natalia’s latest artistic ventures is the quartet Voice Act. Founded by Anna Gadt, the vocal ensemble includes Marta Grzywacz and Gosia Zagajewska alongside Natalia. The quartet creates vocal narratives rooted in the diverse temperaments, histories, experiences, and styles of its members: folk, classical, jazz, contemporary, and free music. Voice Act has already released an album featuring avant-garde vocal music layered with references and inspirations that accompanied the vocalists during the recording process. The quartet’s performances are a spectacle about the Voice itself, not just with the Voice in the lead role. They perform both purely vocal concerts and collaborations with guest artists. One such collaboration was with renowned drummer Jim Black during the first edition of the Kxntrst Music Festival.

Anna Gadt: “I have known Natalia Kordiak for many years, which allows me to observe her journey from a temporal perspective. Initially captivated by mainstream jazz, she was later drawn to open forms, improvisation, and electronics. Her two original albums provide an intriguing starting point for further exploration of her unique performance language. I believe she is growing increasingly confident on stage as both a leader and a creator of her own artistic vision. We first met during the Voicingers workshops. Natalia stood out with her distinctive personality and genuine, vibrant interest in music. Later, she was my student for several years at the Jazz Department in Katowice. She is highly ambitious and determined. In her artistic pursuits, she appears to focus on combining sincerity, intuition, and awareness, and her drive for growth and her interest in sound exploration are truly impressive.

For these reasons, I invited Natalia to collaborate in Voice Act, a project featuring four vocalists/improvisers without the support of instrumentalists or electronics. Voice Act focuses on the agency of the voice, individual stories, diverse perspectives and roots, as well as the need for human connection, curiosity about others, and the equality of listening and being heard. Beyond her technical abilities and a voice with a beautiful tone and wide range, Natalia brought to Voice Act her creativity, unique sensitivity, and openness to others. Her imagination participates freely in the dialogue between voices, adding an essential and inspiring element. I believe that her greatest discoveries are still ahead of her, and I wholeheartedly wish her the very best in achieving them.”

Mentioned earlier Kxntrst Music Festival leads to another of Natalia Kordiak’s roles – as an organiser of artistic events. She co-creates the Kxntrst Music Festival with two other prominent figures of the younger generation in Polish music: Kuba Więcek and Piotr “Pianohooligan” Orzechowski. The festival’s programme includes concerts, workshops, and panel discussions. “As active and thoughtful people and artists, we should not only focus on our creative work but also on changing the way the music market in Poland is perceived. We need to emphasise authenticity rather than conforming to industry norms and standards,” says Natalia.

What does the future hold for Natalia Kordiak? “I don’t know yet. I don’t like putting pressure on myself,” she admits. Her solo project is developing – for a year now, she has been performing solo concerts, incorporating guitar effects and analogue synthesisers into her creations. In her quintet, she has performed several times with trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski (the trumpet replaced saxophones in the ensemble), offering a new perspective on the already polished material. She plans to continue collaborating with other musicians in unique, often one-off improvised performances that bring her immense joy. She also intends to perform as a member of several ensembles. Finally, Natalia will focus on her doctoral studies, exploring the interplay of vocal artistic expression in compositional and improvisational processes.

Travelling will undoubtedly remain a significant part of her plans. “The most beautiful aspect of travelling is observing people – their traditions, lifestyles, perceptions of music, religion, habits, and experiences of art. Exploring the world as broadly as possible, including typical tourism, is a passion of mine. My friends always laugh at how well-prepared I am when it comes to knowing local attractions, history, and cuisine,” she says with a smile.

Este artículo se publica simultáneamente en las siguientes revistas europeas, en el marco de “Groovin’ High”, una operación para destacar a las jóvenes músicas de jazz y blues : Citizen Jazz (Fr), JazzMania (Be), Jazz’halo (Be), Salt Peanuts (DK/SE/NO), Jazz-Fun (DE), In&Out Jazz (ES) y Donos Kulturalny (PL).

This article is co-published simultaneously in the following European magazines, as part of « Groovin’ High » an operation to highlight young jazz and blues female musicians : Citizen Jazz (Fr), JazzMania (Be), Jazz’halo (Be), Salt Peanuts (DK/SE/NO), Jazz-Fun (DE), In&Out Jazz (ES) and Donos Kulturalny (PL).

#Womentothefore #IWD2025

By Krzysztof Komorek for Donos Kulturalny

March 08, 2025

Heidi Kvelvane – Travelling Saxophones

by José Cabello Llano | Mar 7, 2025 | Interview, Posts

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HEIDI KVELVANE

Travelling Saxophones

07

March, 2025

Text: Jan Granlie
Photo: Ruben Olsen Lærk

The first time I heard the young saxophonist Heidi Kvelvane was at the improv festival Tedans (Tea Dance) in Bergen, a couple of years ago. It was saxophonist Frode Gjerstad who told me to listen to her. When she stood on stage with bassist Ola Høyer and drummer Øyvind Hegg-Lunde, in a free and loose set, I was convinced. What a young musician! Her tone on the alto saxophone was powerful, energetic and tough, and in the improvisations, she sounded considerably more mature than her 23 years, as she was at that time.

