April 28, 2026
For The Space You Left - Marta Sanchez
Label: Out Of Your Head Records website bandcamp
Catalog #: OOYH 043
Location: Richmond, Virginia, United States
Release Date: April 17, 2026
Media: vinyl, compact disc or digital download
bandcamp.com entry
discogs.com entry
In the past three or four years, we have listened to about ten albums released by Out Of Your Head records. In each case, we were drawn to explore different ensembles by one member of the group already known to us, be it Mary Halvorson, Tyshawn Sorey, Tomeka Reid or, in several cases, Anna Webber. Our pace of exploration of the label has picked up in 2026, listening to cds including Reid, Webber and the late Susan Alcorn. The Space You Left Behind was the first album that we purchased on the label by a musician who we had not been following closely. We were not totally unfamiliar with the music of Marta Sanchez, having heard her play with David Murray on recent releases on Intakt and Impulse! as well as an appearance with Anna Webber.
Certainly we heard her piano in these sideman (sidewoman) roles, but it wasn't until we heard For The Space You Left, that her creative capabilities really registered with our brain. With the recent release of the compilation, Dalbergia Retusa (PPPH review), we have Hans Reichel on our mind. We remember one time decades ago, when we heard several people agreeing that his debut lp, Wichlinghauser Blues was their favorite Reichel album. Our knee-jerk reaction to this opinion was to think to ourselves that it was a bizarre choice since the evolution of his playing reached new heights on subsequent lps (such as The Death of the Rare Bird Ymir). Later, we conceded that there is often a first listening experience with any musician, when you have that aha! moment and it is that recording, which sticks in your memory with special significance. In fact, we have subsequently recognized our own predilection for early albums of musicians despite later ones displaying greater artistic growth. The point of this unnecessarily lengthy digression is to say that, in the case of Marta Sanchez, we had our own aha! moment with For The Space You Left.
However, this is not to say that there is anything unevolved about the prepared piano solos on this album. To the contrary, they exhibit a composed refinement that falls in a far different spot on the spectrum spanning from improvisation to composition than is typical for our ears. We are not sure there is any improvisation on this album, save for the unpredictability of the sounds generated in the prepared piano. Despite this, when our ears asked our brain if it was okay to find as much pleasure in these pieces as seemed to be happening, the brain said, "Sure, go ahead."
Sanchez plays the piano with a technical acumen that reveals her classical training. We have only modest interest in technical proficiency, valuing it less than other attributes of the music including but not limited to creativity, context and intention. On For The Space You Left, there is a pleasing juxtaposition of talent and originality. Just hearing a snippet of the opening track, Frost Bloom, was a convincing argument to check out the album in full. The tracks themselves are primarily musical. The balance between consonance and dissonance is heavily weighted against disruption. The obvious subversive element is the distortion of the traditional sound of the piano due to it deliberate preparation. There are sequences where the piano generates sounds reminiscent of an oversized music box. We suspect there may be some trace of upending musical norms in the compositions themselves, but our ability to articulate this is limited.
After the spectacular first track, the second track, Inward Loop, had an ominous sound, reminding us of a horror soundtrack though our thinking gears have become so muddled that we couldn't rightly remember which one. The following tracks each presented elements to recommend them. None of them struck us as wandering music, though a couple tracks like, Snowing in the Woods and Espejos (Mirrors), suggested that they might be inclined to wander if they had not been bound to follow the footprints laid down by the composition. In any case, Marta Sanchez created the album that she wanted to create and we appreciate the fruits of her artistic vision and execution. It will be interesting to hear what comes next.
personnel:
- Marta Sanchez (prepared piano) (website)
