Guillermo McGill: Dance of the Angel x Urška Centa

The first evening of this year’s Noches de Tablao contemporary flamenco cycle begins with the concert-dance vision of an artist who has profoundly reshaped the space between jazz and flamenco – Guillermo McGill. The Spanish jazz drummer, composer, and professor of Uruguayan origin, whose playing has shaped the sound of countless flamenco and jazz legends, presents his deep understanding of music as a living substance, as embodied emotion, through the project Dance of the Angel (La danza de un ángel).

Decades of musical creation have forged a brilliant musical mind in which youthful pretension and the need to prove oneself have given way to wisdom, evolving into a pure ability to merge deep emotional expression with musical sophistication. In his pursuit of fundamental themes of spirituality, Guillermo McGill has found a space where individual and collective emotions, stories, and unspoken truths converge – in a continuous dialogue with movement, with dance, with invisible currents that shape our inner world. Music, hand in hand with dance, has always been the purest expression of the human spirit, a way to bridge silence and inhabit time.

There is a place where this truth still lives, woven into everyday existence. Dance of the Angel finds its inspiration in Andalusia, a corner of the world where flamenco resides – an artistic language that does not merely tell stories but marks every moment in need of a voice. In it, the project’s creator sought an understanding of rhythm that transcends technique, resembling more a conversation, the simplicity of breath, and the echo of something ancient yet always new. In this vision, Guillermo McGill meets Slovenian artist, dancer, and choreographer Urška Centa, who unbinds flamenco from tradition, using it as a means to excavate new metaphorical territories and identities. Together with extraordinary collaborators – Sevillian musicians, saxophonist Bernardo Parrilla and pianist Chiqui Cienfuegos, Madrid-based guitarist Álvaro del Valle, and Slovenian double bassist Jošt Lampret – they seek to bridge distances and traverse the boundaries of time, space, and self through sound and movement.

This is not just a concert. It is an invitation into a dimension where music is everything.

About Guillermo McGill
Guillermo McGill is a drummer, percussionist, professor, composer, and producer who has collaborated with some of the most prominent artists in jazz and flamenco, including Enrique Morente, Dave Liebman, Tete Montoliu, Juan Manuel Cañizares, John Abercrombie, Wynton Marsalis, Marc Johnson, George Mraz, Niño Josele, and many others.
As a member of Chano Domínguez's trio, alongside Javier Colina, since its founding in 1991, he also participated in Fernando Trueba’s film Calle 54. He
continues to perform and has released seven albums as a bandleader while contributing to more than 80 recordings as a sideman. Additionally, he has
published the Flamenco Jazz Real Book and two instructional books for cajón. He has performed at some of the world’s most renowned festivals, theaters, and concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Mariinsky Theater, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Teatro Real, Auditorio Nacional, JVC Jazz Festival NY, Lincoln Center, Beacon Theater, Chicago Jazz Festival, Los Angeles Jazz Festival, Palais de Congrès de Paris, Kennedy Center, Berlin Jazz Festival, Festival de Jazz de Buenos Aires, Beijing Jazz Festival, Blue Note Tokyo, Yokohama Jazz Promenade, Kuala Lumpur DPAC, North Sea Jazz Festival, and many more.
Since 1984, he has taught drums and ensemble performance at some of Spain’s most prestigious jazz schools, including Taller de Música in Barcelona, Taller de Músicos in Madrid, Escuela de Música Creativa, and since 2005, Musikene, where he currently teaches.

About Noches de Tablao
The Noches de Tablao cycle presents contemporary flamenco art through interdisciplinary artistic events primarily based on the live connection between
music and dance, alongside an educational and theoretical program. The project builds a cultural bridge between international and local artists, fostering dialogue between flamenco and other musical genres while showcasing new approaches to music, dance, and performance art. Since its inception in 2017, Noches de Tablao has provided a platform for cuttingedge artistic projects that challenge genre boundaries, offering a wide range of contemporary forms of expression. The cycle features concerts and dance performances where tradition enters into dynamic alliances with innovation.

Noches de Tablao cycle supported by Riko d.o.o.