The album Letter premiered on March 8th at Teatros del Canal in Madrid, within the FIAS 2022 Festival, and on March 10th at a sold out Conservatori del Liceu, as part of the program of the Barcelona International Jazz Festival
Letter to Milos, again, gathers the original trio with which Marco recorded Ravel’s dreams (2017)
and Talismán (2019): Aleix Tobias on percussion and Martín Meléndez on cello.
The album delves into the playful and colorful spirit that has led this —now seasoned— trio
from its beginning. The work contains pieces in which the musicians return to their evocations of
traditional Iberian music, to their taste for musical syncretism (in this case, linking Cuban son
with Brazilian samba) or to their usual nods to romanticism but, in addition, they pay tribute to
free jazz, blues, circus music and groove. Marco says that the album is a very sincere testimony of his artistic identity at this time, as well
as, obviously, a love letter to his son in the first year of his life.
«On the album I have poured the lyricism that inhabits me, and my many convictions: from my
declared love of tonality to the freedom of free, bringing together the joy I find in the
composition of small pieces with improvisation and the spirit of play» Marco comments. «In
Letter to Milos we explore new and diverse paths and sounds: the meditative and hypnotic
depth of “Nacimiento” or “Infinito”, the power and groove of “Charrada de la vida” or
“Sonajero”, the progressive pop of “El cielo en tus brazos”, the nod to blues and the circus of
“Percebes y zamburiñas”, the minimal punk of “Pauta completa”, and the edges of the free of
“Onírico” and “Umbilical”, we pay tribute to various styles of music Ibérica (corrido maragato,
ajechao, sorteao and bulería) with “Pandero Suite”, created together with Aleix Tobias; we let
ourselves go in the subtle and naive melody of “El beso” —by Martín Meléndez— and
“Lluminosa”, we invented our particular syncretism, mixing Cuban son and Brazilian samba, in
“Passarinho”; “Letter to Milos” and “Milos Smiles” are the marks of my love of romanticism (with
a subtle tribute to Brahms) and jazz standards, respectively.
"There travels my musical letter, «Letter to Milos», from me to you; and I hope you enjoy it."
BIOGRAPHY
Marco Mezquida (Maó, 1987) is one of the most brilliant and promising appearances on the
peninsula's music scene in decades and an artist destined to conquer any imaginable stage in
the world. He has been elected Musician of the Year 4 times by the Association of Jazz and
Modern Musicians of Catalonia; He has presented his solo piano concert at the impressive Palau
de la Música, a privilege reserved for long-standing pianists, and has been summoned by an
endless list of first-rate artists to record albums and concerts all over the world. Brilliant as a
composer, pianist, improviser, bandleader, eclectic and versatile: Jarrett, Schubert, Ravel,
Gesualdo or Bley, to name a few, blend exquisitely into Marco's musical DNA, whose vertiginous
concert activity has led him to perform in important auditoriums and halls in 32 countries
around the world on 4 continents.
Marco performs an average of 180 concerts a year since 2015 and has recorded more than 50
albums: 15 as leader and co-leader of his groups recording his own music and 36 as sideman or
collaborator on various projects. His projects as leader/co-leader include his acclaimed trio with
flamenco guitarist Chicuelo, his evocative project Los Sueños de Ravel (Ravel's Dreams)
revisiting the music of the great French composer, the acclaimed duo with the great singer Silvia Pérez Cruz, his seductress blind date with the dancer Sol Picó, the power trio MAP (Mezquida-
Aurignac-Prats), his Danish trio Pieris (Mezquida-Bodilsen-Andersen), his lunatic duo with the
singer Celeste Alías, his infinite connection with the flutist Pablo Selnik, or with the double bass
player Manel Fortià, the trumpeter Félix Rossy, the pianist Albert Bover, the percussionists
Ramón López and Marc Miralta, the tribute to the French chanson with his admired Alfonso de
Vilallonga and finally his praised solo piano concerts, a format with which he has led him to be
called a “piano magician” and to have his own cult voice in the world scene.
1Nacimiento05:34
Music: Martin MelendezISRC: ES18B-21-04915
2El cielo en tus brazos02:37
Music: Marco Mezquida/Aleix TobiasISRC: ES18B-21-04916
3Sonajero03:22
Music: Aleix TobiasISRC: ES18B-21-04917
4Corazón feliz00:39
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04918
5Charrada de la vida06:29
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04919
6Percebes y zamburiñas02:07
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04920
7El beso04:57
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04921
8Onírico01:12
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04922
9Letter to Milos02:59
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04923
10Pandero Suite05:22
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04924
11Pauta completa01:00
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04925
12Umbilical00:42
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04927
13Lluminosa03:13
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04928
14Passarinho03:29
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04929
15Milos Smiles05:28
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04930
16Infinito04:29
Music: Marco MezquidaISRC: ES18B-21-04931