I wrote the following in Salt Peanuts about her act afterwards: “I predict a great future for her within improvised music in Norway. (…) This was a freely improvised set, where we particularly noticed Kvelvane’s fine alto saxophone tone, which was a bit like hearing Frode Gjerstad some years ago. Sharp on the edge, and with a lovely phrasing and ability to tell good stories, both in ensemble improvisations and in solos. (…) The big positive surprise of the evening, and maybe of the festival! »

After the concert, she told me that she was planning to move to Voss – a couple of hours’ drive eastwards into the mountains and valleys beyond Bergen, and the place where I had chosen to settle down after living seven years in Copenhagen. With that, we also had the opportunity to meet more often, after all, there aren’t too many jazz enthusiasts living in this village, even though they have their own jazz festival, Vossa Jazz, a festival that has existed for more than 50 years.

Background
Heidi Kvelvane is now 25 years old and was born and raised in Sandnes – southeast of Stavanger. She has a saxophone education from the jazz department at the Grieg Academy in Bergen, where she graduated in the spring of 2023. She is now based in Voss, where she makes a living by touring, playing her saxophones, while also playing folk music on the accordion.

In 2022/23, she also played in around 80 performances of the musical Lazarus with music by David Bowie at Den Nasjonale Scene (The National Scene) in Bergen. She has played several church concerts with organists and has played both concerts and dance music as a folk musician. However, it is as a free jazz musician that she has distinguished herself on the Norwegian jazz and improv scene in recent years. This has led to several international concerts and tours, where she has collaborated with musicians such as Barry Guy, Terrie Ex, Han Bennink, Paal Nilssen-Love and Bugge Wesseltoft. She is also known from the Vestnorsk Jazz Ensemble, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Bergen Big Band, Kitchen Orchestra, as well as her folk music duo project Bankvelv, her own quartet and even two trios in her own name.

From school band to ?
At Voss she lives in a caravan, mostly because she does not want to own too much, but also because she travels a lot, and does not need or want too many “worldly goods”, as she describes it, nor a large space. At Voss, the local jazz club has brought her into their board, and the club has also engaged her in projects with one of her trios and a workshop project with students at the village’s secondary school.

We meet her at a café in Voss one morning, when she’s at home for a short while, between gigs in Belgium and concerts with the Bergen Big Band. She says that, like most other Norwegian jazz musicians, she started in a school band, in her case with a clarinet. After a couple of years, the band needed a saxophonist, and she seized the opportunity and became the band’s only saxophonist. In secondary school, she had saxophonist Tor Ytredal as her music teacher. She says that without him, she probably never would have become a jazz musician. She then studied at the Grieg Academy in Bergen for four years, but much of that time was during the corona pandemic, which she believes was good for her in many ways. She had a lot of time to practice, and it opened up a number of playing assignments as a substitute, since musicians could not be hired from the outside.

In her second year at the Academy, Paal Nilssen-Love had a project there. After they met there, he asked if she wanted to come to Stavanger to take part in something called Jazzkappleiken. Here she played with, among others, saxophonist Kristoffer Alberts, and later with fiddle- and violin player Nils Økland and organist Nils Henrik Asheim. With that she was ‘lost’ she says and taken by the free improvisation and free jazz.

Why Voss?
During the corona period, she heard accordionist Nils Asgeir Lie from Voss, giving a concert at the Grieg Academy, which inspired her greatly. She immediately wanted to learn to play the accordion, and she moved to Voss. She tells me that she had no previous relationship with the instrument, other than that it was an instrument she thought was only used to play “gammeldans” (old folk dances). But then she discovered that a modern accordion had much greater possibilities than the regular accordions used in these contexts. You can play more intricate melody lines, with greater intensity and variation. The concert with Nils Asgeir Lie really opened up her interest in the accordion. She went ahead, buying an accordion and learning the art of playing it.

Accordion and free jazz?
– I think the reason I like both playing free jazz on the saxophone and folk music on the accordion, is because I’m a bit restless and unsettled – I need both, she says – I enjoy the togetherness and community that arises when you improvise freely on the stage. But when I have been doing a lot of free improvisation, I very often long for something else, something more classically structured. So, I need both, really.

We’re talking for a long time about her unsettledness. Playing folk music on the accordion, free improv on the saxophone, relatively straight music in a big band, and her love for (the freedom in) free jazz. And in addition, she often plays in the orchestra at the theater Den Nasjonale Scene in Bergen. She tells me that she wants to try out several genres before she decides which musical path she wants to take. She agrees that she moves freely between many genres. But nevertheless, she feels that she belongs most in improvisational music and jazz. Even though the reason why she ended up there was really a coincidence. – I never thought I would be good at exactly this or that, … it just happened that way, she says.

Inspirations
She says that she has been inspired by many jazz musicians. Lately she has been listening a lot to the German saxophonist Daniel Erdmann, and she has been listening a lot to a record with the Polish saxophonist Angelica Niescier, The Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and the bass player Ingebrigt Håker Flaten have obviously featured prominently in here listening habits. But there are no single records that have become regular, that she listens to a lot. I prefer to hear the music live, she says. But the record Soapsuds, Soapsuds with the Ornette Coleman and Charlie Haden duo from 1977, is, nevertheless, an exception.

