Rodrigo Recabarren, Yago Vazquez, and Pablo Menares

Yago Vazquez -piano & compositions
Pablo Menares -bass & compositions
Rodrigo Recabarren -drums & compositions

Release of album "Familia" by Recabarren/Menares/Vazquez

Since the 1990s, the New York jazz scene has come to exemplify the city's reputation as a haven for immigrants. Bassist Pablo Menares, drummer Rodrigo Recabarren, and pianist Yago Vazquez arrived in the late 2000s as part of that movement. Menares and Recabarren from the Chilean capital of Santiago, Vazquez from the Galicia region in northern Spain. The three quickly found solace in sharing their passion for the jazz idiom with one another in their shared native language. This friendship led to the formation of the trio and the release of their debut album, Desde La Lluvia (2017), winning the Martin Codax Music Award 2018 for Best Jazz Artist.

As they began to prepare for their sophomore release, Familia; the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown grounded them thousands of miles from each other. During this time, the three musicians began to deepen their study of the rich rhythmic language of folkloric music as it has manifested throughout the Spanish-speaking world, especially in South America, where Menares and Recabarren grew up. The music in Familia honors both the New York jazz family of three that they have forged through the music, as well as their respective families of origin thousands of miles away.

(by Alex Rodriguez)