Personnel:
Moisés Sánchez (p, keyb), Chris Jennings (b), Naíma Acuña (d)
Reference: FSRCD 5158
Bar code: 8427328651585
The process of creating new music has always been a challenge for me from many different perspectives. Over the years, one question has grown increasingly important: why? Why do I want to compose new pieces? What meaning do I want them to carry? What story do I hope to tell with each song?
Since my earliest albums, I’ve been obsessed with the idea that there must be a narrative thread that gives purpose to the full listening experience — that the listener feels rewarded when they reach the end, as if they had shared a unique moment with the musicians. Only then does the album stop belonging to us and become theirs.
Where Light Begins was born from the need to find a point of light to hold on to in moments of deepest darkness. It speaks of descending into one’s own hells and still having the will to do the inner work that allows you to return to the world and find a path forward. The brightest light always emerges from the darkest places, and that is how I have lived these past years, for very personal reasons that I have tried to lay bare in these compositions.
After so many years composing, I’ve come to the conclusion that the music I write must be born from life, not from formulas. I need both interpretation and composition to grow out of my own experiences so they can be true—so I don’t take refuge in functional resources which, while useful, cannot be the ultimate purpose of art. At least not for me.
Every piece on this album is rooted in that conviction and reveals a part of my life, sometimes more intimate, sometimes less, but always leaving enough space for the listener to make it their own. Some pieces have a more evidente reading—like February 10th, dedicated to Lyle Mays, or Kioto contigo, written for my wife Cristina—and others are more personal, such as Un gran futuro a tus espaldas or Unfinished Conversations. In all of them, each listener will find their own story.
This work also marks an important change: for the first time in twenty years as a bandleader, I have renewed the trio that accompanies me. I have shared music and life with Borja Barrueta and Toño Miguel, and I know we will continue to do so, but at this moment it felt natural to bring in two exceptional musicians, Chris Jennings and Naíma Acuña, who have elevated my compositions and brought a freshness that I believe listeners will enjoy.
To all of them, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your talent with me. Here we go again. I hope you enjoy this music, made with all the heart and passion I was capable of giving at this moment in my life. See you on the road, and may this light always be our secret refuge.
—Moisés P. Sánchez