She says that she personally likes the duo and trio formats best. In many ways she feels that she knows the clarinet the best, but she works hard with both the alto and tenor saxophone. But the sound of the clarinet is too “flat”, according to her. For a long period, when she was becoming more interested in the alto saxophone, many alto saxophonists she listened to didn’t sound good, she told me.

– Then I worked a lot on getting a “fatter” sound in the horn, by experimenting with mouthpieces and reeds, and I even used tenor reeds on the alto, to achieve a sound I liked better.

As for her tenor saxophone playing, for a long period she almost didn’t dare to play the tenor saxophone, because there were so many incredibly talented tenor saxophonists. It’s only in the last year that she has started to focus seriously on the tenor.

Before she have to run to catch the train to Bergen for a gig(?), we talk a little about why there are so many talented Danish female alto saxophonists, but almost none from Norway. But then we agree that this is completely okay: Most of the Danish alto players have moved to Norway anyway. Personally, I think there is and should be room for both Mette Rasmussen, Signe Emmeluth, Amalie Dahl and Heidi Kvelvane in the rich flora of incredibly exciting, improvised saxophone music from the many young, female saxophonists living in Norway.

Este artículo se publica simultáneamente en las siguientes revistas europeas, en el marco de “Groovin’ High”, una operación para destacar a las jóvenes músicas de jazz y blues : Citizen Jazz (Fr), JazzMania (Be), Jazz’halo (Be), Salt Peanuts (DK/SE/NO), Jazz-Fun (DE), In&Out Jazz (ES) y Donos Kulturalny (PL).

This article is co-published simultaneously in the following European magazines, as part of « Groovin’ High » an operation to highlight young jazz and blues female musicians : Citizen Jazz (Fr), JazzMania (Be), Jazz’halo (Be), Salt Peanuts (DK/SE/NO), Jazz-Fun (DE), In&Out Jazz (ES) and Donos Kulturalny (PL).

#Womentothefore #IWD2025

By Jan Granlie for Salt Peanuts

March 07, 2025

Clémetine Ristord: Petite Lucette

by José Cabello Llano | Mar 3, 2025 | Album review, Posts

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CLÉMETINE RISTORD: PETITE LUCETTE

03

March, 2025

Text and photos: Franpi Barriaux

CLÉMENTINE RISTORD: PETITE LUCETTE

A portrait is more than a frozen moment, like a photograph; it requires exploration beyond the image. Multi-anchor Clémentine Ristord is a prime example of an artist who must be presented from various angles to fully understand her journey thus far and the path ahead. She is the founder of the Petite Lucette quintet and a member of the Raffut Collectif. She is a musician who is making her mark.

There is a very interesting duality that emerges when you look at the different orchestras of this Grenoble-born musician, who graduated from the CNSMDP jazz section in 2022. It is a duality that brings more coherence than rupture. From Tisser les Ombres, the trio she leads with her alter-ego, double bassist Pierre-Antoine Despatures, an improvisational orchestra that lays claim to the notion of Folklore Imaginaire, to Petite Lucette, the explosive quintet selected in the ninth cohort of Jazz Migration, you might think there’s a world out there, or even several. But that would be a mistake. Each of these musicians has a hidden side and an attraction that draws them together. It is in these connections and limbo that Clémentine Ristord’s true musical personality lies hidden. “I belong to the vast field of jazz, or rather improvised music. I compose, and I mainly work as a leader. While it’s my more ‘easy-listening’ projects that have come to the fore recently, from a media or other point of view, there’s another part of me that still cultivates a very improvised music, with a radical approach”.

But Petite Lucette is unquestionably radical, with sudden ruptures and small explosions, like bubbles of joy. Born in the context of Uzeste: “It was in 2019 that I created Petite Lucette, following several experiences of a ball at the Uzeste festival, with jazz and improvised musicians who, when night fell, changed costume and became ball musicians. I soon discovered the importance of this complementarity and how essential these different postures of the musician are if he is not to shut himself away in an ivory tower of creation or in a role of soulless entertainment. That’s why I created Petite Lucette. Initially, we blended the two styles, aiming to get people dancing with our compositions. However, sometimes the complexity of our pieces proved too overwhelming, hindering the dance’s momentum. This experience taught us a lot, especially since we were accustomed to the ‘concert’ format. Ballroom is incredibly demanding, and it’s a continuous learning process.

[[a clear reflection of our feelings about today’s society and the undesirable future that awaits us]]

Clémentine Ristord and the quintet are not just another dance band from Uzeste and elsewhere. The travelling stage trailer designed for the occasion was a quick and independent way to get around, and the side roads were easy to take. The selection by Jazz Migration accelerated a process of broadening the repertoire that went much deeper than a simple mutation. For the upcoming album {Incendier les tristesses}, the orchestra is set to explore new, freer directions, with each piece telling a story and infused with a cinematic flair, often with a touch of humor. The repertoire is more inward-looking and darker compared to our first album and our ball. It’s a clear reflection of our feelings about today’s society and the undesirable future that awaits us. It’s a catharsis, a way to find joy in the collective before dancing. It’s a political approach, underpinning many of the aesthetic choices and the desire to {do collectively} that belonged more to the previous generation, that of the Vibrants Défricheurs, of whom Papanosh is a model for Ristord and Petite Lucette. “I was struck by the extent to which my fellow musicians, students, colleagues, or perhaps just our generation, are obsessed or caught up in our individual trajectories. The highly cohesive collective shows a definite taste for the traditional music of the different French basins, as is evident in Tisser les Ombres, or more certainly in La Cozna, the most accomplished orchestra of Clémentine Ristord and the Raffut Collectif. An orchestra with cellos, led the usual soprano saxophone player to turn to the bass clarinet – where she excels – to work on an orchestral texture close to the voice.

