The Spanish, Valencia-based free improvising trio of tenor and soprano sax player Josep Lluís Galiana (who is also a composer, the head of Liquen Records, writer, editor, and Spanish cultural manager), drummer-percussionist (and educator) Jesús Gallardo, and Chilean cellist Matías Riquelme began working as a quartet with a second drummer, Lucía Martínez. The quartet recorded a live album (TODO AL ROJO, Liquen, 2025). Five months later, in October 2025, the trio recorded TAR live at Isósteles Estudi in Borriana, Castelló.

TAR captures the urgency of this trio in wishing to record a follow-up album to TODO AL ROJO so soon, as well as the urgency of the music, attempting to exhaust the sonic possibilities of such unconventional instrumentation. The album is opened and closed with two short, free improvised pieces, while the second, centerpiece lasts 39 minutes.

The centerpiece proves that Galiana, Gallardo, and Riquelme do not need to assert their strong-minded voices over the others. The deep listening and slow cooking process of this extended improvisation explores instant and unpredictable sonic synaptic connections and inventions, a constantly shifting equilibrium that lets the music flow organically, and a deep well of ideas, eloquent negotiations, and reasoned arguments that eventually lead to the inevitable turbulent space-time torrent. Obviously, extended breathing, bowing, and percussive techniques and effects are essential elements of the trio’s sonic aesthetics.

Galiana best captures the essence of this album: «TAR, like a nirvana, is a place of harmony, connection, and interaction, places us on the verge of self-alienation, constantly positioning us in the place of the other. It is a sincere and utterly unique act of empathy». A promising debut album.

Eyal Hareuveni

Josep Lluís Galiana (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), Jesús Gallardo (drums), Matías Riquelme (cello)