The Ricardo Gallo Quartet plays original compositions of Colombian pianist and composer Ricardo Gallo. His music is based on Colombian rhythms from the Andes and from both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the country. Both rhythmically intense and at times dissolved in more spacious textures, his music never loses sight of its roots in traditional Colombian music. The quartet’s approach to improvising varies with the unique character of each composition. The interaction and collaboration of each of the members (piano, bass, drum set and percussion) is an essential part of the collective sound. Their strong interest and backgrounds steeped in Colombian traditional music, in conjunction with their openness to free improvisation, bring a unique energy to the genre of Latin Jazz and World Fusion. 　　 Ricardo Gallo formed and started presenting his group in Bogotá during the summer of 2004, initially a trio with two of the best musicians in Colombia performing jazz and new Colombian music, bassist Juan Manuel Toro (who has played with Colombian Jazz great Antonio Arnedo) and drummer Jorge Sepúlveda (Curupira, Antonio Arnedo, Lucía Pulido, recently awarded “best performer” in the Festival of New Colombian Music by the British American Tobacco Foundation for the Colombian Popular Culture). During the month of July of 2005, the trio performed as part of a concert of Gallo’s compositions at Teatro Delia Zapata, one of the halls of the famous Teatro Colón in Colombia. The group was then extended to a quartet with the addition of percussionist Juan David Castaño, also an outstanding and influential performer of Colombian music who has performed with such legends as Colombia’s master of marimba de chonta, Gualajo, and renowned gaitero Sayas. As a quartet the group performed in several important venues in Bogotá in August of 2005 and recorded their first album. In January 2006 Ricardo Gallo’s debut album as a leader, titled Los Cerros Testigos, was released by the Colombian musicians’ collective La Distritofonica, (www.ladistritofonica.com) and by New York based Chonta Records (www.chontarecords.com) both promoting the exciting wave of New Colombian Music being produced in Bogotá and New York respectively.