You can have both feet in jazz, cite Lee Konitz, the Liberation Music Orchestra and Carla Bley as references, and still have more in common with the trad music scene, if only in terms of a political stance: “It raises the question of heritage, where the music you play comes from, why you play it, what you’re part of? Trad opens up the question of territory, on a very small scale (…). I identify more with the demands made by musicians in this environment, in their positioning as artists, than with the current state of jazz, where I feel political questions are being sidelined in favour of {pure} artistic research turned in on itself. That’s not the kind of practice I want to be part of”. Following in the footsteps of orchestras and collectives such as La Novia and Sourdure, and in the footsteps of what ARFI has been producing for decades, Clémentine Ristord presents a new and radical facet of this ongoing discussion between contemporary creation and traditional music. She looks at this from a distance, but with a strong connection to the city’s life. The young musician has a lot more to show us. She is undoubtedly a major player on today’s music scene, and she will continue to surprise us.

Este artículo se publica simultáneamente en las siguientes revistas europeas, en el marco de “Groovin’ High”, una operación para destacar a las jóvenes músicas de jazz y blues : Citizen Jazz (Fr), JazzMania (Be), Jazz’halo (Be), Salt Peanuts (DK/SE/NO), Jazz-Fun (DE), In&Out Jazz (ES) y Donos Kulturalny (PL).

This article is co-published simultaneously in the following European magazines, as part of « Groovin’ High » an operation to highlight young jazz and blues female musicians : Citizen Jazz (Fr), JazzMania (Be), Jazz’halo (Be), Salt Peanuts (DK/SE/NO), Jazz-Fun (DE), In&Out Jazz (ES) and Donos Kulturalny (PL).

#Womentothefore #IWD2025

By: Citizen Jazz

March 03, 2025

XV Festival Porta-Jazz – Arte sonoro aquí y ahora (Oporto, 2025)

by José Cabello Llano | Feb 28, 2025 | Concert chronicle, Festival, Posts

XV FESTIVAL PORTA-JAZZ

Arte Sonoro Aquí y Ahora

Oporto, 2025

28

Febrero, 2025

Texto: Begoña Villalobos

Fotos: Minima Musica & Arte

Cada año, a principios del mes de febrero, Oporto se convierte en el centro de la música improvisada y el jazz de vanguardia con su esperado festival. Es una cita ineludible para melómanos y amantes de la música experimental. Durante tres días, la ciudad se detiene para dar paso a más de veinte conciertos que reflejan la intensa actividad que la Asociación de Músicos de Oporto, Porta-Jazz, ha tenido durante el año.

El festival, que se celebra en el Teatro Rivoli, no solo presenta proyectos arraigados en la vanguardia, el free jazz y la experimentación, sino que también es el resultado de un año de residencias artísticas, colaboraciones internacionales y lanzamientos discográficos. Porta-Jazz. Con João Brandão a la cabeza, es más que una asociación, es el centro de una comunidad de músicos con sede en Oporto y con alcance global. Este año, bajo el lema “Contra el reloj, a favor del tiempo”, el festival reivindica la música como un espacio de pausa y reflexión en un mundo acelerado, “construimos, al menos por un momento, un tiempo nuevo y diferente”. Oporto nos recibe con un sol radiante, preludio de la primavera, mientras el tiempo se mide en compases y emociones.

Queda Áscua es el nuevo proyecto de la vocalista y compositora Joana Raquel, una de las voces emergentes más prometedoras de Oporto. Con composiciones propias, la artista explora un universo sonoro cargado de emoción e intensidad, evocando la imagen de cascada. En esta propuesta, la ausencia de batería desafía las estructuras rítmicas tradicionales y la voz e instrumentos dialogan con libertad y sensibilidad. Joana Raquel, voz, Teresa Costa, flauta, Joaquim Santos, clarinete, Joaquim Festas, guitarra, João Fragoso, contrabajo, Miguel Meirinhos al piano y Zé Stark a la batería. Continuamos con la brillantísima improvisación a dúo con el pianista español Agustí Fernández y el saxofonista lituano Liudas Mockūnas. Los dos son improvisadores centrales de la vanguardia europea. Agustí Fernández, es una figura clave de la vanguardia española, y Liudas Mockūnas, es un explorador incansable líder de la plataforma Improdimensija. Escuchamos un impresionante diálogo completamente improvisado, impredecible, lleno de contrastes y matices. Una conversación artística de alto nivel de creación espontánea y libertad musical. Arte sonoro en el aquí y ahora.

