CELEBRANDO A TETE (90º aniversario de Tete Montoliú) – IGNASI TERRAZA TRIO + PERICO SAMBEAT

• Reduced mobility
• Magnetic loop

Twenty-six years after his death, very few jazz pianists can say that their careers have been marked by such decisive elements as those that made Tete Montoliú a legend. If there is one thing that stands out in this tribute, so lovingly organised by the Zaragoza Jazz Festival, it is the noble effort to place the musician and his extraordinary professional career in the place they should always have occupied: the Olympus of our country’s very best performers.

Tete, whose talent was recognised both north and south of the Pyrenees, was already a regular and much sought-after star in the clubs of Madrid and Barcelona in the 1960s. By the 1970s he was enjoying huge success all over the world, and, in the 1980s and 1990s, he was regularly honoured at a wide range of official events. Thanks to this tribute, Tete is now being brought back to life for the whole world to enjoy. The performers taking part in the event write their messages and remember the man who once paved the way for jazz to occupy a bright space in our country. And all because the deep beat of his left hand and the lively and intelligent spark that flowed from his right hand remain unchanged in the air. And now, on what would have been the musician’s 90th birthday, some of his closest companions and some very special guests are here to celebrate the occasion.

His counterpart and pupil Ignasi Terraza will be there: a very solid asset when it comes to contemporary jazz piano in our country. He will be accompanied by Horacio Fumero, one of the double bass players who, for more than two decades, was best able to keep up with the rhythmic arrangements of the person we’re here to honour. And, finally, to complete the current rhythm section, David Xirgu, the drummer whom Tete helped to learn the ropes on so many occasions, has also been called up.

The line-up also includes appearances by special guests such as Perico Sambeat and María del Mar Bonet. The Valencian saxophonist led the recording session for the album Starting Point (Punto de partida), which also featured Tete and trumpeter Wallace Roney. The Mallorcan singer María del Mar Bonet sang on Jim, a version of the old Billie Holiday song. Firmly established as the great singer of the Mediterranean, Bonet also has a special surprise in store for us, related to the fascination she has always felt for Maestro Tete Montoliú.

Once again, we will be able to enjoy a repertoire that is essentially a selection of some of the most important works that formed part of Tete Montoliú’s sound universe; mainly reworkings of standards and some of his own compositions. And, with all that, we will once again enjoy Tete’s spirited departures from predictable melodic structures and his indefinite endings. Two of his most common devices. As common as the mischief he used to get up to with references, tonality and dissonance.

In this tribute, Tete is the timeless and undisputed genius. The protagonists of the event, the present experienced in the everyday space of the Fernán Gómez as a one-way bet.