HOMENAJE A REMEDIOS VARO

It was like 70 years ago when our world saw the birth of John Zorn, one of those artists who we can name as a lunatic, one of a kind, alien, etc., who nowadays continues to create art in a crazy way, putting him as one of the most prolific artists of our era. Though we might associate his name with music in most of the cases, he is not just an ordinary musician, he is also linked to films, painting, performance, and a large etc., which is why we must consider him a true artist.

Well, in that so prolific career he has given birth to several great projects which feature different musicians / artists carefully selected by Zorn himself, people who may have started as a colleagues, and then morphed into bandmates and why not, friends. One of those projects is Incerto, a jazz-oriented ensamble, a quartet of great musicians who, just like Zorn, love experimentation and aren't afraid of tresspassing boundaries. These band was conceived recently in 2022, however, they have now released four studio albums, being 'Homenaje a Remedios Varo', their latest one (October 2023) at the time this review is being published.

The title itself made me feel curious because I love Remedios Varo paintings, so it is remarkable that an artist this big like Zorn wanted to pay tribute to another one-of-a-kind artist like the Spanish painter, so I had to listen to this as soon as possible.

Well, this album features 9 tracks that make a total time of 40 minutes in which Julian Lage on guitars, Brian Marsella on piano, Jorge Roeder on bass and Ches Smith on drums (of course, guided by Zorn), take us through a very interesting musical crossover, where jazz leads, of course, but it wonderfully coexists with mysticism, colours, and art as a whole.

It is a fantastic trip with countless nuances made by constant rhythm and mood changes, a wonderful complexity that can be in fact linked to Remedios Varo's paintings and its magical depth, which is why we can find some references in the songs' titles, such as 'Somnambula', which take us to Varo's enthusiasm for dreams; or 'A Wilderness of Mirrors' which, of course, represents the mirror as a constant element of her work; or 'The Three Wands', which makes a takes her relationship with tarot, to name some examples.

It is a very visual album, we could even think it would work as a kind of soundtrack of the painter's works. Of course, it is reasonable to mention that the musical experience is wonderful here and can be appreciated even without linking it with Remedios Varo, and that's merit of the four musicians, people that has been playing for years, we can tell it by listening to the well assembled songs, in spite of its constant mood and rhythm changes.

The value of the four musicians is equitable, they understand and complement each other, they never shadow themselves, and they even have some moments where each and every one of them create a brief but heartfelt solo. I had the luck of seeing Incerto last december in Mexico City, and yeah, it was an exquisite experience because they use their creative and performing skills to reach one goal: to share and enjoy art. Just like in this album.

Enjoy it!