La presentación de Wabi-Sabi. ,disco lanzado por Porta-Jazz (Carimbo Records), a cuarteto, compuesto por pesos pesados del colectivo de Oporto como Demian Cabaud al contrabajo y Gonçalo Marques a la trompeta, con la impronta creativa de Jeff Williams y el estadounidense de Avant Garde John O’Gallagher. Ha sido una experiencia sonora profunda de alto nivel ejecutivo. Estructuras complejas de interacción fluida, expresiva y orgánica, logrando un equilibrio entre la improvisación y el material escrito.

Ursa Maior es el proyecto generado para celebrar los 15 años del festival. Es un proyecto de música improvisada compuesto por un gran ensemble de más de treinta músicos, todos ello ligados con Porta-jazz. El ensemble logra una asombrosa cohesión sonora, guiado por la idea de movimiento continuo. Un proyecto participativo que comienza con palabras habladas y secciones musicales que emergen y se desplazan entre el público. Crean atmósferas emocionales extremas, desde completos silencios hasta atronadores lamentos. Destaca la voz de Almut kuhne, de Joana Raquel, de Vera Morais, así como la guitarra de un jovencísimo Mané Fernandes, Susana Santos Silva, Joao Brandao, Marcos Cavaleiro a la batería, entre otros.

PAIRA. João Pedro Días, trompeta. Gil Silva, saxofón tenor, Pedro Molina contrabajo y Gonçalo Ribeiro, batería. El repertorio está escrito por todos los miembros del cuarteto. Presentan su trabajo editado por Carimbo Porta-Jazz. El cuarteto avanza hacia un espacio de improvisación. Se presentan con una temática coherente y ensamblada de estética que funde composición con improvisación libre en tiempo real, que marca la idea del cuarteto. “Como algo que “flota” en el aire, nos gusta la ligereza, la flexibilidad y la posibilidad de transformación rápida que viene asociada con la libertad de improvisación”.

How Noisy Are The Rooms? Es el título del álbum a trío editado por el sello Boomslang Records. Memorable actuación a trío, en colaboración con Bezau Beatz , del trío compuesto por la vocalista residente en Berlín Almut Kühne. , a la batería y electrónica Alfred Vogel, fundador de Boomslang Records, sello internacional de música experimental y avant; y el inigualable Joke Lanz a los platos. La propuesta es un collage sonoro completamente improvisado que combina la habilidad vocal como instrumento con un apabullante despliegue de creatividad y experimentación con diferentes técnicas vocales de scat, beat-box, canto, rap y el uso de efectos vocales en una variedad de ritmos y texturas. Joke Lanz nacido en Basilea y residente en Berlín, pionero en la escena electrónica independiente y conocido por su enfoque provocativo de la música electrónica y el ruido a través de la experimentación, la distorsión, la modulación y la manipulación en tiempo real. Un encuentro a trío que busca explorar las posibilidades sonoras generando capas de sonido que van entrelazándose. Su colaboración se basa en la improvisación libre y en la interacción en tiempo real complementándose para crear algo único.

Sopros es el álbum debut del contrabajista y compositor Joao Próspero, junto al cuarteto compuesto por Joaquim Festas a la guitarra, Miguel Meirinhos, pianista de la Orkestra de Jazz de Matosinhos y Gonçalo Ribeiro, a la batería. Es una propuesta de estética jazz de tradición americana, influencias del swing y del rock. Las composiciones del contrabajista Joao Próspero están inspiradas en los escenarios que describe Haruki Murakami.

Emmanuelle Bonnet Quartet Emmanuelle Bonnet voz, composición, Alvin Schwaar, piano, Tabea Kind, bajo, Lucas Zibulski, batería. Emmanuelle Bonnet es la brillante cantante y compositora sueca. El proyecto de Emmanuelle Bonnet Quartet se realiza en colaboración con la asociación de música improvisada de Ginebra AMR–Genève. Eso implica compartir la programación en ambos festivales anuales promovidos por cada una de las asociaciones de músicos, así como dos residencias artísticas. La propuesta de Emmanuelle Bonet es precisa y clara, con un equilibrio entre lirismo melódico y la experimentación musical de improvisación libre.

Soma es el trabajo resultado de una semana de residencia artística en Guimares jazz. con un elenco de músicos especialmente talentosos con José Soares como líder. El proyecto reúne influencias de la música experimental, el noise y la música contemporánea. Un proyecto arriesgado de fragmentos musicales circulares y largas desarrollos introductorios de tensión creciente. José Soares saxofón alto, José Diogo Martins, piano, sintetizador, Omer Govreen, contrabajo João Lopes Pereira, Varvara Tazelaar, artes visuales.

Seguimos con el quinteto del contrabajista y compositor Joao Fragoso. El líder presenta Canta Derrocada, el segundo álbum con esta formación, lanzado con Carimbo Porta-Jazz. Escuchamos contundentes y atractivas líneas de bajo a cargo del líder Joao Fragoso que desatan los aplausos del público. Un trabajo de interesantes desarrollos narrativos, improvisaciones y exploración tímbrica. Con John Almeida a la trompeta y Albert Cirera al saxo tenor junto a John Carreiro, a la guitarra y Miguel Rodrigues a la batería.

