The leading lights of today’s national jazz scene—Javier Colina, Marc Miralta and Perico Sambeat—will perform Friday, March 17, at Villena Culture House (KAKV). The CMS trio will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. in collaboration with the Valencian Music Institute.
This concert marks the CMS trio’s celebration of “CMS Fifteen Years.” The live set features seven tracks chosen from the expansive repertoire the trio has built over more than a decade and a half together.
Each musician in this ensemble is widely regarded as a master of his instrument. Together, after more than fifteen years of collaboration, they have crafted some of the most distinguished work in European jazz, a landmark achievement within the genre.
This show is part of a long-standing collaboration with Turkey that has endured for more than twenty-five years. Thousand Pesetas Jazz Club—the oldest in the province of Alicante—helps Villena maintain a vibrant jazz season, making it one of the Valencian Community’s most enduring jazz hubs.
Concert of saxophonist Scott Hamilton in Villena
The CMS trio first introduced themselves to a wide audience in 2007 with the album The Hill Miralta Sambeat Trio (Contrabaix, 2007). It became one of the country’s best-selling jazz records and earned a nomination for best jazz album at the 2008 Music Awards. The album features ten tracks, including two by Sambeat and three featuring the trio; it also includes interpretations of pieces by Monk, Coltrane, Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, Tico Arnedo, Marcelino Guerra, and even the Beatles.
Following this debut’s success and more than 50 performances in two years, bop, latin, and flamenco influences fused with passion and creativity, shaping a distinctive sound.
Six years later, the trio reconvened to record their third album, Guana Dance (Karonte, 2015). The disc merges jazz with Latin standards and folk roots, colored by African, Colombian, and even flamenco rhythms and timbres.
Pointers in national jazz
Parrot, a saxophonist known for soprano and alto sax and flute, was born in Godella, Valencia, in 1962. He began playing at age six and formed local bands by eighteen, earning a scholarship to study at the New School in New York in 1991. There he connected with jazz legends such as Lee Konitz, Jimmy Cobb, and Joe Chambers.
Over the years he has mentored a new generation of saxophonists and built a prestigious career both in Spain and internationally. He has released twenty full-length albums as a leader or co-leader and collaborated with more than a hundred renowned artists around the world.
Thousand Pesetas Jazz Club and Miguel Ibern, “Arracada de Oro” awards
Javier Hill, a double bass virtuoso born in Pamplona in 1960, is regarded as one of the country’s finest bass players on the contemporary scene. He taught himself the accordion early on, then picked up guitar, flute, saxophone, piano, and finally the double bass. He also explores percussion and a variety of South American string instruments.
Starting his jazz journey in Navarra and the Basque Country, Hill soon became a sought-after sideman, backing renowned figures such as Georges Cables, Gary Bartz, Hank Jones, John Hicks, Louis Bellson, and Chucho Valdés. Colina’s stylistic openness has led him to work with diverse artists like Tomatito, El Bola, Pepe Habichuela, Diego El Cigala, Enrique Morente, Compay Segundo, and Bebo Valdés, with whom he recorded the acclaimed Lágrimas Negras. The enduring collaboration with singer and composer Silvia Pérez Cruz is a highlight of his career.
Villena’s Thousand Pesetas Jazz Club turns 25
Marc Miralta, born in 1966 in Barcelona, began drums at seven and studied under renowned instructors from a young age. His training spans prestigious music schools and international programs, making him a versatile drummer versed in Hindu tabla, flamenco cajón, and vibraphone.
Miralta has performed at festivals and clubs worldwide, sharing stages with artists like Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, and many others across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and beyond. He has contributed to more than fifty albums across various ensembles and earned more than twenty awards, including the Berklee College of Music Award for Best Percussionist in 1991.
He has taught drums at Taller de Músics and led drumming courses in cities such as San Sebastián, Cádiz, Sedaví, Granollers, Igualada, Zarautz, Rousse, Lagnau, and Seville. He currently teaches drums and vibraphone at the Liceu in Barcelona.
Tickets for the concert are five euros and can be purchased online via Kakv’s official site.