Bringing together Tony Malaby, Kresten Osgood, and Masa Kamaguchi on a stage was something I had been dreaming about for a while.

Marco Mezquida's piano sparks when it meets Massa Kamaguchi's double bass and Ramon Prats' drums, three musicians who performed together ten years ago in a memorable concert and have come together again in "Tornado". Marco Mezquida has tried to be the catalyst for the energy that is generated when the trio plays together and they have made an album that draws on free improvisation and jazz. The album includes twelve tracks that "are like a tornado passing over you, with its moment of calm after the storm included".

I first met Dave when he came to Barcelona in 1982 to teach in some workshops in the third jazz seminar organized by the Taller de Musics (3er Seminario de Jazz Taller De Musics). I was an attendee at the workshops and at 17 years old I was still a beginner in the jazz language while Dave was already a veteran of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Dave’s playing was beautiful: lyrical, intense, funny at times, and firmly rooted in the blues and bebop (I would say that at moments it could remind you of Dexter Gordon).

It is hard to listen to a posthumous released recording without reflecting on what the world has lost in their absence. Pianist and composer Frank Kimbrough was an individual who was beloved by all who knew him. A true musician’s musician and mentor to many, Kimbrough’s legacy lives on in his work and the lives that he touched. His passing in 2020 has left a hole in the heart of the jazz world.