Continuamos en el salón con el set del DJ Rui Miguel Abreu, crítico musical en activo desde 1989 y que actualmente escribe para la revista Blitz, Expresso y Rimas e Batidas , publicación digital que dirige, además de ser colaborador habitual de la revista internacional We Jazz. Autor de varios programas en Antena 3, entre ellos el programa semanal Notas Azuis centrado en el mundo del jazz contemporáneo.

GODUA La música del cuarteto, compuesta por Duarte Ventura y Hugo Ferreira, se sumerge en una exploración sonora que busca una identidad propia. Con influencias en el rock, el grupo genera momentos de gran energía liderados por la guitarra y la batería, contrastados con melodías al vibráfono. La tensión crece de manera progresiva. El resultado de este proceso creativo se materializa en el álbum STOP que presentan, editado por Carimbo Porta-Jazz. Con João Fragoso, contrabajo y John Cardita a la batería.

Seguimos con el trío Sonic Tender, de enfoque en la improvisación libre, formado por Guilherme Aguiar al piano acústico, João Carreiro a la guitarra eléctrica y João Valinho a la batería. Registrado por Robalo Music en el álbum debut del trío, Odd Objects. Es un trabajo de exploración sonora abstracta y minimalista donde el sonido se convierte en un territorio de constante descubrimiento. Es un proyecto intrigante y denso de estructuras complejas en las que no existe diálogo entre el trío, privando al oyente de cualquier sensación narrativa o punto de anclaje.

Dentro del Árbol es el notable proyecto a quinteto presentado por Demian Cabaud, un peso pesado en la escena portuguesa. Es un trabajo bellísimo de trayectoria exploratoria marcada por la libertad creativa, y una constante búsqueda de nuevos horizontes sonoros. El proyecto tiene desarrollos narrativos abiertos, contemporáneos con libertad de improvisación con una formación de músicos excelentes, Con João Pedro Brandão, Con José Pedro Coelho, Ricardo Moreno, Demian Cabaud y Marcos Cavaleiro.

El colectivo Ensemble mutante #2 – kaja Draksler es el encargado de clausurar el festival. kaja Draksler, pianista y compositora eslovena, escribió este proyecto para tres voces, cantantes centrales de Portugal, Mariana Dionisio, Sofia Sá y Vera Morais, junto con la trompetista de vanguardia Susana Santos Silva. Es música improvisada, contemporánea con el foco en el diálogo improvisado de las vocalistas. Este colectivo busca un lenguaje híbrido con total libertad interpretativa. El proyecto es un espacio de experimentación y de creación a demanda, mezcla de clasicismo y vanguardia.

By Begoña Villalobos

Febrero 28, 2025

AIEnRuta Jazz 2025

by José Cabello Llano | Feb 18, 2025 | Festival, Jazz labels, Posts, SIDEBAR

AIEnRutaJazz 2025

18

Febrero, 2025

Fotos: AIE

https://www.aie.es/promocion/aienruta-jazz/

AIEnRuta-Jazz es un circuito anual que arrancó en 2008 con el objetivo de dar a conocer y promocionar a los artistas de jazz españoles en el ámbito de la universidad, difundir sus propuestas y ampliar la proyección de la música de jazz mediante su programación en nuevos espacios. Los conciertos, ofrecidos por destacados músicos del panorama del jazz nacional, se han celebrado en Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Palencia, Valladolid, León, Lugo, Ciudad Real, Cuenca e Ibiza.

Un jurado independiente de expertos de reconocido prestigio selecciona a solistas y grupos procedentes de todo el país. Los seleccionados realizan, con el soporte económico, de producción y promoción de la Sociedad de Artistas AIE, una serie de actuaciones en diferentes ciudades españolas durante un año natural.

En 2025 estos han sido los grupos y solistas escogidos:

ALBA ARMENGOU TRIO

(Voz, trompeta, guitarra, percusión)

ALEX CONDE TRÍO

(Piano)

ARTURO PUEYO QUARTET

(Clarinete, clarinete bajo)

KITFLUS ENSEMBLE QUINTETO

(Piano, violines, viola, violonchelo)

LUIS CAPDEVILA TRÍO

(Piano, contrabajo, batería)

ROBERTO NIEVA QUARTET

(Saxofón)

ALBA ARMENGOU TRÍO

Blancos y Grafitos es el nuevo trabajo discográfico de la talentosa cantante y trompetista Alba Armengou, quien se une al guitarrista Vicente López y al percusionista y cantante Tramel Levalle para crear y ofrecernos una auténtica joya musical. Este álbum fusiona la canción de autor y el folclore latinoamericano, ofreciendo una experiencia sonora rica en matices y emociones. La combinación de estos tres talentos hace viajar al público por paisajes sonoros llenos de dinamismo y delicadeza, que resonarán en los corazones de los oyentes mucho después de que la última nota se haya desvanecido. Blancos y Grafitos es una celebración de la música en su forma más pura. Es un álbum que invita a ser escuchado una y otra vez, descubriendo nuevos detalles y emociones en cada escucha.

