Rodrigo Recabarren, Pablo Menares, Yago Vazquez - Familia (2024) [Hi-Res]

Hailing from Chile, (Recabarren and Menares) and Galicia, Spain (Vazquez) these young artists embed a wealth of cultural experiences to their musical dexterity. Paying tribute to the music of their childhoods, the trio utilizes a variety of folkloric musical traditions into an album that like many within Pan-Latin Jazz, hybridizes various cultural attributes into compositions that reflect the complexities of our modern world. Fearless, comfortable with a variety of genres and styles of music, a deep trust and confidence binds their collective musical ambitions.

Migrating to New York City in 2009, Recabarren and Menares quickly found themselves in similar social circles as students and artists navigating the magnetic pulse of the Jazz capital of the US. Soon they bumped into Vazquez and began sharing a collective passion for “futbol,” food, family, and the burgeoning dynamic of how well they collaborated together.

Recabarren quickly discovered that his bass and piano playing companions had a very unique way of communicating musically. “It's kind of like telepathy,” Recabarren describes, adding “they just accept each other. It's just like a conversation with a good group of friends and a bottle of wine.” For the trio, Familia is an expression of shared mutual experiences but also the curiosity required to explore how personal identity shapes the music they wish to explore. As Recabarren sees it, “there are few things more important than identity. I moved to the states to learn about US folklore and in the process I found myself.”

The theme of Familia runs through the album: and not just blood relatives, but families of choice; families that help shape our identities, and creative passions.

“We all migrated to NYC together and created a family,” Recabarren recalls, remembering the years spent learning about themselves as much as they did mastering the mechanics of Jazz. For the trio, Jazz has been the vehicle of choice to engage and explore the total circumference of their musical lives.

“I think jazz does that to people” Recabarren believes. “It’s a language that allows you to explore beauty, subjects in depth, and I think that I’m realizing this through this album as well.”

Yago Vazquez, piano
Pablo Menares, bass
Rodrigo Recabarren, drums