Magdalena
“Sobre el duro Magdalena, largo proyecto de mar, islas de pluma y arena graznan a la luz solar.”
“Over the mighty Magdalena, a lengthy project of the sea, its islands of feather and sand cry its raucous call to the sun’s light.”
Nicolás Guillén
Recorded in 2018, this is Joan Chávez’ first studio album as a bandleader. The music was developed as a result of his career in Bogotá, Colombia and Cologne, Germany. Being a sideman double bass player Joan has built a career playing in different formations. This time, his trio brings the mixture of two cities, presenting the sounds of modern Jazz and folkloric influences.
Río Grande de la Magdalena is Colombia’s main river. Its stream begins in the Andes mountains and during its path, feeds hidden landscapes, and specially, stories, music and traditions.
The Band
Moritz Baranczyk: Drums
Richard Brenner: Piano
The Trio is based in Cologne, Germany and has been playing as a band since 2016. After getting together for rhythmical explorations and searching for a unique sound as a group, they started playing music composed by the bass player Joan Chávez. Even though the music has elements of traditional South American folklore, the musicians have developed their own interpretation by adapting their own sound to the project.
With Jazz-piano trio sounds the band explores the contrasts of South American music and blends contemporary Jazz with ancestral influences.
Although the music has a strong element of freedom in which each member contributes with his own language, the compositions delineate a travel through different Colombian influences.
"African and Indigenous peoples brought the rhythms, the harmonies came from Europe, but the melodies came from all of them."
"The idea of approaching traditional folklore with modern Jazz language, has the same development as it had when European cultures merged with African and Indigenous traditions creating new musical identities. The interaction of different cultures has also been my personal experience working with local musicians and teachers from Essen and Cologne, in which I have received many different inputs and influences, as well as I have offered some of the elements of South American Folklore to the members of the band."
