Baldo Martínez Sextet
Música Imaginaria (Imaginary Music) is the result of the carte blanche granted to Baldo Martínez by the Vitoria Jazz Festival and revolves around his musical universe, from the most archaic folklore to free improvisation in its purest form, passing through contemporary European Jazz—a space where Martínez developed a significant part of his music.
The title of this project, "Imaginary Music," is not random. It stems from that imaginary space that we all possess: imagination, one of the great capacities of the human being. It is something that enables us to travel wherever we want, be whatever we want to be, and conceive a world tailored to our liking. It is our space, one that only we can transform and, if we wish, isolate ourselves in or, when desired, share with others.
We imagine music and bring it to life, envisioning how it will sound with this or that instrument, with this or that musician, how instruments will interact—be it between two instruments, three, or a whole orchestra—how this compositional idea will sound, and what we will create in an improvisation.
This is the origin from which we start in Música Imaginaria, imagination, the driving force behind everything we create with sound—the music.
Música Imaginaria is inspired by various currents of the jazz avant-garde. On the one hand, the American, with reference points like Tim Berne, Sylvie Courvoisier & Mark Feldman, and a significant part of the movement around the figure of John Zorn. On the other hand, European currents of contemporary jazz, such as the recent works of Swiss drummer Daniel Humair, where the accordion takes on great importance, just like in this project of Imaginary Music. It creates a bridge between traditional-folklore music and contemporary music, as seen in the cases of Jean-Louis Matinier or Vincent Peirani, who collaborates with the aforementioned Humair. Other influential musicians in this music include Henry Texier, Louis Sclavis, or Arild Andersen.
Música Imaginaria features six prominent musicians from the Iberian jazz scene with a significant presence in contemporary European Jazz—a meticulous selection based on both their instruments and creative capacity.
On July 5, 2023, it premiered in concert on the main stage of the Vitoria Jazz Festival, warmly received by the audience as a pleasant surprise, as reflected in the entirety of the specialized press.
Joâo Barradas / Accordion
Andrés Coll / Vibraphone and Marimba
Julián Sánchez / Trumpet and Horn
Juan Saiz / Saxophones and Flute
Lucía Martínez / Drums and percussion
Baldo Martínez / Double Bass, composition and direction
- P R E S S -
Música Imaginaria is inspired by different currents of the jazz avant-garde.
Six prominent musicians from the Spanish and Portuguese jazz scene with great projection in contemporary European Jazz participate in this, a meticulous selection both for their instruments and for their creative capacity.
It was presented in concert on July 5, exclusive premiere at the Vitoria Jazz Festival
It was presented in concert on July 5, exclusive premiere at the Vitoria Jazz Festival
“Baldo has produced a greater work of our contemporary times, with a lot of organic substance released in a sextet between musical arrangements as exciting as hieroglyphics”
-EL MUNDO-Pablo Sanz-
“Vitoria: Baldo Martínez and María Schneider great orchestras”
-JAZZMAGAZINE-Robert Latxagüe-
“Baldo Martínez premieres his jazz with success in Mendizorroza”
“If it has to be qualified, the collection of songs by Baldo Martínez takes cum laude”
“….the truth is that those responsible for the cycle were right because the premiere was a success in terms of quality”
“And this is how this project has come to light, like a journey through his musical universe, where they fit from the roots of folklore to contemporary jazz, without forgetting free improvisation”
-EL CORREO DE ALAVA-Natxo Artundo-
“Baldo is a style in itself, part of the (tiny) family of Spanish jazz players with a European sound.”
“It was Baldo Martínez in its purest form: music of open spaces and infectious groove; between the demand of the complex rhythms, the contrapuntal melodies and the free cry of the soloists; dreamlike textures, playful passages, almost circus lace accompaniments, folkloric textures of that
Galician landscape and mythology so deeply rooted in its sound. And space, lots of space for individual expression.”
“From the expanding energy and irrepressible talent of Coll to the imaginary world, the trademark of Baldo, capable of invoking silence and concentration in the always difficult space of Mendizorrotza.”
-EL CLUB DE JAZZ.COM- Carlos Pérez Cruz-
“In short, a success of the festival, a great job by the musicians who provided a
A unique experience for the respectable and a sports center that without presenting a clear full house, as is customary on the other hand in the first days of the festival, showed a warm appearance and a willing crowd, almost hungry for art.”
-NAIZ-Santiago Noriega-
About concert at Vitoria Jazz Festival