The music was composed by multi-instrumentalist Chilean composer Quique Cruz, and this CD is the soundtrack for a documentary film by Mark Eisner on the life of the great Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda; the film was narrated by Isabel Allende. The CD’s title “Tinta Verde” is Spanish for “Green Ink,” which refers to the fact that Neruda wrote his poems in green ink.
COMPOSITIONS
There are some incredibly powerful compositions by Quique on this record, including for example the amazing “Casa de las Flores” on which I had the honor of playing soprano saxophone. The title is a reference to the stunning Neruda poem “House of the Flowers,” which in turn refers to the house belonging to his friend, the great Spanish poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca. Neruda and Lorca were supposed to have had a meeting one day during the Spanish civil war, but Lorca didn’t show up; he is believed to have been killed by the Nationalists. Neruda speaks very movingly of this event in his autobiography “Confieso que he vivido” (“I Confess That I Have Lived”).
MY THOUGHTS
This is the first CD I had the opportunity to play on with the band Quijeremá, a brilliant group of musicians from North and South America who are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and with whom I had the privilege of touring and recording for several years. We toured around the U.S. as well as Chile and Venezuela and made several records together.
PRODUCTION
The record was recorded by Jeremy Allen at Musiquito in Oakland, CA, and co-produced by Quique Cruz and Quijeremá. This CD Tinta Verde evokes the incredible power and emotion of the fascinating life of the great poet. It was a great musical opportunity for me to play many interesting saxophone section, solo and ensemble parts on this excellent and unique CD.