ALEX CONDE TRÍO

Aclamado pianista, uno de los más destacados músicos de nuestra escena, con una gran proyección internacional y un referente en una música tan relevante para nuestra cultura como es la fusión del flamenco y el jazz, Álex Conde ha emprendido varios proyectos cuya principal motivación es la defensa, conservación y divulgación del patrimonio cultural nacional, como el proyecto “Piano y Copla”, grabado a dúo con el histórico cantante de copla Alejandro Conde, en el que hace una puesta en valor de esta música y la acerca al público contemporáneo o el proyecto de “Álex Conde y los Indultados”, con el que ha publicado un álbum en el que realiza una innovadora y atrevida revisión de la música popular tradicional española. La formación liderada por Álex Conde revisa y recupera a Falla, Albéniz o Turina. Interpreta obras como la Danza del Fuego, El Albaicín, El Puerto, la Nana de Sevilla o la Andaluza, obras que pertenecen al repertorio clásico español con un acercamiento desde la improvisación, manteniendo la esencia y el respeto a la obra original.

ARTURO PUETO QUINTETO

Nacido en Ibiza en 1991, ha recibido clases magistrales de figuras como Toni Belenguer, Bob Sands, Jorge Pardo, Nitai Hershkovits, Ari Hoening, Kenny Werner, Johannes Weidenmueller, Shai Maestro y Roman Pilon entre otros. También ha dado clases con el saxofonista Maikel Vistel. Arturo Pueyo Márquez ha tocado profesionalmente con músicos como Paquito d’Rivera, Antonio Serrano, Ernesto Aurignac, Bob Sands, Deborah Carter o Miguel Blanco.

También ha tocado con grandes artistas de otros géneros como Miguel Poveda y Antonio Carmona (flamenco), ¡Mustafa Zair (música árabe) o Carlton J. Smith (soul) en lugares como el Teatro Real, el Auditorio Nacional, el Teatro Fernán Gómez, el Teatro Conde Duque o el Corral de Comedias de Alcalá de Henares y en festivales como Le Guess Who! (Holanda), Eivissa Jazz, el Festival Internacional de Jazz de Madrid, Festival Internacional de Canarias Jazz & Más, entre otros. En 2022 publicó su primer disco como líder “Derroteros”, con colaboraciones como Ariel Brínguez, Ángela Cervantes, Daniel Juárez y Miron Rafajlovic. Ha presentado la música de este disco en Madrid, Asturias, Cantabria, Málaga, Granada, Albacete, Murcia, La Rioja y Baleares

KITFLUS ENSEMBLE QUINTETO

Josep Mas, Kitflus, es uno de los grandes nombres de la escena musical de nuestro país. Director musical y arreglista de Joan Manuel Serrat, con quien ha efectuado cientos de conciertos, y fundador de grupos míticos como Iceberg y Pegasus, KITFLUS nunca había presentado un proyecto tan personal. Como arreglista ha colaborado con cantantes y grupos tan populares y diversos como Alejandro Sanz, Joaquín Sabina, Mecano, Ana Belen, Pasión Vega, Sergio Dalma, Lolita, Orquesta Mondragón, Camarón de la Isla, Los Amaya, Manzanita, Moncho, Pedro Guerra, Joana Mas… Acompañado por un cuarteto de cuerda estelar integrado por cuatro mujeres: Olvido Lanza (violín), Andrea Duca (violín), Úrsula Amargós (viola) y Alba Haro (violonchelo), Kitflus Ensemble presenta un concierto basado principalmente en música original, pero con algunas versiones muy conocidas.

LLUIS CAPDEVILA MOMPOU

Desde su más tierna infancia, la libertad de expresión y la creatividad le conectaron con la interpretación pianística, la composición y la improvisación. El jazz le llevó a Nueva York, donde estudió en la Aaron Copland School con la ayuda de una beca Fulbright y más tarde se doctoró en Artes Musicales en la Universidad de Stony Brook. Ha publicado seis álbumes explorando sus propias composiciones en una variedad de formatos: en solitario, dúo con Petros Klampanis (bajo) y trío añadiendo a Luca Santaniello (batería), y ocasionalmente con colaboradores estelares como Tom Harrell (fliscorno) y Joe Lovano (saxofón). Para su séptimo álbum ha recibido una beca Leonardo de la Fundación BBVA para reinterpretar y producir: ‘MOMPOU Revisited: Intimate Impressions’ en un contexto de trío de piano jazz.

ROBERTO NIEVA

Saxofonista y compositor nacido en Ávila y vinculado a la música desde muy temprana edad. Siempre preocupado por formarse, estudió en el Conservatorio Profesional de Música de su ciudad natal. Años más tarde se trasladó́ a San Sebastián para completar sus estudios en el Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco, Musikene, además de cursar un Máster en Investigación musical en la Universidad Internacional de Valencia, VIU. Fuera del marco académico ha podido estudiar y recibir clases magistrales de músicos como Branford Marsalis, Loren Stillman, Roman Filiu, Bob Mintzer o Immanuel Wilkins.
Su carrera individual se centra en liderar su propia banda con la cual ha grabado su segundo trabajo discográfico como líder que vió la luz en 2024 y con la cual ha podido actuar en el Festival de Jazz de Madrid, Festival de Jazz de Lugo, Festival de Jazz de San Sebastián, DebaJazz, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Bilbaina Jazz Club o Dazz entre otros.

