El Norte (Digital download)

Se lanzó el 1 de marzo de 2013

Trio:

Roberto Sanchez-Picasso (Guitar)
Mihail Ivanov (Contrabass)
Srdjan Ivanovic (Drums)

Production:

Roberto Sanchez-Picasso, Mihail Ivanov, Srdjan Ivanovic

Recording and Mixing:

Max Bolleman

Master:

Maarten de Boer (The Masters)

CD Art:

Claudia Aragon

Recorded at 44 Studio in Bilzen Belgium, May 2012.

Special thanks for their support to Sergio Cardenas, Cesar Picasso Hinojosa and Damian Cano.

Thoughts about the music:

Waltz
A romantic Waltz, inspired by northern Mexico's music and European waltz, both in a meter of
3/4, all this sounds together let me expres my nostalgia for Mexico while living in Brussels,
and as well my admiration for the music you can hear many times in the streets some times
played with accordion, wich is also the region instrument in the North of Mexico.

Recuerdos Landscape
This song is inspired on the landscapes, smells and memories from a few trips to Spain
particulary to Cataluña and Andalucia, where i had a wonderful time and had the oportunity to
learn from it, many memories come to my mind and its always pleasent and joyfull, with all the
fellings it brings with it, the pasion and the caracter of the people of Spain, a bit of tribute to
recuerdos de la Alhambra without trying to copy it at all but remembering the name and my
admiration and atraction to that rich culture.

Wheeler
This a piece i wrote for an assignment while studying in Brussles, was inspired in Kenny
Wheelers harmonies approach, written in the calm of a morning dusk after a whole nigth of
working on it, it can be also call peaceful dusk, im sometimes awake at that time and i
somehow find it very insteresting moment on the day, is the moment when many people starts
their day so that many others can have what they will need later, the beginning of a day when
everybody packs his dreams and take them to try to make them become true.

Wes Blues
Dedicated to the memory of jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery and my teachers, colleagues and
friends that we've found each other in our journeys, and i had oportunity to learn from them
and share a few guitar moments, viva wes!

You
A Rock riff where i try to get that rock soul that always has been with me since i started
playing guitar, many times dreamed about those big concerts stages and actually had
opportunity to play in some at some points in my life...

Cielito Lindo (Quirino Mendoza y Cortez)
This is a Mexican Folk song, one of the most famous mexican songs in the world, and also a
song that many mexicans sing to remember our mother land in moments of nostalgia and
homesick when far away from home, dedicated to the mexican people around the world, its
also a tribute to two of my favorite musicians Bill Frissel and Paul Motian (RIP). The
arrangement is quite free and tries to remind a bit the sound of this two great musicians.

Do Not War
This is one of my first compositions in a kind of modern Jazz approach, in the moment i wrote
it, There was a lot of tension in the world with wars happening in diferent places, and in my
country in Mexico we were starting to have many problems with drug cartels and violence, is
my protest against war, violence and injustice, the spelling of the Title is not correct, it should
be probably "Do Not Make War", but i like to stress that War is Wrong and that is not the way,
the tittle is worng written just as war is, so in this case War is a verb, and i use to tell to those
who can make a difference Do Not War.

Azul
Azul is the name in spanish for the color Blue, its a musical blues form, and it actually had
some lirycs which are not in this track but you can read them here:
"Cerca de ti, cerca de tu respiracion, para poder tocarte, poder besarte, decirte lo que siento"
Its a song for those who are in love, and they love each other so much, but they can't be
together, for their own circumstances, is about learning to let go, and move on, but you have
to handle the blue, beacause its not so easy to love someone and not have that person with
you, but its beautiful to understand how love can be forever.

El Norte
This is also the title of this record, and it has so many meanings for me, i was born in Victoria
a city in the Northeast of Mexico, there i grew up and lived so many things, also I've studied
and lived in Holland and Belgium for 6 years, this in north Europe, i also like the metaphoric
meaning of it, like the direction of life, my country is facing at this moment so many problems
in the border with the USA at north, our way's of life have changed so much that it is
impossible for many people to have a normal life, i dedicated this piece to them, to my people,
because i know we are good people with very big hearts and we can overcome this adversity
that we are catched in the middle and hope in god we do it soon.

Campanita
Its my first Jazz composition, and to me its kind of a childrens song, inspired in a Peter Pan's
character, and also a bit of a metaphore about becoming adult but remain young in your
heart, when you start something is because you had a dream, and one morning you woke up
and decided to do it, and this decision becomes so important in your life, and how start to
work on it, some day you will look back, and think how everything had started, evrytime you
remember that you will fell that warm energy inside of you, the one that makes you fell young
and make the worlds turn, that i think is called Love, this love you share it and keep it for the
rest of your life.