Collage

Recorded entirely live at Estudios Gandul, Collage — beyond being this project’s debut recording and a return to the classic organ trio format — offers a glimpse into the remarkable compositional breadth of its authors and their enormous talent for revitalizing and giving new meaning to the vast musical language once conceived by artists such as Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, and Dr. Lonnie Smith. Elegant and dynamic, Collage draws on the virtuosity of its players while delivering groove and improvisation in tracks like Burn Out, harmonic experimentation in compositions like El Limonar, transmuting into funk on Folkolito, and venturing into Bossa Nova territory on Emma. Collage is the perfect space where the complicity and creativity of these three musicians give rise to tracks like the sentimental Old Folks — an original composition by Willard Robinson arranged by the band — showcasing their most Swing-oriented side on pieces like Parsimonia or Pares y Nones. Under excellent production work, tracks unfold one after another: the multifaceted 4Wayne generates uncharted textures in Collage, before drawing to a close — with the velvety Oumuamua — on a masterful amalgam of hues and delicious flavors called Collage.

Coinciding lines describe a new mosaic of shapes. Trajectories converging on an undefined and permanently shifting map. Interspersed fragments, pieces of an ancient whole that seem like small frames on a new canvas, yet to be defined.

The Steinbert/Benoit/Gandul project emerges from the confluence of three acclaimed musicians in the context of contemporary Jazz and improvisation. A meeting point for a classic Jazz organ trio format comprising guitarist Alein Steinbert (Luis Casado), keyboardist Álvaro Gandul, and drummer Thibault Benoit.

Guitarist and composer Alein Steinbert holds a solid background in harmony, composition, orchestration, arrangements, piano, and creative dynamics — an educational training further validated alongside names such as John Scofield, Joel Frahm, Mike Stern, and Leo Genovese. The Córdoba-born musician released his first leader album, Tiempo Presente, in 2019. A live and session player, in addition to collaborating with numerous artists and projects, in 2020 he participated as guitarist on the second album by Valencian trombonist Rafa M. Guillén, and cemented a brilliant trajectory alongside Madrid-based guitarist Alex Cobos with the 2024 release Steinbert/Cobos Quartet.

Álvaro Gandul is a pianist, keyboardist, arranger, producer, and musical director trained at the Conservatories of Alcalá de Guadaíra and Seville. After beginning his career alongside Raimundo Amador, he has worked on tours, recordings, and productions with Manolo García, Rozalén, Miguel Ríos, Kiko Veneno, Miguel Poveda, Alba Molina, and Joan Manuel Serrat, also sharing the stage with international artists such as Robben Ford, Jackson Browne, John Cale, Carles Benavent, Otis Grand, Buddy Whittington, and John Blackwell.

Finally, French drummer and composer Thibault Benoit, based in Seville, trained at the EDIM (École de Musiques Actuelles) and studied with renowned drummers including Olivier Bonnet, Simon Goubert, Juan de la Oliva, and Guillermo McGill. Over the years he has moved through different styles and trends, participating in numerous world tours with a wide range of artists and projects such as Girl Ultra, Federico Rocha, Ebla, La Selva Sur, Benjamin Lopez Trio, and I.O The Singer. A prolific artistic career he balances with his role as an educator, making him an essential reference within the scene.