August 2025 Galician Jazz Adventure with Abe Rábade
August 3 - 16, 2025
4800€
per person*
Rural Galicia, Northern Spain
Overview
Discover Your Sound: A Jazz Composition/Performance Retreat in Rural Galicia, Spain
Nestled in the lush, green heart of rural Galicia—where ancient forests whisper and the Atlantic breeze carries the scent of eucalyptus—this immersive jazz composition/performance retreat invites instrumentalists, composers, singers, and inspired improvisers to step away from the noise and tune into their creative core.
Over the course of two weeks, you'll be guided by experienced jazz mentors in a setting that inspires introspection, experimentation, and collaboration. Afternoons are free for composing, wandering through quiet village paths, or jamming in sun-drenched courtyards.
Evenings come alive with intimate performances, fireside conversations, and spontaneous collaborations under the stars. Whether your focus is composing or playing, this retreat offers a rare chance to grow your voice in a nurturing, soulful environment.
With locally sourced Galician meals, rustic-chic accommodations, and the quiet magic of one of Spain’s most timeless landscapes, this retreat is more than a workshop—it’s a creative sanctuary.
Reclaim your rhythm. Compose with intention. Find your voice in Galicia.
Meet Abe Rábade
Abe Rábade is one of the most compelling voices in contemporary jazz piano. Born in Galicia and internationally acclaimed for his expressive, deeply lyrical playing, Abe blends technical brilliance with a profound sense of musical storytelling. His work draws from jazz, classical, and Galician folk traditions, creating a unique sound that is both rooted and exploratory.
With more than a dozen albums as bandleader, collaborations across Europe and the Americas, and a reputation as a dynamic educator, Abe brings depth, soul, and clarity to every performance and project he touches. His presence at our retreat is not just as a musician, but as an inspiration—a bridge between place, culture, and creative vision, and your musical life's journey.
A few of Abe's recent appearances:
- Blue Note Jazz Club – New York City, USA
- Monterey Jazz Festival – California, USA
- Rochester International Jazz Festival – New York, USA
- PAPJAZZ – Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- Jamboree Jazz Club – Barcelona, Spain
- Hot Clube de Portugal – Lisbon, Portugal
- Eivissa Jazz Experience – Ibiza, Spain
- Festival de Jazz de Buenos Aires – Argentina
Retreat Format: Discovering a Unique Culture
Who's it for?
- 6 composers + 6 ensemble players
- Ages 20+ (18–20 considered with references)
- Ideal for intermediate to professional-level instrumentalists, composers, or vocalists
Why Galicia?
There's no doubt that Galicia is an ancient culture -- today's inhabitants are the descendants of the people who carved the petroglyphs into the Galician rocks thousands of years ago.
Along the way, there have been many twists and turns, some involving Romans, Moors, and Napoleon's armies. But during Spain's fascist dictatorship, Galician culture and language was outlawed. Rather than disappearing, it went underground, growing and distilling in secret, cut off from the rest of the world for 36 years. But not just any 36 years -- years during which modern music was evolving at a rapid pace. These unique circumstances have created a particularly potent cultural identity permeating contemporary works, regardless of genre.
Program Structure
Week One: Composition & Cultural Exploration
- Composers reside in a small Galician village, working with Abe and guest artists.
- Ensemble members explore Galicia through curated experiences: traditional music, the landscape, people, history, and cuisine.
- Evening communal dinners and jam sessions foster collaboration and inspiration.
Week Two: Roles Reverse
- Ensemble members bring the new compositions to life through rehearsal and performance.
- Composers take their turn exploring Galician culture, gaining new insight and material.
- The week culminates in a shared public performance, premiering new works inspired by Galicia to the Galician people.
A note from Abe:
Composers Week
The primary focus will be on developing melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, contrapuntal, timbral, structural, and conceptual skills to create an original piece of music. Inspiration for this process will be drawn from a wide range of stylistic sources, including jazz, classical, experimental, world music, and songwriting. Participants will be encouraged to connect their compositions with a deeply personal narrative, aiming for emotional resonance and identification with the final score.
Performers Week
Our goal will be to capture the essence of a set of freshly composed pieces within an environment that fosters meaningful performance. To achieve this, we will employ a variety of ensemble techniques, such as balancing accuracy and expressivity in tempo, emphasizing sound quality and its relationship to character, and carefully managing dynamic contrasts within musical phrases. Additionally, improvisational techniques will be explored for pieces that require them.
Throughout Both Weeks we will have the privilege of hosting a unique selection of Galician soloists and bands, who will share their music and insights with the group. These artists will offer an authentic perspective on their relationship with art, feel and their cultural milieu. This experience will provide diverse influences to enrich both the compositions and their live performances.
Public Performance
The final night of the retreat, the new works will premiere at a concert that will be open to the public.
