JUAN DE DIEGO – GREBALARIAK

A silence between the notes, an invisible refuge. Breathing and imagining musical spaces where we can regain serenity, in compensation for the part of ourselves that constantly abandons us. To stop time while chaos unfolds outside, the inevitable. All this allows us to regain direction, the true nature of who we are and the authentic purpose of what we do.

Trumpet player from Bilbao, Juan de Diego studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Bilbao and later moved to Barcelona, where he graduated in trumpet and studied at the Taller de Músics in Barcelona. A restless artist and a benchmark in the jazz scene, his prolific career is documented by more than forty published albums and countless collaborations with numerous artists. He has been part of various formations, in addition to leading personal projects such as the Juan de Diego Trio, Freaky Trio, De Diego Brothers or Grebalariak. Besides his facet in the field of teaching, Juan de Diego has participated in several soundtracks and international festivals, collaborating with the contemporary dance company L’anònima Imperia, with whom he toured Europe.

A musical career marked by social commitment and a firm political stance are always present in his work. This is evident in projects such as 2016’s Uda labur hori Aquel corto verano, inspired by texts about the anarchist Buenaventura Durruti, and especially in his project called Grebalariak (The Strikers). It is a tribute to the Barcelona´s labour movements in the early 20th century, which laid the foundations for many of the advances in labour rights and social equality that are still relevant today.

Following the release of his self-titled debut album in 2021, the Basque trumpeter/musician returns to the path set by his predecessor with this remarkable Azken Uda. Recorded at Sol de Sants Studios in Barcelona by Alberto Pérez on October 11 and 12, this work features Juan De Diego himself on trumpet and flugelhorn, alongside Toni Saigi on piano, Pere Loewe on double bass, and Ramon Prats on drums. The album highlights the undeniable beauty of Juan De Diego’s compositions as they navigate the realm of contemporary jazz—vivid and effervescent music with a subtle Be-Bop intentionality that reveals an organic, flexible, and vibrant character throughout its grooves.

From Marinela unpredictable developments to Aterpe´s secret passages, the band elegantly and dynamically navigates its way to Ali Kinshasan, a poignant tribute to the legendary 1974 boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali (The Rumble in the Jungle). This piece stands as both an anti-Vietnam War statement and a milestone in the fight for civil rights. The melancholic Azken uda, dedicated to the artist’s mother, is adorned with sonic poetry, leading us to the improvised brushstrokes of Zirimiri. Juan De Diego’s trumpet and Toni Saigi’s piano explore new melodic horizons on the nocturnal and smoky Tifliseko gizona. The band play the soundtrack to La montagne infidèle, a lost documentary by French filmmaker and theorist Jean Epstein that recreated the 1923 eruption of Mount Etna. Inspired by the same event, Juan De Diego pens the delicate La lava va, showcasing his most colorful Brazilian-influenced side on Txefinho, before bringing this second Grebalariak project to an end with the unpredictable and ethereal Bagoaz.

A note between silences, the beauty of an instant, time intervals that inevitably slip away. Taking a breath, imagining new forms, reclaiming who we are and the purpose behind what we do. Returning to that invisible refuge in memory of one final moment, one last word, one last summer.