Mbókò (Sacred Music for Piano, Two Basses, Drum Set and Biankoméko Abakuá) David Virelles

• 1 Wind Rose (Antrogofoko Mokoirén) 06:27
• 2 The Scribe (Tratado de Mpegó) 07:35
• 3 Biankoméko 04:55
• 4 Antillais (A Quintín Bandera) 07:09
• 5 Aberiñán y Aberisún 04:24
• 6 Seven, Through the Divination Horn 04:48
• 7 Stories Waiting to Be Told 08:21
• 8 Transmission 08:27
• 9 The Highest One 06:16
• 10 Èfé (A María Teresa Vera) 00:39
• Total Runtime 59:01

Info for Mbókò (Sacred Music for Piano, Two Basses, Drum Set and Biankoméko Abakuá)

With Mbókò, pianist-composer David Virelles – based now in New York but born and bred in Cuba – has taken the folkloric rhythms of Afro-Cuban religious ritual and transmuted them into a 21st-century music resonating with mystery and meaning.

The main title, Mbókò, can mean “fundament” or “sugar cane” or “The Voice,” not the human voice but The Voice that is believed in Abakuá culture to be the voice of a spirit, or spirits. Sound is an element revered in this culture, and that idea – the worship of sound itself – was a shaping force in the performances of Virelles’ compositions on Mbókò.

The album’s subtitle – “Sacred Music for Piano, Two Basses, Drum Set and Biankoméko Abakuá” – indicates both the ritualistic intent of the 10 pieces and their sound, with piano as lead voice alongside dual bass drone and the polyrhythmic percussion of a traditional trap set and the all-important four-drum biankoméko kit, manned by Román Diaz. Virelles has tapped into a musical impulse that is simultaneously ancient and modern, communal and personal, meditative and propulsive. Mbókò casts a spell.

David Virelles, piano
Thomas Morgan, double bass
Robert Hurst, double bass
Marcus Gilmore, drums
Román Díaz Biankoméko, vocals

Recorded December 2013 at Avatar Studios, New York
Engineered by James A. Farber
Produced by Manfred Eicher

David Virelles
Born and raised in Cuba, pianist and composer David Virelles grew up in a musical family, his father a professional singer-songwriter and his mother a flautist in the Santiago de Cuba Symphony. He started studying classical music at age seven, as well as being exposed to the large array of musical forms on the island. Eventually, David discovered his grandfather’s jazz collection and also became interested in that tradition.

In 2001, he left for Canada as a protégé of Canadian musician Jane Bunnett, with whom he recorded several albums (two of them Grammy nominated), toured and collaborated with on a number of projects.

While in Canada, David graduated from the music program at Humber College. He studied privately with pianist Barry Harris and has also studied composition with the influential composer Henry Threadgill, which had a really deep impact in Virelles’ personal musical outlook.

Over the years he has performed and/or recorded with: Steve Coleman and Five Elements, Henry Threadgill, Dewey Redman, Sam Rivers, Andrew Cyrille, , Hermeto Pascoal, José Luis Quintana “Changuito”, Stanley Cowell, Rudresh Mahantappa, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, Mark Turner, Paul Motian, Ben Street, Chris Potter, David Binney, Ravi Coltrane, Adam Rogers, Jeff Ballard, Jane Bunnett and “Spirits of Havana”, Miguel Zenón, Cuban visual artist Alberto Lescay, Howard Johnson, Dan Weiss, Adam Cruz Milestone Group, Jon Hendricks, Wadada Leo Smith, among others.

In 2003 he became the first recipient of the Oscar Peterson prize, presented by Peterson himself. His debut album Motion was released in 2007 on the label Justin Time, after winning the Grand Prix de Jazz Award at the Montréal Jazz Festival.

David continues to develop his musical concepts via the groupContinuum, featuring bassist Ben Street, legendary drummer Andrew Cyrille and percussionist Román Díaz. His anticipated album under the same name will be released on October 23rd, 2012 by New York based jazz label Pi Recordings.

Needless to say, David Virelles is growingly in demand in the New York music scene as a solo-artist as well as a sideman, having performed and extensively toured with Steve Coleman’s Reflex Trio and Five Elements, Mark Turner, David Binney, Ravi Coltrane, Henry Threadgill, Chris Potter, among others.

Booklet for Mbókò (Sacred Music for Piano, Two Basses, Drum Set and Biankoméko Abakuá)