It is common knowledge that she is one of the most interesting representatives of the new generation of Catalan jazz musicians. Anyone listening to her will discover a repertoire of original songs and covers of bebop and hard bop classics full of energy, passion and spontaneity.

The Caja de Música at CentroCentro, one of JAZZMADRID’s most natural venues, will be turned into a real jazz club the moment saxophonist Irene Reig steps onto the stage. Irene became interested in music at a very young age, and at the age of fifteen she took her first steps into the world of jazz. Even then, as a learnt the ropes as a member of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, and shortly afterwards when she was a student at ESMUC, with teachers such as Gorka Benítez, Eladio Reinón and Xavi Figuerola, she had a lot to say. Hers was a stream of power that avoided any mimicry, and she was determined to prove it by settling in Amsterdam where she took a master’s degree in performance under the tutelage of Ferdinand Powell.

At times like these, when jazz fans are beset by a clone-like approach to jazz, the appearance of such an artist on the scene is more than welcome. She brings the value of her own personal experience to the music she makes. Her first album as a headliner, Views, in 2017, featured a number of her own compositions that evoked memories of Barcelona, Amsterdam and Philadelphia, cities where Irene has lived. She recorded Views as a quintet, but her next two albums, The Bop Collective and Lapsis, released in 2018 and 2019 respectively, were recorded in octet format, and both are full of original themes with arrangements that lend them an undeniable personality and freshness.

At the moment, Irene Reig is the leader of three formations, a trio, a quintet and an octet, and thanks to the AIE’s AIE En Ruta Jazz, programme, she is now visiting us with the first format. Irene is aware that the trio is the musical ensemble best able to absorb the energetic vapours that are the inspiration of jazz. In her trio, her saxophone is more loosely bridled and, as in the best Sonny Rollins, the proximity allows a greater complicity and more audacity from her partners in rhythm. Irene Reig is no newcomer to our jazz scene; on the contrary, this saxophonist is an undeniable reality. Her concert will be an absolute sensation.