Diego Pinera 4+4 - 2026 - Romanian Dance

(43:40; Iapetus)

The first time I came across drummer and composer Diego Piñera was when I reviewed ‘Evidence’ which was recorded alongside John Patitucci and David Kikoski but now he has taken a very different musical leap as he combines a jazz quartet with a classical quartet to combine improvised and composed music in a setting where everyone can expand. There has been a total change in line-up to accommodate this so here is he is working with Igor Osypov (guitar), Peter Ehwald (saxophone), Marcel Krömker (bass), Semion Gurevich (violin I), Alessia Laurora (violin II), Joaquín León Fernández (viola) and Elisabet Iserte López (cello). I do not know if either quartet were operating before they joined forces, but they have obviously been working together for a while as this does not sound like two groups of four musicians from different musical areas, but very much as a seamless whole.

Recorded over two days last October, this album finds Piñera taking Béla Bartók as a living influence with new arrangements of some of his pieces while also reimagining pieces by Alexander Borodin as well as five original compositions. Hungarian composer Bartók was renowned for using folk influences in his work, while Piñera is fascinated by trans-cultural rhythms from his Afro-Uruguayan roots and has recently immersed himself in Bulgarian rhythmic traditions, all of which has had an impact on the finished result. There is also the switching between composition and improvisation, and even the string quartet are getting in on that, not leaving it solely to the jazz guys, the result being something which moves in unexpected ways, never truly settling in one style or another and it keeps the listener always struggling to find a sweet spot, always keeping us guessing as to what is happening next, which is most definitely a good thing.

It is never so experimental and different as to be unlistenable but also could never be thought of as being in the mainstream, as there is too much going on in music which is firmly rooted in jazz, but brings in different rhythmic structures and stringed instruments. Fascinating stuff indeed. 

Kev Rowland, July 2026

Links:
https://www.diegopinera.com/
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