This one goes out to Professor Balseiro who, in 2021, sent me an email with the subject “Fun stuff” and a link to Rita Payes’s “No digo que no (vaca y pollo)”. Five years later, it’s still such a banger.

There was a time when I didn’t really care much for trombone. It was always there, I guess, in the same way that pretzels are in Chex Mix. But this album made me reconsider that- I came around to the idea that in the hands of a capable few, a trombone can be more like a Corn Chex, or maybe a Squiggle Breadstick.

I’ll call out “No digo que no” in particular, because I have no idea how she came up with this song. A catchy chromatic melody, sure. A shredding guitar solo? Oh, sure. Trading fours between Spanish guitar and trombone? Why does that work? And why does it SOUND SO GOOD?

Another delightful fact is that the acoustic guitarist that plays throughout the whole album, Elisabeth Roma, is Rita’s mom. God, that’s so wholesome.

Last thing: listen to her Tiny Desk. She wrote and arranged every song, including the string parts. Jesus.