After the birth of my firstborn son, Fabio, I needed some moments of retreat. The direction of my life changed from being impulsive and spontaneous to a life that was better organi­zed and a little bit more structured. Little did I know that this new phase in my life was the kick-start for a new way to compose my music. Approaching life and music differently created new sounds, new projects and eventually, this new cd PLAYGROUND.

To continue, I would love to share some of my sentiments out of which the music on PLAYGROUND was born.

The title song Playground reminds me of the feeling of being surrounded by children. Little kids playing, running in all directions, crying and laughing… The sensation of a new life, the feeling of a new start, new ideas and new hope.

At the same time in El Reto I’m talking about the great challenge of life. These are crazy times and you have to be strong, your antennas have to be very sensitive to all that’s around you in order to feel in what direction ‘sopla el viento’. Feeling which way the wind blows so that you can always be prepared.

In Fabio you will meet Ramon the father. Me taking care of my son, making sure he’s safe, teaching him about life and the dangers of it, playing and singing to him from my deepest Cuban feelings and letting him experience our Cuban roots and traditions.

In Zwana I tell the story of the love of my life and the mother of my child. It’s a tribute to our love history in a waltz tempo.

With Siboney I pay homage to the most famous Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. I’m always inspired by his work and I took one part of his composition in which I could let my own imagination fly. So it’s my own interpretation of this piece.

Looking at one of Fabio’s toys Laberinto made me realize that this toy with three paths entwined is so like life. All the stages we go through emotionally; happiness, sadness, nostalgia and so on. Sometimes we get lost because we don’t know how to deal with this.

The piece Cinco hermanas is a synthesis about all the moments I shared with my sisters. Sharing music, joking and laughing. The intro of this composition reminds me of a Cuban portrait.

Changing the mood of the tune on The trio. To play With Omar and Owen is always a journey of a lot of fun. Three personalities brought together by our love of jazz music in this moment in time.

Sometimes you can say so many things, using a few notes in a different context. This happened with the ballad Free at last that was born in a moment of free improvisation at the last day of the recor­ding of my solo project Memorias.

Dilsberg Morning light, I wrote this piece in Dilsberg. I watched the beautiful process of the rising of the sun out of my window while I was practicing on the piano.

Live is unpredictable…Baila Harold, Baila is a piece I dedicate to my friend, a great dancer Harold Williams, who was killed in a street fight. I want to remember him the way he was, full of life and joy.

Reverso (inside out) is a piece I originally wrote as a classical composition for the piano but during rehearsal I got the idea to do a trio version and so the tune became a part of our repertoire. It’s a composition about the things we cannot see or feel unless the person we love shows it to us.

Let the music speak for itself,

Ramón Valle