The Squid's Ear Magazine


Valencia, Maria / Matt Moran / Brandon Lopez : Tarabita Espiral (Relative Pitch)

Recorded live at IBeam in Brooklyn, the trio of María Valencia (alto saxophone, Bb clarinet), Matt Moran (vibraphone), and Brandon Lopez (bass, percussion) weave a richly textured improvisation of lyric tension and resonant space, where breath, metal, and wood converge in shifting layers of sound, balancing volatility with quiet reflection in an atmosphere of deep, intuitive dialogue.
 

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Product Information:

Personnel:



Maria Valencia-alto saxophone, Bb clarinet

Matt Moran-vibraphone

Brandon Lopez-bass, percussion

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UPC: 5904224874131

Label: Relative Pitch
Catalog ID: RPR1229
Squidco Product Code: 36842

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded live at IBeam, in Brooklyn, New York, on May 27th, 2024,on Randy Thaler.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Saxophonist, clarinetist, improviser and composer from Bogota, Colombia.

Performer in: Meridian Brothers, MULA, Tortuga Alada, VienTox, Hurakán Orkan, Asdrubal, La Resbalosa, Mirlitorrinco, Trío Lesión and Curruncho, among others.

Artist in residence at Périscope (2020) & Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (2022)."

-Maria Valencia Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mange_maria_valencia/)
10/22/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Matt Moran received a Master's degree in jazz composition from New England Conservatory in 1995. At NEC he studied with the visionary composer and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Maneri, and has continued to learn from Maneri through performances with him. Since moving to New York in 1995 he has performed both as leader and sideman, including billings for the Knitting Factory's What Is Jazz? Festival, the JVC Jazz Festival, the Panasonic Village Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, and the Vision Festival, as well as leading tours in the U.S. and Europe.

Also active as a performer, teacher, and curator in the Balkan folk music scene, Moran plays traditional percussion with artists such as Lefteris Bournias, Raif Hyseni, Demetri Tashie, and other master musicians from the Balkans who have immigrated to New York. With Slavic Soul Party!, he sparked "Balkan Cabaret", a downtown music series for Balkan and Balkan-inspired music.

Moran currently leads the groups Sideshow and Slavic Soul Party! He is also active performing and recording with John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet, the Mat Maneri Quintet, Theo Bleckmann, Dan Levin, Nate Wooley, Kavala Brass Band, and Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band.

Vibraphonist and tunesmith Matt Moran "plays the vibraphone like a speed-chess master, always darting off into flurries of ingenious, unexpected activity" (Village Voice). He has performed and recorded with artists as diverse as Mat Maneri, Lionel Hampton, Combustible Edison, Ellery Eskelin, and Saban Bajramovic. Moran's sound is integral to an innovative group of New York musicians who blur the boundaries of composition, improvisation, and folk traditions."

-Matt Moran Website (http://www.mattmoran.com/bio.html)
10/22/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"[..] Composer/bassist, Brandon A. Lopez, deemed "The Ubiquitous Free Improv Bass Ace" by the Village Voice and said to play with a "Bruising Physicality" by the Chicago reader.

He was born and raised in the splendors of Northwestern New Jersey, in the shadow of the (New York) city. It was there that he cultivated a taste for the left of center musics and subsequently, dug graves.

He's had the pleasures of working with many of the world's luminary weirdos. Here's a list: Nate Wooley, William Parker, Chris Corsano, Justice Yeldham, Weasel Walter, Peter Evans, Tyshawn Sorey, Gerald Cleaver, Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey, Tony Malaby, Paul Lytton, Mette Rasmussen, Jooklo Duo, Michael Foster, Leila Bordreuil, Jaimie Branch, Joe Morris, Brandon Seabrook, Cactus Truck, John Dykeman, Daniel Carter, and many others.

He's currently leads a trio dubbed "The Mess", another one called the Brandon Lopez Trio, works as a soloist and is formerly/currently/latterly writing more and more music. He may play some it sometime soon (see "gigs").

He attended New England Conservatory."

-Brandon Lopez Website (http://www.brandonlopez.nyc/)
10/22/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Collective & Free Improvsation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings
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New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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