In the spirit of accordion great Astor Piazzolla, Chilean-born, NYC-based guitarist Patricio Morales enchants the listener with his 2025 album La Tierra Canta. The Piazzolla connection comes into play thanks to the accordion and piano work of Vitor Goncalves and a host of other fine musicians that support Patricio throughout the album.

For the 9-track, 38 minute album, Morales revisits music he wrote early in his career. Backing his sonorous, very easy on the ears nylon string classical guitar are gifted players including the rhythm section of Sebastian De Urquiza (upright bass) and Rodrigo Recabarren (drums), while other players lend further support on indigenous Brazilian and Portuguese percussion.

In addition to the South American influences, La Tierra Canta also features very continental, European influences overall that makes it very smooth with a kind of NYC vintage jazz sound added in for good measure. The pairing of seasoned hands such as Morales and Goncalves makes La Tierra Canta a most memorable musical experience. 

RMR presents an interview with Patricio Morales

RMR: Tell us how your new album La Tierra Canta took shape and came together. How did you put the band together and tell us about working with Vitor Goncalves and the album’s co-producer Gillian Eames.

Patricio Morales: It really started out of the need to have something to put out into the market, to make myself relevant and have something to promote and play. The best way was to use material that I had but hadn’t recorded or wasn’t satisfied with how it had previously been produced. So I decided to use that box of old tunes that I had written earlier in my career.

Then I got in touch with percussionist Franco Pinna—we met and jammed together and he was going to play on the album. He urged me to contact arranger Juan Andres Ospina and I did and gave him four tunes to collaborate on new arrangements and freshen up. Through Juan Andres I got the contacts for all the other musicians, Vitor included. I contacted Vitor and we got together and made a video of the tune “ La Tierra Canta”. Vitor is a great musician who brought his Brazilian musical know-how to the table. He plays all kinds of music, and I think that is one of the exciting things about working with him. He is a piano player and understands harmony really well so we could talk in detail about the music.

My wife, Gillian, has obviously been following me throughout the making of the album and supporting me in the journey, helping to make decisions about the album—musically, visually and financially. She’s my partner in every way in the project!

RMR: The La Tierra Canta album was recorded in Brooklyn NY. Tell us about your connection to Brooklyn and NYC as I heard you teach guitar at the conservatory there. Where do you live in New York and what do you like most about it and what other cities have you lived in the US?

Patricio Morales: I heard about the recording studio through Vitor who had already been recording with the studio owner, Alessio Romano, for several years. I was looking for someone who could also make videos since visuals are so important these days. Alessio fit that role perfectly since he is both a musician and video producer. Alessio is Italian, from Milan. I also lived for years in Milan and the Italian region of Switzerland so it was a lot of fun to speak Italian “slang” with him. We got along well! Working with Alessio on the audio was very easy because he is so musical and he understood where the music wanted to go. He has had extensive experience in South America playing as a percussionist. He is also married to an Argentinian singer and knows all about South American folklore so that added another layer to the relationship and to his approach to mixing my music.

My connection to NYC started when I first came to NY in 1981 at age 19 and began my life as a musician. I studied at SUNY Purchase Conservatory and then later at Brooklyn College Conservatory so I ended up spending a lot of time in NYC, working and living in many different neighborhoods in Brooklyn and in the East Village. During that time I became friends with Al Diaz and was fully immersed in the downtown scene. I also spent about three years in Seattle where I was studying and working with Ralph Towner and his band Oregon.

RMR: Tell us about growing up in Chile. Does La Tierra Canta have a Chilean sound and what does the title mean and imply? How would you compare Chilean music to other countries in South America?

Patricio Morales: Growing up in Chile was not exactly fun — it was a difficult place to be, especially under Pinochet’s regime. There weren’t many possibilities or resources and we were living in somewhat of a cultural void. However, the tune La Tierra Canta, meaning “The Earth Sings”, feels very joyful. Writing the melody gave me back that feeling of joy and a happy time in my youth with my family. It reflects a connection with the people and places I grew up in.

Unlike Tango in Argentina, Samba in Brazil, Bolivian and Peruvian pan flutes, which is music that has permeated throughout the world and is easily recognizable, in Chile we are not known specifically for our music. The music that I know of in Chile is political protest music of the 1950’s and 60’s that used traditional instruments, written by folkloristic singer-songwriters like Violetta Parra and Victor Jara. The music in La Tierra Canta does have some distinct Chilean — or South American— sounds with its hemiola (2 against 3) rhythm patterns.

RMR: What guitars are you playing on the album? What were your classical studies like and do you have some favorite classical guitar influences like Villa-Lobos and Segovia? I also heard you studied with Ralph Towner for a while, he was a big influence. How did Towner influence your music?

Patricio Morales: I’m playing the Gregory Miller guitar — Jeffrey Elliot model. It’s a new guitar that I had ordered expressly, made out of European spruce. I love its sound and really only play that guitar. I have many classical guitar heroes: Christopher Parkening, John Williams, Julian Bream. I studied classical repertoire from South America — Antonio Lauro, Leo Brauer, as well as Francisco Tarraga, Fernando Sor and J.S Bach.

Early on in Chile, I fell in love with the music and sound of Ralph Towner. I had the opportunity to meet him in NYC then traveled to Seattle to study guitar and composition with him. He took me under his wing and I ended up going on the road with him with his band Oregon for a couple of years in the States and Canada. I learned so much during that time and his playing and harmonies greatly influenced the way I build a tune.

RMR: You currently live in Red Hook NY. How close are you to the city? It must be idyllic there… but cold.

Patricio Morales: We live about 2 hours north of the city in a house that my wife and I built. It’s a real sanctuary and I do my music making and practicing there in the middle of nature. I also teach music at Bard Conservatory and Marist University. Of course, I miss the vibrancy of the city but I drive down frequently to connect with musicians and play.

RMR: Tell us about your other plans for 2025, once the album comes out. Are you planning new compositions, recordings and possible concerts? Good luck on La Tierra Canta.

Patricio Morales: Thank you. I am always writing music, daily. It’s part of my routine — coming up with new ideas and recording them or writing them down. I’m planning to make more recordings of Ralph Towner tunes and some of the classical guitar repertoire. We’ll see how things go with La Tierra Canta. I’m hoping to play the music of the album this year and I am available for engagements!