Marco Mezquida + Gregory Porter
Marco Mezquida: Tornado
Marco Mezquida (piano), Masa Kamaguchi (double bass), Ramon Prats (drums)
At only 36 years of age, Menorcan pianist and composer Marco Mezquida has already amassed an impressive body of work and recognitions that would represent their life’s accomplishment for many artists. Mezquida, who currently enjoys cult musician status at international level, is a versatile improviser and arranger, a prodigious and chameleonic pianist, and an inspired and brilliant tunesmith.
Mezquida has recorded more than twenty albums as a frontman, and more than forty as a sideman or collaborator on myriad projects. His dizzy concert schedule has seen him perform in major Jazz auditoriums and festivals worldwide, such as Tokyo, London, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, the Hong Kong Arts Festival and, of course, at the Jazzaldia.
His musical versatility always brings a natural ability to combine pop and cult music, in a personal cocktail of widely ranging styles including Jazz, free improvisation, romantic, impressionist, baroque, contemporary, pop, folkloric, flamenco music…
Over his short but hugely intense career he has worked with big-name singers such as Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Salvador Sobral, Andrea Motis, Noa, Carme Canela, Celeste Alías, and with Jazz greats including Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Bill McHenry, Elliot Zigmund, Jorge Rossy, Billy Hart, Perico Sambeat, Giulia Valle, Gorka Benítez, Giulia Valle Group, Gonzalo del Val Trio, Michael Olivera Group, Guillermo McGill, Julián Sánchez…
Also worthy of note are his highly praised solo piano concerts where he lends scope to his creative freedom as an improvisor and composer, highlighting his passion for music and his unique relationship with the piano, as shown by his five solo albums of live and studio performances on the instrument.
At this edition of the Jazzaldia, Marco Mezquida brings us his latest album: Tornado (2023). A self-published work with and for two old and much-loved friends with whom he shares a long history of music, connection and on-the-road experiences: Masa Kamaguchi on the double bass and Ramon Prats on the drums. The result is music with a whole range of registers, full of contrasts, created around three strong and highly expressive musical personalities, where visceral moments alternate with spaces of more introspective and intimate intensity.
Gregory Porter
Gregory Porter (vocals), Chip Crawford (piano), Emanuel Harrold (drums), Tivon Pennicott (sax), Jahmal Nichols (bass), Ondrej Pivec (Hammond)
Gregory Porter is an elegant and sophisticated singer, with a unique, powerful, sensual and seductive voice. Porter’s vocal mastery, his emotional intensity, his ability to transcend genres and connect with the audience, his impressive figure, his timeless style… are some of the reasons why Gregory Porter is rated among the best vocalists of contemporary Jazz.
The baritone, originally hailing from Sacramento, received a scholarship to play American football at San Diego State University. However, a shoulder injury in the first season forced him to abandon the sport, and he has been singing ever since. With influences drawing on the blues, gospel and soul, Porter admires singers like Nat King Cole, Joe Williams, Donny Hathaway, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. Having made his debut at the age of 38 with Water (2010), he has gone on to bring out another four solo albums, having received 7 Grammy nominations and 2 awards, sold millions of albums and clocked up more than 1.6 billion streams to date.
Gregory Porter came to the Jazzaldia for the first time in 2013, still as a relatively unknown singer. Since that first concert on the Kursaal terraces we have followed the evolution of this great songster who, with the passing of time, has become what he is today: a star, one of the leading voices of 21st century Jazz.
