Upcoming Concerts

Randy Ingram – piano
Drew Gress – double bass
Karl Ousbäck – drums

Randy Ingram, a New York–based pianist and composer, has been praised as “a pianist of taste and resources” (The New Yorker) and “a formidable composer” (The San Francisco Chronicle). “A pianist drawn to contemporary harmony with a refined rhythmic sense… insightful, self-assured” (The New York Times).

Ingram’s artistry as a pianist and composer is fully displayed on his latest trio album, Aries Dance, a celebration of movement and musical expression featuring legendary drummer Billy Hart alongside Ingram’s trusted bassist, the renowned Drew Gress. Aries Dance was released by Sounderscore Records in October 2024 to widespread acclaim, earning a 4.5-star review in DownBeat. Stereophile magazine notes that Randy Ingram’s Aries Dance could be placed in a time capsule as a paradigm of the piano trio format.

Frantzes Elzaurdia - piano
Javier Tapia - double bass
Michael Olivera - drums
Inoidel González - sax

The Cuban sax player, Inoidel González, presents us with an exciting musical journey that revives the essence of jazz classics and the musical tradition of the Caribbean and South America.

During this sonic experience, we will walk among song geniuses such as Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Marta Valdés, Jose Antonio Méndez, Miguel Matamoros, Chico Buarque, and Pixinguinha.

A magical night of improvisation led by an incredible quartet that will make us accomplices in the longing for that music that makes us dream.

Daniel Juárez - tenor sax
Íñigo Ruíz de Gordejuela - piano
Darío Guibert - double bass
Naima Acuña - drums

Considered one of the most important European contemporary jazz albums of 2025, Reflexividad is “a deeply introspective project that explores themes such as beauty, desire, identity, and perspective, while at the same time inviting reflection on universal human experiences through music.”

Jim Kashishian – trombone, voice
Benjamín Mitte – piano
Antonio Domínguez – double bass
Yevhen Riechkalov – trumpet
Raúl Rodríguez – drums

La Canal, with its five members, each contributing their ideas, develops not only a Jazz style but creates its own musical style that demonstrates enough appeal and energy to spread the joy inherent in Jazz across almost all its forms. With their experience, La Canal perfectly conveys Jazz and reinforces their image as the most distinguished band in Spain. They simply exude enviable dignity and schooling.

Cristina de la Vega - voice
Ana San Juan - clarinet
Irene González - cello
Arturo Ballesteros - piano, composition, and arrangements

Odojazz bases its repertoire on original compositions by Arturo Ballesteros, Brazilian music, boleros, and jazz standards. The arrangement writing, detailed and precise, leaves little room for improvisation. The instrumentation, with voice, clarinet, cello, and piano interwoven contrapuntally, gives the group a refined and elegant sound, close to chamber music. The quartet blends classical and jazz elements, creating a style of great beauty and freshness.

Leo Sidran - guitar, drums, voice
Max Darmon - bass
Paul Sany - piano
Luisa Corral - voice
Laura Revuelta - voice

The multi-instrumentalist, composer, and singer Leo Sidran first played at Café Central in 1998, at just 21 years old, accompanying his father Ben Sidran on drums. From that first year, the Central stage became a kind of second home for both father and son. They returned every year for their annual residency, initially performing for seven consecutive nights and, over time, extending their stay to fourteen nights a year. This tradition was immortalized in Ben Sidran’s album Cien Noches at the Café Central (2007), recorded live during the group’s 100th concert at the venue.

In 2018 - twenty years after first performing at the Central as a drummer - Leo started another tradition: bringing his original music, guitar, and voice to the stage. He presented his album Cool School [The Music of Michael Franks] for the first time, and since then has returned every year, often to present new material (most recently, What’s Trending from 2023, his eighth solo album). After seeing him live at Café Central, journalist Fernando Neira described him as a “discreet genius of jazz-infused pop.”

Over so many years returning to the same stage, Sidran’s community of musicians and friends in Madrid has flourished, and each concert becomes an opportunity to invite guests, giving rise to improvised or unexpected musical encounters.

These friendships have also led to collaborations. Sidran co-produced the Oscar-winning song Al otro lado del río with Jorge Drexler (whom he met at Café Central!), and his most recent project, Leo & Leo, is a duo with Leonor Watling - whom he first sang with on that very stage.

