released on september 30, 2022

La Tortuga Alada (The winged turtle) is an imaginary animal whose particular anatomy draws us to an ambiguous being that scurries restlessly and, at the same time, achieves weightlessness. In these two antipodes is the musical project created in 2017 by the Colombian saxophonist and clarinetist María Valencia and the Argentine cellist Violeta García, who exceed the rigorousness of jazz and contemporary chamber music, placing their explorations at the limit of improvised music and instant composition. In that place of free forms, risky soundscapes and real-time dialogues, was born Cuadernos de Viaje Nº 1, a recording made in Bogotá, Colombia, on January 26, 2018, and released by Discos Chichigua.

Between 2018 and 2020, the duet traveled from one place to another and performed, among others, in two emblematic spaces of the Latin American experimental scene: Roseti (Buenos Aires) and Matik-Matik (Bogota). In those same cities and before the obligatory hibernation of the pandemia, they recorded Cuadernos de viaje Nº 2, their second album, which continues the exploration of spontaneous music that gravitates between melancholic atmospheres, frenetic conversations and sound vignettes that could well be the soundtrack of expressionist short films.

In addition to the visual support -by the Brazilian illustrator and double bass player Manu Maltezthe album also includes “Sinalefa hacia el Sur”, a telematic improvisation piece featuring the participation of four restless improvisers: the Colombians musicians Ana Ruiz Valencia and Juliana Gaona -who play the violin and oboe, respectively-, the Argentine saxophonist Camila Nebbia and the Brazilian accordionist Lívia Mattos.

Violeta Garcia | cello
María “Mange” Valencia | bass clarinet and alto sax

Guest on “Sinalefa hacia el sur”
Camila Nebbia | tenor sax
Livia Mattos | acordeon
Juliana Gaona | oboe
Ana Ruiz Valencia | violin

Guest on “Túnel del inicio”
Camila Nebbia | tenor sax
Juliana Gaona | english horn

Recorded on 21st of September 2018 at Ideo Music in Buenos Aires by Carlos Quebrada and on 19th of March 2020 at “matik-matik” in Bogotá by Benjamin Calais.
Sinalefa hacia el sur was recorded in February 2022 between Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Medellin, Sao Paulo, El Paso and Lyon.

Benjamin Calais | Mix and master digital
R3myboy | Master vinyl