Vega Trails

Inspired by the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains north-west of Madrid, his home since August 2022, Milo Fitzpatrick presents Sierra Tracks the new album from his expansive, cinematic, chamber-jazz project Vega Trails.

Having cut 2022’s beautifully resonant debut album ‘Tremors in the Static’ as a duo, alongside saxophonist Jordan Smart (Mammal Hands and Sunda Arc), Milo now substantially expands upon that blueprint with his follow-up, ‘Sierra Tracks’, which, as the title suggests, was conceived at his new home in central Spain and adds piano, vibraphone and strings to the mix. The beautiful Spanish countryside offered inspiration too. “The landscape here has definitely had an impact on my musical writing,” Milo explains. “I’d describe the terrain as ‘rolling to peak-y’, and you get some really beautiful colours. When it’s a blue-sky day, dusk is so cool – the whole light goes purple-pink. It’s a great time to go out for a walk and get inspired. When I write these pieces, often I’m going somewhere – sometimes physically, others it’s dream places.”

However while Sierra Tracks features an expanded line-up including pianist Taz Modi (a colleague alongside Milo in Portico Quartet’s live band) providing “some rhythmic movement behind us, to free up the bass and sax from being so busy” and vibraphone specialist Harriet Riley, multi-reedist Jordan Smart remains a key voice in Vega Trails.

Presented by Hey! Manchester.

This is a 14+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.