"The first important moment for me was discovering Jerry Lee Lewis's music, on a senior trip to Madrid, thanks to the movie Great Balls of Fire. I already played the piano back then, but I was totally impacted by the simplicity of what I heard and the energy it transmitted. I immediately wanted to play like him."
This is how Lluís Coloma, Coca-Cola in hand at the bar, recounts his first encounter with "that music that came mainly from boogie woogie, blues, and country," and which marked a point of no return in the life of the person who has ended up being a significant name in the Barcelona piano blues scene. In the background, Ray Charles belts out Greenbacks and the musician smiles, acquiescent.
Pianist, organist, teacher, composer, arranger, promoter, road manager, and professional musician since the mid-90s, he confesses to having fallen in love with his grandmother's piano at the age of 9. "I spent hours and hours playing it and learning, basically self-taught, different styles, starting with classical music and then discovering rock & roll, blues, and boogie woogie."
In the summer of 2001, he experienced another important moment, "my trip to the La Roquebrou boogie woogie Festival, where I discovered and connected with the entire scene of European pianists." That encouraged him to create his trio, "compose songs, organize concerts, and start my solo career and release my first album." Now he's on his thirteenth and performs in the United States, Europe, and Asia. "Also," he adds, "I've been lucky enough to learn from great pianists like Bob Seeley, Barrelhouse Chuck, Carl Sonny Leyland, or Axel Zwingenberger, among many others."
A very well-accompanied journey
In his comings and goings on stages and in recording studios around the world, Lluís Coloma highlights, above all, "having been able to record albums with the Chicago blues pianist, Barrelhouse Chuck, who taught me the purity of the style and to respect tradition; with Bob Seeley, the great boogie woogie legend, who learned directly from Meade Lux Lewis, who taught me the magic of the left hand; with Sax Gordon, one of the best current blues and rhythm & blues saxophonists. And, above all, having been able to make a living doing what I love most, which is playing the piano and making people happy with my music."
--- And now, what are you involved in?
--- Right now I am totally dedicated to my new project Lluís Coloma & His Musical Troupe with which I have just released the album Trip to Everywhere, on the Blue Moon Inner Jazz label, from the Barcelona record company Fresh Sound Records.
In defining his new album, the artist does not hesitate to describe it as different, "since I don't like to repeat albums", and highlights the work of the prestigious producer Jaime Stinus, who has worked with musicians such as Los Rebeldes, Loquillo or the Orquesta Mondragón, the ideal partner to polish eleven original compositions where "I have incorporated new sounds into my musical universe, including percussion, arrangements for a brass section and a string quartet. Each track transports you to sounds ranging from blues to country music, passing through classical and even Ennio Morricone". Convinced that this new collection of songs represents "a turning point in my career", the local shows satisfaction for a musical compendium "very personal but without forgetting tradition", in the company of a troupe, "which in each situation can be different and allows me to investigate and improvise".
A city where you feel at home
"It's hard for me to synthesize everything the city conveys to me into something concrete. What I love about Barcelona is its beach, its music scene, its gastronomy, its people, its markets, its walks, its parks, its architecture… And oh yes! Sirvent's horchata! Sometimes, I just like to walk its streets. Then I feel at home," explains the musician, vintage of '73, who lived in the city until he was 27 years old.
"What I love about Barcelona is its beach, its music scene, its gastronomy, its people, its markets, its walks, its parks, its architecture… And oh yes! Sirvent's horchata!""When they ask me, I always proudly say that I am from Barcelona. I think it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I suppose the emotional part doesn't let me be very objective when it comes to evaluating it," explains the musician and composerto whom the love for the city does not prevent him from longing for "all that atmosphere full of small traditional shops of a lifetime, those spaces with magic that have gone and that are being lost over time". And he cannot avoid having a special memory for the Honky Tonk Blues Bar in Sants, promoted in its day by ---also a regular---Blas Picón, and regret its closure. "Many people from Barcelona have had to leave because of how expensive the city has become, as money has been prioritized over many other things."
--- What we prioritize here, however, is our succulent gastronomic offer based on exquisite portions, amazing sandwiches, rich combined dishes or an excellent menu... in case you want to eat something.
Faced with the offer, Lluís Coloma winks and, after a moment of silence to enjoy the exchange and response of Ray Charles and the Raelettes in that incendiary classic of profane gospel that is What'd I say, he declares, with the accent and swagger of a three-hundred-year-old Delta bluesman:
--- I'm not hungry but I like to eat!