La Pedrera makes autochthonous jazz visible

The Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation has been linked to music for years. The Talents Jazz a La Pedrera cycle is not a surprise; it is a success resulting from accumulated experience and maturity. Playing on the rooftop of such an emblematic building is taking club culture to another level. It is a kind of intermediate step between cava jazz and the medium-format festivals held during the summer months across the territory. This was perceived with the presence of the Barcelona Art Orchestra (BAO).

The BAO is an initiative of Lluís Vidal and Néstor Giménez, who served as directors and pianists throughout the session; plus the ubiquitous Lluc Casares, on saxophone, and Joan Vidal, on drums. The group presented with a formation of ten musicians to dissect the Talent Legacy project, a tribute to prominent figures from the Taller de Músics. On this occasion, it was dedicated to guitarist Sean Levitt (1955-2002), who lived in Barcelona and became close to the Taller de Músics.

Levitt recorded little, but that has not prevented the harmonious talent of the mini big band from surpassing the scrutiny of Antoni Gaudí's vibrant architecture and Jaume Plensa's harmonious sculpture —a wide collection of whose pieces are exhibited in the building— and of those present, scattered across the undulating terrace and, for the most part, attentive to what was happening on a non-existent stage, while the city bid farewell to the afternoon and welcomed dusk.

Navigating the unevenness of the viewpoint, climbing and descending steps, moving away from the instruments and listening to the music accompanied by a gentle breeze is appreciated. Observing how the notes are launched with parsimony and without fear through the stairwell. Reaching the ground floor and feeling that the melody sliding from the opening located in the center of the terrace —six, seven floors above, depending on how you look at it— is a delight until the night swallows the audiophile. But this will happen later.

Both with the music of the American and with the original pieces, the participants built a contemporary sound edifice from agile, dynamic jazz, with poetic strokes and certain cinematic atmospheres in Claudia Bosch's voice, sustained by Vidal's percussion, Rai Paz's calm and aromatic guitar, which later in the session gave way to Vicent Solsona, who was more electric, and Vidal's piano playing, a renowned musician and recognized teacher.

Vidal and Giménez, in their capacity as arrangers, presented an elegant Mr. Henderson and an emotional November Song, respectively. Before, the orchestra performed the subtle Tenochtitlan, all by Levitt, on this occasion with arrangements by Casares. If the honoree savored three triumphs of his work, the original pieces presented, notably Las grandes alamedas, by Jofre Fité, showed their quality. The orchestra, which shows its rhythmic cohesion and the respective solos accentuate the way of expressing itself, nothing rigid, is completed with Guillem Payaró, flute; Jason Perera Westerdale, violin; Nil Martí, alto sax; Javier Sánchez Rojo, tenor sax and clarinet; Tomeu Estelrich, trumpet, and Sergio Cañizares, double bass.

Both with the music of the American, and with the original pieces, the participants built a contemporary sound edifice

The Foundation creates synergies with educational organizations such as the Conservatorio del Liceu, ESMUC and Taller de Músics, whose objective is the exposure and dissemination of a program of jazz and other non-mainstream music, which maps talent wherever it may be. Innovations surprise and are often overlooked. But when conviction and insistence are sustained, they usually become references difficult to ignore. The cycle will be held until mid-August.