For those unaware, Tiger Turn is proud to announce the May 19th, 2023 release of El Siempre Mar, the latest output from heralded pianist Emilio Solla and in-demand saxophonist and vocalist Antonio Lizana.

El Siempre Mar follows the critical reception of Solla’s Latin GRAMMY® Award-winning Puertos (2019), the rapturous, propulsive fruits of his 17-piece Tango Jazz Orchestra. Upholding his devotion toward Tango music and its history on his 13th leader recording, the multi-GRAMMY nominated Solla returns alongside the prolific Lizana for a virtuous welding of jazz-infused, cross-continental Latin styles.

Fusing Solla’s jazz- tango and folkloric influences and Lizana’s roots in flamenco, El Siempre Mar unites musicians born from two continents between the Atlantic Ocean as they celebrate the rhythmic vernacular of cantes de ida y vuelta.

This historic expression harkens back to centuries of cultural exchange between peninsular Spain and the countries of Latin America. Otherwise known as flamenco ’roundtrip songs’, the term cantes de ida y vuelta canvasses a vast array of flamenco palos, several musical forms which Solla and Lizana exercise here with fervency.

After attending one of Lizana’s performances several years ago and sparking conversation, Solla found common ground with the Spain-native, discovering their shared love for many of the same cantes that stood sanctified in each’s musicianship.

1. El arriero (4:37)
2. Zamba para no morir (5:37)
3. Vidalita – Buenos Aires blues (6:34)
4. Luna tucumana (6:24)
5. Siempre se vuelve a Buenos Aires (4:38)
6. Lejos de casa (6:43)
7. La piedra (3:46)
8. Silencio de cristal (5:43)
9. Hurry (3:59) [Bonus Track]
10. Una realidad diferente (4:37) [Bonus Track]
11. El otro mar (5:01) [Bonus Track]

With El Siempre Mar being passionately vast and eclectic, much like the spirit of its origins, this gorgeous recording opens on the spirited El arriero (written by 20th century Argentine folk musician Atahualpa Yupanqui) and the beautifying Zamba para no morir and then brings us the hard-bop infused Vidalita – Buenos Aires blues, the low slung, emotional balladry of Luna tucumana and both the energized Siempre se vuelve a Buenos Aires and the aching yearn within Lejos de casa.

Along next is the rhythmically-charged, collaborative Lizana-Solla composition La piedra and their most heartfelt arrangement of Chick Corea’s Silencio de cristal, which are in turn backed seamlessly by the first of three bonus tracks: the brightly wired ebb and flow of the aptly-named Hurry, the warmly comforting Una realidad diferente, the album closing on the diligently-hued El otro mar.

For an album inspired by the music of his childhood split between Mendoza and Buenos Aires, it was fitting for Solla to pay homage to another pillar of Argentinian culture in its title. El Siempre Mar borrows from influential Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges, whose poem, “El Mar,” can be found in the album sleeve.

Though its translation to English is complex, the meaning thoroughly captures the essence of this new masterwork. The sea, the Atlantic Ocean which separates Solla’s Argentina and Lizana’s Spain, was here first. Before man had an understanding of time or the words to express it, he had “the always sea,” and in this case, rather than being separated by it, Emilio Solla and Antonio Lizana have united.

Personnel:
Emilio Solla – piano
Antonio Lizana – vocals & saxophones
Jorge Roeder – double bass
Ferenc Nemeth – drums & percussion
Roxana Amed – vocals (6)
Javier Weintraub – violin I (2, 6)
Cecilia García – violin II (2, 6)
Javier Portero – viola (2, 6)
Patricio Villarejo – cello (2, 6)

Latin GRAMMY® winner and multi-GRAMMY® nominee, Argentine-born and New York-based pianist and composer Emilio Solla’s first band, Apertura, (1983-1989) was praised by Astor Piazzolla as one of the most interesting new sounds in the Buenos Aires scene in 1986. Today, with thirteen CDs as bandleader and more than forty as arranger/producer, he is regarded by peers and critics as one of the most outstanding and unique composers in the Tango-Jazz field, a musical language which blends Argentine tango and folk with jazz and other contemporary music styles. He has performed all around Europe, Japan, the US and Latin America to rave reviews in many of the most important jazz houses and festivals, such as Bim Huis, Lincoln Center, Marciac, Blue Note, Fasching and more.

Jazz saxophonist, flamenco singer and composer Antonio Lizana is one of the most celebrated representatives of new Flamenco Jazz. In the last three years, he has performed in over three hundred concerts in more than 30 countries with his band, playing in Festivals like Womex, Etnosur, SXSW Austin, the London, New York and San Francisco Flamenco Festivals, Barcelona Voll Damn, Shanghai Jazz Fest (China), Casablanca Jazz Fest (Morocco) and Flamenco Biennale (Holland).

www.emiliosolla.com

www.antoniolizanamusic.com