Description
Since the 1990s, the New York jazz scene has come to exemplify the city's reputation as a haven for immigrants - drummer Rodrigo Recabarren, bassist Pablo Menares, and pianist Yago Vazquez arrived in the late 2000s as part of that movement. Recabarren and Menares from the Chilean capital of Santiago, Vazquez from the Galicia region in northern Spain - Their friendship led to the formation of the trio and the release of their debut album, Desde La Lluvia (2017).
As the trio prepared for their sophomore release, Familia; the pandemic grounded them thousands of miles from each other. The three musicians deepened their study of the rich rhythmic language of folkloric music as it has manifested throughout the Spanish-speaking world, especially in South America, where Menares and Recabarren grew up. Vazquez's "Terra" makes the connection between the Galician rhythm xota and the South American rhythm chacarera. Vazquez named "Aninovo" ('new year' in Galician) for its exploration of musical possibilities also from the chacarera rhythm.
Menares' "Despues de todo" was originally a solo guitar piece he wrote in 2020, referencing a poem by Chilean poet Jorge Teillier. "Santiago" is an important title for Recabarren, being the name of his son and the home of his family; the music of Familia honors both the New York jazz family of three that the trio have forged, as well as their respective families of origin thousands of miles away.