Febrero 18, 2025

Alden Hellmuth – Good Intentions (Fresh Sound Records, 2024) – Review

by José Cabello Llano | Feb 18, 2025 | Album review, Jazz labels, Posts, SIDEBAR

ALDEN HELLMUTH

Good Intentions

Review

18

Febrero, 2025

Texto: Ricky Lavado

Fotos: Adi Meyerson (photos from the recording session).

Good Intentions (Fresh Sound Records, 2024).

Alden Hellmuth, Saxo Alto & Composiciones/ Yovenne Rogers, Piano/ Timothy Angulo, Batería/ Kanoa Mendenhall, Bajo/ Lucas Kadish, Guitarra. Invitados: Josh Evans, Trompeta/ Chris McCarthy, Rhodes.

Grabado en Figure 8 Studio in Brooklyn, NY.

Dice la saxofonista norteamericana Alden Hellmuth, en las notas que acompañan su primer album Good Intentions (entrada a lo grande en el inacabable catálogo de Fresh Sounds Records), que este disco “es un reflejo profundamente personal y sin complejos de quién soy en este momento”. Visto el sorprendente resultado conseguido, de un nivel impropio en un disco debut, ese reflejo del que habla Hellmuth nos muestra a una compositora e interprete fuera de lo común.

Escrito a lo largo de 2022, marcando un periodo que la propia autora define como un alejamiento de lo convencional para adentrarse en una filosofía de exploración de nuevos métodos compositivos derivados de su amor por la vanguardia, el debut de Alden Hellmuth es un soplo de aire fresco y un trabajo completísimo para el que la saxofonista de Connecticut afincada en Los Angeles se ha rodeado de un plantel de músicos realmente excepcional que llevan cada composición de Hellmuth a cotas de excelencia. Junto a Alden Hellmuth encontramos a la pianista Yovenne Rogers, el batería Timothy Angulo, la bajista Kanoa Mendenhall y el guitarrista Lucas Kadish. En varios momentos del disco se suman a la fiesta Josh Evans a la trompeta y Chris McCarthy al Rhodes, enriqueciendo aún más el despliegue de creatividad mostrado a lo largo de los 40 minutos de puro disfrute de un disco que vale mucho la pena.

Good Intentions, grabado en Brooklyn en 2023, muestra mil caras distintas de una creadora con un talento sobrenatural. Cada pasaje del álbum representa un estado de ánimo diferente, permitiéndonos asomarnos a una mente tan creativa como iconoclasta, siempre brillante e inquieta. Cada composición del álbum se desarrolla de forma libre y natural transitando mil caminos distintos, y manteniendo de alguna manera misteriosa una coherencia interna en la que cada elemento funciona como piezas de un mecanismo de precisión. Hay muchas Alden Hellmuths a lo largo de Good Intentions, y todas resultan divertidas, explosivas y elegantes.

En palabras de la propia Hellmuth, “los momentos más mágicos de la música son aquellos en los que el material anotado y las improvisaciones se entrelazan tanto que son casi indistinguibles. La música de Good Intentions fue elaborada con una flexibilidad y apertura que invita a los intérpretes a crear estos momentos de sinergia”.

Como un mosaico que por momentos se convierte en caleidoscopio, Good Intentions está construido como una suma de partes escritas específicamente para cada músico, ofreciendo una visión global del estado de gracia compositivo de Hellmuth, así como de la destreza individual de cada participante en la grabación, creando un conjunto tan variado y sorprendente como original y extremadamente bien ejecutado. Todo el mundo toca muy, muy bien aquí, y la inquietud creativa de Hellmuth nos hace viajar por pasajes de juego y diversión con modos de jazz moderno en la expansiva “Biting the hand (that feeds you)” o “The gavel”; o por momentos de misterio en “Personal Saints” (con un trabajo impresionante a cargo de Kanoa Mendelhall). En otros momentos, como en la pausada y embriagadora “Change like water”, el tono intimista y melancólico, sentimental incluso, toma las riendas. La tensión creada por el piano obsesivo de la titular “Good intentions” contrasta con la calidez de “Ambrosia & Vetiver”, en la que la guitarra se luce con un sonido clásico y elegante. Los fraseos interminables y entrelazados de saxo y guitarra de “Stream of” se convierten en una nube de groove y placidez; mientras que “Whirl”, pieza que cierra el disco y uno de sus momentos álgidos, nos muestra a la banda al completo llevando al extremo sus capacidades expresivas en un crescendo explosivo y luminoso que nos deja inevitablemente con ganas de más. Good Intentions es un disco soberbio, y un debut tan impresionante como esperanzador.

Texto: Ricky Lavado

Febrero 18, 2025

Natalia Kordiak – A Journey Through Music, Improvisation, and Education

Heidi Kvelvane – Travelling Saxophones

Clémetine Ristord: Petite Lucette

XV Festival Porta-Jazz – Arte sonoro aquí y ahora (Oporto, 2025)

AIEnRuta Jazz 2025

Alden Hellmuth – Good Intentions (Fresh Sound Records, 2024) – Review

Sigue a In&Out JAZZ

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