The Colina Serrano Quartet: A Jazz Concert

Colina Serrano Quartet performing

It is always a treat for music lovers of any genre whenever there is a free concert. So when it was announced that the jazz group Colina Serrano Quartet was having a free concert courtesy of the Embassy of Spain and the Ayala Museum, it surprised no one that jazz fans flockedto see it. And some did arrive early in order to get good seats and by the time the program started, the Ayala Museum lobby was already a full house despite the staff having to add additional seats.

The Barcelona based group is composed of double bassist Javier Colina, harmonica player Antonio Serrano, pianist Mariano Díaz and drummer Marc Miralta. And they started the concert with Overjoyed, a Stevie Wonder classic. And Serrano was on the spotlight with his superb harmonica playing skills. He then acknowledged that Stevie Wonder, who also plays harmonica, has been one of his major influences.

That was the only familiar piece that they played during that night. For the rest of their prepared program, they took the audience through a journey of jazz with a heavy dose of Latin beats. And there were many surprises as well like when they interspersed some Flamenco in one of the pieces that they played or when Colina played the bass with a bow. Despite not knowing the title of the pieces and only hearing them for the first time, I enjoyed watching and listening.

It was a good experience for me getting myself exposed to this kind of jazz music since this performance widened my musical horizons. I was amazed by the pianist Díaz and I admitted to myself that it’s beyond my capacity what he does with the piano. It’s totally different from what I know how to play and I just have to be content knowing that jazz on the piano is something that I will never master.