And so, with that spirit of community and the pursuit of the unexpected, Sidran returns to Café Central for the final time, in a new format forged from friendships born in that sacred space: a tribute to so much life lived there, and an affirmation that even in farewell, there is room for discovery. Accompanied by some of his favorite musicians and singers from Madrid, he will offer a series of unique final concerts at the Central.

“Nothing superficial in this singer, who combines like no other a carefree character with refined manners.” – Télérama, Paris

Livia Giaffreda - voice, percussion
Mario Carrillo - double bass, square frame drum
Daniel García Diego - piano, square frame drum
Pablo Martín Jones - drums, percussion

A single path. To sprout.

The music that is born from the meeting of these two musicians seeks to explore the process of flourishing within the transformative cycles of life.

A luminous voice slides between the sinuous strings of a double bass, lets itself be guided by the waves of the piano, and places one step in front of the other guided by the rhythmic cadences of Afro-Latin cultures.

Between roots music and jazz, Livia and Mario speak of migrations and inner revolutions, with a refined, passionate, and sensitive language. Like on a map, specific places are touched, from southern Italy to South America, passing through Spain and Portugal, discovering that the origin of everything lies in the balance between going and returning.

To live means to make and remake, to be born and to die continuously, to undress, to rot, and to bloom.

Livia and Mario bring together worlds that are different from one another, mixing them with playfulness and courage, in a perpetual flow that does not lead to a precise destination, but rather to a constant and ever new beginning.

Livia Giaffreda is originally from southern Italy and lives in Toulouse. She has deep knowledge of her tradition and shares it, and she is in love with languages and stories. She meets Mario Carrillo while sharing Iberian roots music, and they decide to come together in Madrid with Daniel García Diego and Pablo Martín Jones, traveling masters of music and explorers of the colors of jazz, to propose a journey through Mediterranean music that connects with Africa and the Americas and to tell a story of connections between peoples, individuals, and universal feelings.

Celia Mayo - voice
Richard Krull - piano
Toño Miguel - double bass
Dani García - drums

Richard Krull’s trio is made up of musicians with long careers as leaders of their own groups and proven creative ability. They are veterans and they are also three friends who wanted to come together in this adventure.

Celia Mayo is a young singer of the new generation, the kind who never leaves anyone indifferent, quite the opposite. She expresses her talent across any vocal range and dynamic, and with a careful selection of songs for the audience’s enjoyment.

Haylen - voice, guitar
Pablo Sanpa - guitar
David Salvador - bass
Antonio Pax - drums

Haylen is a French singer and guitarist influenced by blues, soul, and rock’n’roll. From a young age she developed her passion for music on the underground scene in Paris, performing in metro stations, jam sessions, and alternative venues, where she built her reputation as a rhythm guitarist and singer with a wide vocal range. Inspired by artists such as Amy Winehouse, Etta James, and Aretha Franklin, her musical universe blends the vintage aesthetics of the 1950s and 1960s with a contemporary energy.

After releasing her first EP Out of Line in 2018, Haylen released her album Blue Wine in 2023, a 13-song work that explores blues, soul, and rock’n’roll sounds with arrangements that include strings and horns. Throughout her career she has performed at numerous concerts and international festivals, and has participated in stage productions such as the show Fashion Freak Show by Jean Paul Gaultier and the rock opera Le Rouge et le Noir.

César Filiú Douglas - sax
Miguel Ángel “Wiwi” - piano
Reinier Elizarde “El Negrón” - double bass
Rodrigo Ballesteros - drums

Journey to My Land

This concert is a journey toward my roots. A path through the sounds, memories, and traditions that have shaped the way I understand music.

I grew up surrounded by musicians, listening to stories that came from far away and from nearby, from Cuba, the Caribbean, jazz, and many other musical traditions that speak with one another. Over time I understood that these influences are not just references: they are part of my identity.

With this trio I want to explore that personal territory. A space where the Afro-Cuban tradition, the language of jazz, and the search for a personal voice coexist. It is not only about looking back, but about conversing with those roots from the present.

Journey to My Land is, in essence, a return. A return to the sounds that shaped me, to the musical memory I inherited, and to the freedom to transform it.