Eixo do Jazz Ensemble meets Iago Fernandéz

Tonight's concert has the artistic direction of Iago Fernández, an internationally recognized Galician musician, and is the result of an artistic process initiated in the artistic residence "Jazz na Aldeia" / Eixo do Jazz Associação Luso Galaica for the promotion of Jazz (September 2021) in Mouquim/Vila Nova de Famalicão, with the goal of promoting the EJE Eixo do Jazz Ensemble as an ensemble dedicated to the dissemination of Galician and Portuguese jazz. From here resulted this project, which is now presented in DPP'22 and had its recent premiere on July 16th 2022 at Casa das Artes de Famalicão.
This will be the second album of the Eixo Jazz Ensemble (EJE) giving continuity to the project started in 2021 with Mário Laginha and will be also recorded at TEMPO Teatro Municipal de Portimão during DPP'22. Iago Fernández has made out of drums his main means of artistic expression, playing and recording with numerous artists since he was 17 and writing his own music since he was 22. Iago has recorded several solo albums, having included his own songs with lyrics in Galician for the first time on his fourth album.

Credits:

Iago Fernández: music, lyrics, and drums
Joana Raquel: voice
Sofia Sá: voice and keyboard
Pedro Jerónimo: trumpet
João Paulo Silva: alto saxophone
Diego Alonso: tenor saxophone
Rafa Gomes: baritone saxophone
Filipe Dias: guitar and keyboard
Rui Catarino: guitar
Miguel Meirinhos: piano
Yudit Almeida: double bass

Iago Fernández

Iago Fernández is a jazz drummer and composer from Cangas, Galicia (1987). He began his musical studies in classical percussion at the conservatory in his hometown with professor Luís Carballo. His first contact with jazz was in the "Orquestra de jazz do Morrazo" (conducted by Luis Carballo) and also in the "Seminário Permanente de Jazz de Pontevedra (SPJP)" directed by Abe Rábade and Paco Charlín, where he studied for four years including master classes and concerts with international artists. In 2005 and 2006 he attended the "Tavira Workshop" (Portugal) with Tony Moreno, John O'Gallagher, Allan Ferber, Dave Phillips, Rez Abasi, Russ Johnson and Russ Lossing. In August 2009 he attended the "Begues Jazz Camp" to learn with Ben Street, Mark Turner, Jorge Rossy, Ben Monder and Michael Kanan. After four intense years, in 2011 he graduated with honors from the "Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco, Musikene" (jazz drum performance) where he had lessons with great masters such as Jorge Rossy, Perico Sambeat, Jo Krause, Albert Sanz, Guillermo Klein and Chris Kase among others. Since the age of 18 Iago has performed regularly in the best Jazz Festivals and clubs in Spain and Portugal. in Ecuador, Brazil, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Switzerland, France and Italy with well-known musicians such as Steve Nelson, Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Omer Avital, John Hébert, David Virelles, Logan Richardson Perico Sambeat, Jesse van Ruller, Joris R oelofs, Ben Van Gelder, Greg Tardy, Masa Kamaguchi, Javier Colina, Albert Sanz, Jorge Rossy, Jeff Williams, Román Filiú, Andrzej Olejniczak, John O'Gallagher, and Petros Klampanis, among many others. In addition to having recorded around forty works as a sideman, Iago has three albums as a leader and composer: 'Agromando' (2011), 'Acougo' (2015) and 'Brisa' (2016). In 2017 he obtained the 'Martín Códax' award as the best jazz project of the year in Galicia. Recently, in 2018-2019 Iago was selected for the prestigious Focusyear (school of excellence) program at the Jazzcampus in Basel (Switzerland), to learn and perform with amazing artists such as Dave Liebman, Norma Winston, Wolfgang Muthspiel (artistic director), Jim Black, Ambrose Akinmusire, Seamus Blake, Marilyn Mazur, Django Bates, Billy Childs, Julian Lage, John Hollenbeck and Guillermo Klein. There he could also connect with Lionel Loueke, Larry Grenadier, Mark Turner, and Jeff Ballard.