Catalonia - 1981 - Catalonia

Obscure Spanish fusion-progressive band from Barcelona founded in 1978 by musicians previously in Gotic, Musica Urbana and Pegasus: Rafael Escoté (bass), Ángel Pereira (drums, percussion), Lluís Vidal (piano) and Antonio Peral (sax).

Group formed in Barcelona in 1981 after the disintegration of its previous band, Gotic. Its components were Rafael Escoté (bass), Ángel Pereira (drums and percussion), Lluís Vidal (piano) and Antonio Peral (saxo). 

If Gotic drank in the sources of symphonic rock, Catalonia would do so in the avant-garde jazz promoted by the German record label ECM and musicians such as the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek or the guitarist Path Metheny, but he assumed his own idiosyncrasy and expressiveness. 

At the dissolution of Gotic, Catalonia is formed, but temporarily overlapping. In fact, Lluís Vidal and the guitarist Josep Albert Cubero were on the verge of entering Gotic, for which nothing else to separate a group, the walking of another new one began.

They published an LP of the same name in 1981 through the Cúspide label (discophon subdivision), recorded in the Gema 1 studio in Barcelona, ??where they exhibited highly developed instrumental pieces as exclusive as 'Mistela', 'Bolero', 'En un recó' del cor 'and' A Swedish in America '. They completed the album 'Lorelai' and 'Una mica de res', all composed between Vidal and Escoté at fifty percent. 

During this time (1981-82), Escoté was part of the big band Factoría Musical.

For no apparent reason, they split up in 1982. Rafael Escoté continued making recordings as a session musician with Santi Arisa (Tribu), Max Sunyer and Josep Mas "Kitflus", which gave rise to the idea of creating Pegasus. After the experience of Pegasus, he joined forces again with Rafael Escoté, Santi Arisa and Kitflus to assemble the group Aldebarán, with whom he records an album in 1989. After several years retired from active musical life, but fully immersed in the teacher In 2002, Escoté reunited with Kitflus in his Kitflus Kuartet group and in 2007 he participated in the Pegasus meeting to mark his 25th anniversary.

Lluís Vidal formed the group Onix in 1983 and in 1987, another band known as Ictus. In 1985, together with Josep Pons and Jaume Cortadellas, he founded the Orchestra of Cambra Teatre Lliure, a training aimed at the interpretation of twentieth-century music with which he has performed at the most recognized festivals in Spain and Europe. In the 2001-2002 academic year, the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC) was created, joining the teaching team as a professor in the department of Jazz and Modern Music.