Ricardo Gallo

Colombian pianist and composer Ricardo Gallo has written for acoustic and electro- acoustic formats, for short films, videos, dance and multimedia stage productions, and has performed and written for improvisatory groups. He has published nine albums as a leader, his music has appeared in several compilations in Colombia, USA, and Europe, and has participated in recordings of several other groups.

Among his main projects is the quartet he leads since 2005 with some of the best musicians from Bogotá’s scene: drummer Jorge Sepúlveda, bassist Juan Manuel Toro, and percussionist Juan David Castaño, developing repertoire and an improvisational approach that integrates an avant-garde and free language with rhythmic and melodic elements from folkloric musical traditions. Ricardo Gallo Cuarteto has released four albums: Los Cerros Testigos (2005), Urdimbres y Marañas (2007), Resistencias (2010), and Tribu del Asfalto (2013), all of them published under the catalogue of the musician’s collective La Distritofonica.

In New York he leads since 2007 the group Tierra de Nadie, with seasoned musicians such as trombonist Ray Anderson, saxophonist Dan Blake, bassist Mark Helias, and percussionists Pheeroan akLaff and Satoshi Takeishi. With this project he released the album The Great Fine Line in 2010 under the portuguese label Clean Feed Records.

Two notable ongoing duos are his long-lasting project with guitarist Alejandro Flórez, publishing in 2009 the album Meleyolamente as a debut for the label Festina Lente Discos. Most recently with singer Juanita Delgado they published independently Canciones internas y de otras partes in 2016.

With the multimedia group La Quinta del Lobo he has participated as composer and performer on piano, keyboards and electronics on two large scale stage pieces: Vanitas Libellum and Cuentos de la Mangleria, performing in several theaters in Colombia as well as in Peru, Hong Kong and U.S.A.

Gallo has participated in projects led by Ray Anderson, Peter Evans (Live in Lisbon), Santiago Botero (MULA, El Ombligo), Edson Velandia (Bin Ban, Aputoi), Pedro Ojeda (Romperayo), Lukas Ligeti (notebook) among others.

He has performed his own music in Peru, Puerto Rico, Canada, Kenya, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Germany, Chile, Argentina, U.S.A. and Colombia. Gallo has received commissions from Colombia Symphony Orchestra and Big Band Bogotá, and funds for tours and residencies from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, The Banff Centre and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec in Canada.

He finished his undergraduate at the University of North Texas with honors and holds a Masters and PhD in music composition from Stony Brook University.