The Galician double-bass player Baldo Martínez is one
of the most representative musicians
within Spanish contemporary jazz and one of those with greater recognition
outside of Spain. Among his most recent projects deserves special attention the Projecto Miño,
one of the most daring directed by Baldo
Martinez. A recently published album of this project has been considered by the French magazine JAZZ MAGAZINE "as the top 10 album of the
month of January 2008,"also it was nominated for best jazz album
in Music Award, and was Best album of 2008 in the magazine CUADERNOS DE JAZZ.
Founding member of
bands like Clunia or Zyklus, groups directed to explore new paths, in
1994 he created his own group, without neglecting his collaborations with
musicians like Kenny Wheeler, Carlo Actis Dato, Maria Joao, Jorge Pardo Paolo
Fresu and Joachim Kuhn. The latter presented in the Festival de Jazz de San
Sebastián 2006 as "Iberia Trio" with special guest: the french
clarinetist Louis Sclavis.
Baldo Martinez's first record, "No Pais dos
Enanos" was received with very positive reviews and was considered by the
magazine Cuadernos de Jazz as the 2nd best record in 1996. Two years later he
presented his 2nd work as leader, "Juego de Niños" in the
Matosinhos-Porto International European Jazz Festival (Portugal) where it
received great acclaim from the public and very favourable reviews.This record
was also considered to be one of the 5 best in 1998.He also presented it in
France, where it was very well recieved "standing apart within Spanish
Jazz,Baldo Martinez impregnates with elegance and creativity the paths of
European Jazz". Featured also in the special cultural supplement
Babelia, to celebrate the 25th aniversary of the newspaper El País,he was
considered to be one of the most prominent Spanish jazz musicians within the
European jazz scene.
The past may this group have participate in the EUROJAZZ
in Mexico, this festival show the last ways of European Jazz.
"The Baldo Martinez quintet has managed to .........the idea of
flamenco-jazz and has enriched it with the influence of popular music creating a personal language...a music laced
with ethnic tonalities with contemporary
touches"(El Heraldo De MEXICO (April 2002)
In 1999 he was asked to lead "Miño Project"
in the International Jazz Festival in Guimaraes,
Portugal,
considered to be one of the most important within the new European jazz scene.
This project develops a reperetory based on the traditional music of Galicia and the north of Portugal, with a 9 piece band (Maria
Joao, Gregg Moore, Carlos Beceiro, etc..).Worthy of mention also is his
recent collaboration with the Italian musician Carlo Actis Dato o Paolo
Fresu the last Summer
It is one of the most stable and solid groups
currently existing in Spain,
formed with internationally recognized musicians. Baldo Martinez have take his
music for Spain, Germany, Portugal, Maruecos,
Mexico, Luxemburgo, France,
etc...
The recording by the title "Nai"
(2001), mixes a large part of his recent musical
experiences, and we can find music inspired in folk, especially Galician,
played with vanguard style within current European jazz.
The group in “Tusitala” is formed by leading musicians
from the national scene; the guitarrist, also Galician, Antonio Bravo, revelation in recent years; the British
trumpet-player David Herrington, very
creative with his warm sound, on drums and electronic percussion, Pedro Lopez, one of the most
imaginative musicians who also formed part of the group Zyklus with Baldo
Martinez, and the most recent member, Eduardo
Ortega, a young violinist, virtuoso and great improviser, who lends the
group a personality and sonority that fits perfectly within the eschetic
planning of Baldo Martinez's music.
5 years after it's creation, he presented the Projecto Miño in Spain last January in
the Circulo de bellas Artes in Madrid within the Festival Internacional Escena
Contemporánea, achieving great recognition from the public and media, who
described it as "one of the most emotive, ambitious, exuberant and
intelligent projects that has appeared in Spanish jazz in a long time"
Pablo Sanz –EL MUNDO-
Before the Projecto Miño was created in Guimaraes Jazz Festival (Portugal) and after presented
in Germany in “Trienal Festival of Cologne” and “European Jazz made in….” in Jazzclub Unterfahrt, Munich,
During this year, 2005, he has edited two cd's, one
with his quintet, called
TUSITALA and another in duo with the Italian saxophone and bass-clarinet player Carlo Actis Dato, titled FOLKLORE IMAGINARIO from the British label, Leo
Records.
In 2006 he formed TRIEZ
with Agustí Fernandez and Ramón
López., they presented this group in “JAZZYCOLRS FESTIVAL” in Paris,
November 2006. Several french critics said: "From the first moment of action
is clear the connection between the musicians and the "trialogue"
becomes exciting. "
On June 2018 a new project was published, "Baldo Martínez Cuarteto Europe"
with Samuel Blaser on trombone,
violin and Dominique Pifarély, Ramon Lopez Drums and percussion.
At present, on July 5, 2023, it premiered in concert on the main stage of the
Vitoria Jazz Festival a new project, MÚSICA IMAGINARIA ,
carte blanche granted to Baldo Martínez by this Festival
