Album Notes

Pianist Ricardo Gallo and his Quartet deliver us their second album, “Urdimbres y Marañas” (weavings and tangles), a further elaboration and braver exploration of the symbiosis of two traditions: Colombian musical folklore, and jazz. Ricardo Gallo Quartet maintains in this album an avant-garde spirit, openness to improvisation, a variety of compositions, and a search for sonorities within the group. The Quartet is formed along with some of the best musicians from Bogotá, and Colombia: Jorge Sepúlveda on drums, Juan Manuel Toro on double bass, Juan David Castaño on percussion, and Ricardo Gallo on piano. They all are leaders of their own projects and collaborators on other groups in the vanguard of Colombian music.
In “Urdimbres y Marañas”, the most exciting trend lies on the adventure with time and rhythm. Having two well-rounded percussionists, and a very rhythmic sensitive bass player alongside, Gallo is able to explore the piano and his talent as composer freely.
Two of the tracks are recorded on a Fender Rhodes, one of the tracks on electric bass, and all sorts of different percussion instruments are used throughout, expanding the palette of sounds within the quartet.
The critics have already reacted to “Urdimbres y Marañas”:
“Out of the young Colombian musicians, Ricardo Gallo is one of those who offer greater clarity. He has obtained a good balance between experimentation and concretion…”
Writes José Alejandro Cepeda from Arcadia, a cultural magazine that comes with Semana, one of the most renowned Colombian publications.
Definitely a further step from the acclaimed first album of the group “Los Cerros Testigos”.