HILARIO RODEIRO: The subtle instant and its rhythmic language PAUSA lp

Hilario Rodeiro not only has an extensive career as a collaborator with artists such as Gordon Lee, Sabine Kühlich, Chris Kase, Bob Sands, and Deborah Carter, but this Galician drummer, producer, and composer based in Euskadi has also been part of renowned projects such as Pamplona Jazz Orquesta, R.S. Faktor, CiTriC, and Los Wachisneis. His extensive recording work has led him to countless recording sessions over time, highlighting his works as a leader: Transoceánica (2017), Respira (2022), Cosmic Latte (2018), and Lila no Ceo (2020), the last two under the pseudonyms Tnuk and Anosmic. As a contemporary dance composer, he has created music for shows such as Orígenes, Elektrical Body, and Transoceánica (Dínamo Danza) or Nikola (Atalak). A career crowned with awards such as the BBK award for best album (R.S. Faktor, 2012), the V Barcelona Jazz Competition (Citric, 2009), and the Academia de la Música award (Mama Cabra, 2006).

Recorded and mixed at Pottoko Studios in Beasain by Fredi Peláez and produced by himself alongside Rodeiro, Pausa takes shape after a long process, the result of previous experiences and the inevitable influence of artists such as Paul Motian, Bobo Stenson, and Paul Bley. A record in which Hilario Rodeiro has enlisted the collaboration of four renowned musicians and regular colleagues, such as Juan de Diego on trumpet and flugelhorn, Eneko Diéguez on alto saxophone, Julen Izarra on tenor and soprano saxophone, and Kike Arza on double bass. A quintet that takes up the challenge of not having any harmonic instruments, which creates empty spaces and constantly emphasizes the search for the moment. Ten pieces full of emotionally profound improvisation, signed by Rodeiro throughout 2023, are inspired by different times of the day, subtle moments, and the perception of the observer. These compositions could well be framed in the so-called Free Jazz or Experimental Jazz, but besides having various influences ranging from pop to jazz, chamber music, or traditional folklore, they are essentially focused on the encounter with interpretative poetry rather than instrumental virtuosity.

In Pausa para mirar dentro dun, Hilario Rodeiro gives us an introspective opening inspired by the traditional sound of Alboka. The concept of time as an inspiring element brings us the delicious Perdoa, a frame that captures a past experience, full of harmonic developments and transitions. As miñas alboradas, multifaceted and lively, takes elements from Galician folklore to allow the interaction between the different members of the band. Atopeite and …con Mary are examples of this record great interpretive poetry. The emptiness as a rhythmic element in Para ti and the melodic cadence of traditional Galician music in transition to Jazz on Escoitar are the perfect space for improvisation as a fundamental and integrating element. Rodeiro invites us to look inward through the passages of No espello, delves into new rhythmic patterns on the dynamic Pausa para un paseo pola tarde, ending up with interpretive poetry on Si me tuveras cariño / Pausa para mirar fóra.

The inner calm, the silence of one observing the passing of days, moments immortalized in a subtle rhythmic language are suspended in a space without maps, without coordinates, without time, from within, silence, stillness, pause.

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