Marzo Mezquida & Chicuelo Trio – 7-8-2025
Thursday, August 7 at Cable Inglés, Marzo Mezquida & Chicuelo Trio. While the full moon bathes with its light the calm waters of the sea… the sound of the guitar, piano, and percussion floods the space, inviting every soul, romantic or not, to keep dreaming… Just when you think you cannot be more surprised by the artists… it happens again! This time with a formation of a guitarist who plays Spanish guitar, a pianist, and a percussionist. And all three so talented, so passionate about their art… so alive…
Musical genres mix with each other, leaving no one unaffected. Latin melodies and Spanish rhythms… jazz and traditional melodies… in some pieces alternating with the nostalgic rhythm of the waltz… Legato smoothly leads to staccato and vice versa… While the music is strong and invites you to dance… suddenly everything becomes quiet… from loud to soft… and back again… These very changes are what surprise me, enchant me, and truly move me…
The musicians are all joyful… they laugh while playing with their soul… and this positive energy they transfer to their music and, of course, to the audience… The people, completely captivated by the spectacle, watch the stage with full concentration and with a smile. And then, at the end of each piece, everyone applauds standing…
The sound of the guitar… which harmonizes with the piano and the accompaniment of the percussion… intoxicates you… A sweet sense of freedom and euphoria… At first… you think the guitar leads… then… you think the piano leads. In reality… all instruments collaborate perfectly. Special moments occur whenever the pianist rises from his seat and plays, striking either the piano strings or the keys, creating rhythms and melodies that suddenly change the piece’s style. There are times when I watch the guitarist play with closed eyes… as if dominated by his senses and letting the music itself guide him… and when he plays… his long fingers move skillfully like acrobats balancing from string to string…
The percussionist plays fast and with style, as if his movements perform a perfectly executed choreography… Most of the time he plays using mazos (mallets) or escobillas (brushes) or many times only his hands. Combining the cajón and the djembe creates a homely, softer feeling. Also, the udu, the percussion instrument, like a jar, every time it is heard in the percussionist’s hands, if you close your eyes it is like hearing drops of water fall into a deep well…
The music… brings to the surface colors… images… thoughts… emotions… nostalgia… peace… melancholy… joy… excitement… all in the right doses to transport you to a different place every time… From the first to the last melody… each piece a different fairy tale… ones you are eager to learn how they end but at the same time you wish the story would last forever…
The paths (“Camonos”) with the musical alternations of each artist individually and all together as a whole… from fast to slow, from soft to loud… remind me of winding roads like snakes that grow more intricate as the music progresses… One moment snowy roads next to a river… and the next… roads flooded with flowers while at their edge there is a huge cliff and the spectator lets the music guide him to reach the other side… And that amazing piece… “El faro de los deseos”… dedicated to all people who suffer… with the piano evoking music in a fairy dance…. At first… the notes are many… like rain… then the chords become more stable… like dreams and desires taking shape… and it feels as though the melodies—fast, slow, loud, soft—express every kind of desire… from the simplest and obvious to the most complex and hidden that you do not dare to narrate even to yourself sometimes…
Leaving… I feel happy but also sad at the same time. It is one of those experiences that you need to walk alone letting the thoughts and the music you just heard settle inside you… to surrender to each feeling… one of those nights you wish would never end… Perhaps one of the best concerts I have attended in my life!
Review by Zoi Michailidou