Visiting Artists
Davide Salvado
Davide Salvado
Davide Salvado
Davide Salvado is a Galician singer and percussionist renowned for his dedication to preserving and revitalizing the traditional music of Galicia, Spain. Born in Marín in 1981, Salvado is a self-taught artist who has traversed Galicia to collect and learn its rich musical heritage. His performances, characterized by emotive vocals and rhythmic percussion playing, have graced international stages, including the Rochester International Jazz Festival in 2024. Davide was featured on Yo Yo Ma's 2017 Grammy Award winning album "Sing Me Home". His discography includes acclaimed albums such as Árnica Pura (2011), Rústica (2015), and Lobos (2015).
Xosé Liz
Davide Salvado
Davide Salvado
Xosé Liz is a distinguished Galician multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, celebrated for his mastery of plucked string instruments and flutes. He has been instrumental in shaping Galicia's contemporary folk scene, founding influential bands such as Beladona, Entretrastes, Lizgairo, and Riobó. Liz has collaborated with renowned artists like Uxía, Rodrigo Romaní, Cristina Pato, and Anxo Lorenzo. His performances have graced international stages, including the Lórient Interceltic Festival, Ortigueira Festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, and Piping Live in Ireland. Beyond performance, he imparts his knowledge as an instructor at the traditional music academy in Vigo, Spain, nurturing the next generation of Galician musicians.
Antía Muíño
Davide Salvado
Abdeljabbar El Gourd Boulkher
Antía Muíño is a Galician singer-songwriter and guitarist from Santiago de Compostela, celebrated for her emotive voice and fusion of traditional Galician music with contemporary genres such as folk, jazz, and bossa nova. Her debut album, Carta Aberta (2022), showcases her unique blend of poetic lyrics and acoustic arrangements, earning her recognition as one of the most promising voices in Spain's independent music scene.
Muíño's musical journey began in her youth, influenced by her family's appreciation for traditional Galician sounds. She honed her skills in local pandereteiras groups and pursued formal music education, developing a style that intertwines cultural heritage with modern sensibilities. Her work has garnered critical acclaim, including the Martín Códax Award for Best Emerging Artist in 2022, and she has been featured on Spotify's EQUAL España campaign, highlighting her impact on the global music stage
Abdeljabbar El Gourd Boulkher
Pandereteiras Do Val de Quireza
Abdeljabbar El Gourd Boulkher
Abdeljabbar El Gourd Boulkher, orginally from Tangier, Morocco, is the son of Gnawa master Abdullah El Gourd Boulkher, a key figure in the preservation and dissemination of this ancestral tradition. Trained from childhood in the art of the hajhuj or gembri, he has performed on stages around the world alongside his father, collaborating with major names in international jazz.
With an open and creative perspective, Abdel has forged his own path, leading musical projects where Gnawa heritage meets jazz and, in recent years, also Galician music. His work is a sonic journey through cultures, roots, and new sensibilities.
María Toro
Pandereteiras Do Val de Quireza
Pandereteiras Do Val de Quireza
María Toro is a Galician flutist, composer, and bandleader renowned for her innovative fusion of flamenco, jazz, and traditional Galician music. Born in 1979 in A Coruña, she began playing the flute at the age of eight and eventually immersing herself in both Galician-Portuguese folk traditions and jazz.
In 2005, Toro moved to Madrid to further her studies at the Escuela de Música Creativa, where she also delved into flamenco, collaborating with esteemed artists like Jorge Pardo. Her career has since taken her across the globe, including stints in New York City—where she performed at venues such as the Blue Note and Joe's Pub—and Rio de Janeiro, where she integrated Brazilian rhythms into her music.
Toro's discography includes her debut album A Contraluz (2014), recorded in New York, and Araras (2016), recorded in Brazil with contributions from Brazilian music legend Hermeto Pascoal. Her work is characterized by a seamless blend of flamenco's emotive depth, jazz's improvisational spirit, and the rich textures of Galician folk music.
Currently based in Madrid, María Toro continues to compose, perform, and collaborate internationally, contributing to the evolving landscape of world music.
Pandereteiras Do Val de Quireza
Pandereteiras Do Val de Quireza
Pandereteiras Do Val de Quireza
Pandereteiras do Val de Quireza is a traditional Galician music group formed in 2008 by women from the Quireza valley in Cerdedo, Galicia.
Rooted in community and intergenerational collaboration, the ensemble began with grandmothers, granddaughters, cousins, and neighbors coming together to share and preserve local musical traditions. Over time, the group expanded to include male members and an instrumental section featuring bagpipes, drums, and bombos. Their repertoire includes muiñeiras, pasodobres, jotas, and foliadas, with many songs collected from the oral traditions of their own families.