Tracks
- Every Day Life 2. Night Hunter 3. Tea in the Sahara 4. Moon Flower 5. Doors 6. Roadless Travel 7. Lullaby for an Adult 8. Parentesi
Performers:
Mikel Gaztelurrutia – piano, Rhodes
Javier Callen – double bass
Aritza Castro – drums, percussion
Record Label: Errabal Jazz
Pianist and composer Mikel Gaztelurrutia was born in Eibar (Guipúzcoa, Spain). He holds a degree in piano from the Barcelona Conservatory and completed his jazz piano studies at the Taller de Musics in Barcelona. In addition to his extensive teaching experience, his career is marked by a prolific career as a composer and arranger, as well as director and creator of numerous projects such as the Mikel Gaztelurrutia Trio, The New Jazz Voices Ensemble, Brazilian Sextet, and the show YO! alongside the American choreographer Becky Sigel.
Among others, he has played with Joan Diaz, Mikel Andueza, Richie Ferrer, Borja Barrueta, Vincent Thomas, Miquel Casany, “Wagon Cookin'”, Toño de Miguel, David Johnstone, Carlos Nuñez, and Kepa Junkera.
He is a professor of jazz piano at the Higher Conservatory of Navarre and a professor of music pedagogy at the Public University of Navarre.
He has just released his third album, following “The New Jazz Voices Ensemble” (2009) and “Walk” (2016), entitled “Black on White,” for which he collaborated with two experienced musicians: drummer Aritza Castro and bassist Javier Callen.
Castro has a solid background in both classical and jazz music. He holds a degree in jazz from Musikene and has studied at the Escuela de Música Creativa in Madrid.
Callen, a sought-after musician and graduate of the Higher Conservatory of Music of Navarre, has had a long and varied career, participating in countless studio recordings and collaborating with a multitude of artists and projects over the years.
Gaztelurrutia bases his compositions and arrangements on three pillars: the classical music he studied (Mozart, Chopin, etc.); the African American music he listened to on the radio (Motown, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Sly & The Family Stone, Michael Jackson, etc.); and the records he exchanged with his friends.
According to Gaztelurrutia, the title reflects several things: First, the piano keys, black and white. He works daily in a completely white room with a black piano in the center. Second, the contrasts of life. And, above all, the contrast between African American music (Motown, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, etc.) and classical music (Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, etc.).
In “Black on White,” all of that is present. The album begins with “Every Day Life,” a lively, carefree, and somewhat ever-changing track. In “Night Hunter,” he presents a more serene and intriguing side, with a cinematic sound.
Since childhood, Gaztelurrutia has followed The Police with particular interest. He includes their song “Tea in the Sahara,” a respectful cover of the original, with remarkable results.
In “Moon Flower,” he demonstrates that modern jazz holds no secrets for this trio. Excellent work by the trio as a whole.
The same can be said of “Doors,” which includes the darbuka, a percussion instrument of Arabic origin used throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
With “Roadless Travel,” he offers us beautiful landscapes on a pleasant imaginary journey.
Emotion and delicacy emerge in “Nana para un adulto” (Lullaby for an Adult), a composition dedicated to his grandfather.
The album concludes with the brief and beautiful “Parentesi,” performed on solo piano.
The trio is one of Gaztelurrutia’s favorite formations, both for composing and performing, and this is evident on this album.
This well-oiled trio features a powerful rhythm section of bass and drums, and the piano creates colorful melodies.
A great album.
La Habitación del Jazz