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Ramón López
Born on 6 August 1961 in Alicante, Spain.
He began as a self-taught drummer in the mid-1970s. Ramón López settled permanently in Paris in January 1985 and joined the french and international jazz and artistic scene, where he has distinguished himself for forty years.
A jazz drummer renowned for his personal and atypical style, which is enriched by an immense musical culture, Ramón López is currently one of the most respected European artists in the field of contemporary jazz, having recorded more than 100 CDs and performing in concerts and festivals all over the world with some of the most influential and innovative representatives of the jazz universe. (*)
Alongside his impressive musical career, Ramón, the son and grandson of photographic artists, is intensely active as an artist and takes part in numerous exhibitions. His painting, presented by several international galleries, is part of important European and American private collections and is inseparable from his musical practice.
Appointed "Chevalier" of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2008, Ramon Lopez was promoted to the rank of "Officer" in 2023.
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Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii / Ramon Lopez: Yama Kawa Umi
by John Sharpe
Encounters with Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii arrive with mindboggling regularity, yet her output remains remarkably immune to routine. Yama Kawa Umi reunites her with trumpeter (and husband) Natsuki Tamura and Paris-domiciled Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez, resuming the volatile chemistry first heard on Mantle (NotTwo, 2020). Across eight compositions--five by Fujii, three by Tamura--and a brief collective, the trio sculpts improvisations within shifting frameworks, where precision can erupt from apparent disorder and dissolve just as suddenly. Despite the sparse ...
Continue ReadingRamón López: 40 Springs In Paris
by Mark Corroto
To say that Spanish-born Ramón López is an in-demand drummer would be an understatement. His recent collaborators span a wide spectrum of creative music, including Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura, Ivo Perelman, Barry Guy, Agustí Fernández and Angelica Sanchez--and that list reaches well beyond the realms of jazz and free improvisation. López has performed in intimate ensembles and large jazz orchestras, and his deep study of both flamenco and Indian classical music adds rich dimensions to his artistry. This ...
Continue ReadingSavina Yannatou / Barry Guy / Ramon Lopez / Floros Floridis: Kouarteto
by John Sharpe
Four seasoned improvisers unite to telling effect on Kouartéto. Their pedigrees go back a long way. Greek vocalist Savina Yannatou, English bassist Barry Guy and Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez have been colleagues in Guy's Blue Shroud Band for the past 14 years, though Attikos (Maya, 2010) documenting bassist and singer in tandem at Amsterdam's esteemed Bimhuis predates that. Clarinetist Floros Floridis' association with the singer stretches back further still, not surprising as he has been at the forefront of the ...
Continue ReadingNatsuki Tamura, Satoko Fujii, Ramon Lopez: Yama Kawa Umi
by Alberto Bazzurro
Il batterista franco-spagnolo Ramon Lopez, uno dei più personali della scena avant, specificatamente in quel suo approccio che definiremmo “tellurico" all'elemento percussivo, senza per questo mai esondare, si inserisce--si innesta, meglio ancora--su un duo d'arte e di vita largamente collaudato come quello formato da Satoko Fujii e Natsuki Tamura, generando un dialogo a tre voci decisamente sui generis, per la libertà che lo informa, a partire dal modo in cui vengono ribaltate le usuali gerarchie esistenti fra i tre strumenti ...
Continue ReadingSavina Yannatou / Julius Gabriel / Agusti Fernandez / Barry Guy / Ramon Lopez: In The Light Of The Current Myth
by John Sharpe
Although this is the first release by the quintet of saxophonist Julius Gabriel, pianist Agustí Fernández, drummer Ramon López, bassist Barry Guy and vocalist Savina Yannatou, all five have been members of Guy's Blue Shroud Band since its inception in 2014. As such they are well versed in each other's capabilities and predilections, having taken part in countless improv sessions together in a variety of combinations. Consequently there is an ease and trust that permeates the fast mutating kaleidoscope of ...
Continue ReadingNatsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii / Ramon Lopez: Yama Kawa Umi
by Dan McClenaghan
In a nearly thirty-year career, Satoko Fujii (pianist, bandleader, composer, provocateur, sonic experimenter in the first degree) has shown herself to be one of the most daring and uncompromising artists in music. In a way, she is like Thelonious Monk in that--upon an initial experience with Monk's music (and Fujii's)--the uninitiated may not know quite what to make of what they are hearing, because neither of these artists follows a rule book. They were/are themselves. Best advice to those unfamiliar: ...
Continue ReadingIvo Perelman / Aruán Ortiz / Ramón López: Ephemeral Shapes
by Hrayr Attarian
For over three decades innovative saxophonist Ivo Perelman has been a stalwart of the creative music scene. Each addition to his impressive, and uniformly superb, discography is a unique expression of spontaneity that bears his indelible stylistic mark. One of the reasons for Perelman's success is his uncanny ability to find like-minded collaborators. The introspective Ephemeral Shapes is no exception in all of the above. An eight-part improvised suite finds Perelman in the company of two equally ingenious musicians: the ...
Continue ReadingAgusti Fernandez, Baldo Martinez and Ramon Lopez - Triez (Emarcy, 2010) ****
Source:
Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels
By Stef No doubt Spain's number one pianist in jazz is Agustí Fernández, whose playing spans the history of music, from classical over traditional jazz to avant-garde. Just to show the pianist's breadth, I confront this very accessible and almost Bill Evanesque album with Trio Local, reviewed below, bringing music totally out of the comfort zone of every listener, yet equally coherent as a trio performance. This album's title is a kind of joke, referring to the word “trio," but ...
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Agusti Fernandez, Barry Guy and Ramon Lopez - Morning Glory (Maya, 2010) ****1/2
Source:
Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels
By Stanley Zappa At its high points, Morning Glory is no less a musical achievement than the greatest of the great piano trios in our beloved music. Two that come to mind are the The Lowell Davidison Trio and Bill Evan's Sunday at the Village Vanguard. At their best Agusti Fernández, Barry Guy and Ramón López continue the larger, transcendent conversation begun by the players on those canonical recordings and could, for approximation reasons, be likened to a combination of ...
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Music
Asatsuyu
From: ConfluenceBy Ramón López
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Ramón López
Instrument: Drums
Born: August 6, 1961
