The catalan jazz- and bossa nova-artist visits Oslo World at Parkteatret on October 30th.
Still in the middle of her twenties, Rita Payés has established a dual presence on the music scene: She is a masterful trombone player, blending jazz with a Catalan music background who has performed with jazz greats such as Jimmy Cobb, Jon Batiste and Maria Schneider. Payés is also a singer-songwriter, combining a flair for intimate pop jazz balladry with gen z sensibilities.
A daughter of musicians, Payés became known through the ranks of Sant Andreu Jazz Band, a talent incubator which has fostered several promising musicians on the Barcelona jazz scene. She released her first solo work, Como la piel, in 2021. The album was built around her own compositions and she was accompanied by her own mother, the classical guitarist Elisabeth Roma. With a song such as “Algo contigo” gathering over 75 million streams on Spotify it laid the groundwork for what was to come.
In 2023, Rita Payés collaborated with five-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste on his latest album, World Music Radio, where they performed the song “My Heart” together. Last year, she released her third solo album, De Camino al Camino. It was a bold statement, inspired by the search for beauty in everyday things. Here, the trombonist/singer/songwriter delved deep into moody chamber music, drawing on classical influences and lush third stream jazz. She painted on a much larger canvas than before, while maintaining the grasp of the intimate and the immediate which has made her such a sensation. "Each song feels like a snapshot," she has said, “a little story or a moment in time (...) it’s imperfect, but it’s real.” Imperfect, but real - as good a description of a great live experience as you’ll ever find. We saw her live twice last winter - both were among our highlights of 2024.
