Naima, the keyboard-led contemporary jazz trio from Valencia, will be playing two dates for the 25th Edition of London’s EFG Jazz Festival: Saturday 11 November 8:30pm at Iklectik and Sunday 12 November 8:00pm at Rabbit Hole. The Festival will be held between Friday 10th and Sunday 19th November, with more than 350 performances taking place in 60 venues around London, including top artists such as Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, Herbie Hancock, Paolo Conte, Angelique Kidjo, Eliane Elias, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Robert Glasper…
Formed in 2004 by Enrique Ruiz (piano and synths) and Luis Torregrosa (drums), Naima (clearly a nod to one of John Coltrane’s most renowned compositions) debuted with ‘Uno’ (2006) and spent their early years working as a quartet (with a saxophone), but after their musical search (‘Buscas’ was the title of their second album, from 2010), they definitively found their bearings as a trio (with ‘The Trio Conspiracy’, published in 2012) and everything finally clicked with the recent incorporation of double bassist (and electronics’ wizard) Rafael Ramos Sania for their last album to date, Bye (2016, Cuneiform Records).
Naima have developed a taste for adapting songs by pop artists such as The Smiths, Depeche Mode or Pixies to a “jazzier” format, which they blend effortlessly with their own compositions. They seem to take their cues equally from adventurous trios like The Bad Plus or Medeski, Martin & Wood, crossover jazz collectives such as Jagga Jazzist or Snarky Puppy and even instrumental rock bands like Tortoise. A rich and consistent balance between powerfully acoustic and non-intrusive electronic textures defines their unique and colourful cutting-edge approach to jazz.
Photo © Juanjo Herrero / Courtesy of Cuneiform Records
Naima’s official website: www.naima.es
@NaimaTrio
