Willy Rodriguez - LYDIALIEBMAN.COM

In The Unknown (I Will Find You)
Release Date: March 13, 2026

Drummer, composer, and bandleader Willy Rodriguez returns with In The Unknown (I Will Find You), a profound exploration of loss, memory, and spiritual connection. Recorded at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder Studio, the album features an adventurous bassless trio with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and pianist Leo Genovese, with spoken word contributions from Allan Harris.

Rodriguez has established himself as a versatile voice within contemporary music, with recognition spanning multiple genres. In 2022, he joined the drum chair of progressive rock ensemble The Mars Volta for their reunion album, while maintaining an active presence in the creative jazz community. His debut, Seeing Sounds, drew critical praise for its genre-defying approach and willingness to embrace the unpredictable territories of open improvisation.

In The Unknown (I Will Find You) emerged from Rodriguez's experience of losing his mother to cancer — a period that transformed his relationship to both grief and creativity. "The emotions and limitations I faced during that time led me on a deeply nostalgic journey … one that allowed me to grow in ways I had never anticipated," Rodriguez reflects. The album's title addresses the paradox of reunion and the certainty of an eventual meeting coupled with the absence of a specific place or time. For Rodriguez, music became that meeting place, a spiritual link where he could draw closer to his mother's memory.

The album's unusual bassless trio instrumentation was a deliberate choice, designed to create freedom without stylistic constraints. "I wanted freedom without limits," Rodriguez explains. "The harmonic freedom is multidirectional, and the improvisations can go anywhere." The album unfolds programmatically, with each composition serving as a distinct chapter within a unified context.

Rodriguez assembled a remarkable ensemble to realize this vision. Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, recognized as one of the most compelling contemporary improvisers, brings a distinctive voice capable of arresting lyricism and fearless abstraction. Rodriguez notes their shared experience: "We have gone through a similar emotional process with our parents, and it's truly present on the album." Her contribution proves essential to the project's emotional resonance.

Pianist Leo Genovese, who has collaborated with Rodriguez with The Mars Volta, among other settings, brings what Rodriguez describes as "a unique way of hearing and flowing." The absence of bass allows Genovese's pianism to occupy the full harmonic spectrum, coloring the music with flourishes of expressionistic invention and bursts of percussive energy.

The music arrived to Rodriguez quickly, born from a deeply felt experience that demanded immediate expression. This is strongly reflected on the title track, which embodies the powerful emotions that drove the fast-moving creative process. Another highlight, “The Perplexity of Eternity” emerged as a riddle with its compositional contour musically presenting the paradox suggested by its title. The track features spoken word contributions from Allan Harris, adding a rich textural dimension to the album's sonic palette. “A Room Full of Confusion” is Rodriguez’s personal standout due to its emotional weight, exemplified through the haunting melody. Throughout the program, Rodriguez demonstrates an ability to guide the ensemble through transitions between open exploration and detailed compositional events with clarity and propulsion.

The album’s sonic character is shaped by sound designer Chris Connors, whose contributions are integral to the project. Through the creation of distinct aural environments for each piece, Connors imbues the music with an atmosphere of mystery, seamlessly shifting between synthetic and organic textures in response to each composition’s emotional landscape.

In The Unknown (I Will Find You) is an intimate document of personal transformation, demonstrating how music can serve as a bridge between memory and presence, absence and connection. Through this profound work, Rodriguez has created not only a space for his own grief and healing but an invitation for listeners to explore their own relationships with loss, love, and the mysteries that lie beyond.

Seeing Sounds
Release Date: March 29, 2024

Drummer-composer Willy Rodriguez proudly announces the release of his debut album Seeing Sounds. Joining the Puerto Rico-born, New York based musician on his expansive debut is trumpeter Jason Palmer, saxophonist Hery Paz, pianist Leo Genovese, bassists John Hébert and Kenneth Jimenez, and special guest artist, saxophonist Dave Liebman, and sound designer Tehn Vega.

Avant-garde philosophies provide precarious but often brilliant edges to how open or free improvisation function in Jazz. Complex, chaotic, and often dissonant, this sub-genre challenges traditional structures, and when transcendent, incorporates an advanced and unconventional level of mastery. Avant-garde artists travel to curious destinations using peculiar forms specifically designed for their mercurial adventures. In the process, audience engagement requires a nuanced understanding of tone, touch, voice and the fluid organic structures that creatively bind them all together. In this regard, drummer Willy Rodriguez has spent his entire professional career preparing to explore these unique types of musical relationships.

Born in Puerto Rico, the son of a timbalero, Rodríguez’s rhythmic journey also began on the timbales, developing hand skills by playing in Latin rock bands that made up his crash course on Puerto Rico’s remarkably diverse Afro-Caribbean musical culture. High school brought an introduction to the drums as formal training blossomed into an invitation to a coveted summer program at the Berklee College of Music in San Juan, Puerto Rico. By the time he left the island to attend Berklee, Rodríguez had already dabbled in pop, rock, metal and Latin Jazz. Humbled by Boston’s deep Jazz drum culture, Rodríguez dove head first into his studies absorbing the influences of legends like Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette and Terri Lyne Carrington. Rodríguez eventually settled in New York City, where he currently resides. Over the course of his twenty-year career, including his decade in New York, Rodriguez has worked with an expansive list of jazz heavyweights including George Garzone, Melissa Aldana, John Ellis, and more.

Concurrently, Rodriguez’s musical palette continued to flourish. In 2019, he recorded with Chilean superstar Mon Laferte, and earned a Latin Grammy for his contributions to her highly regarded album Norma. In 2022, Rodriguez stepped into the legendary drum chair of progressive rock band The Mars Volta for their much-anticipated, eponymous reunion album, following in the footsteps of great drummers Jon Theordore, Deantoni Parks, and Thomas Pridgen. Expanding his range and exploring new musical avenues, Rodriguez continued to hear the call of an odd opportunity - various invitations to explore free improvisation. Perhaps the most important voice aiding this momentum was Dave Liebman, the storied multi-instrumentalist whose career spans decades of innovation within and outside of traditional contemporary Jazz.

Rodriguez’s initial hesitation finally gave way as Liebman and others eventually persuaded him to dive into the deep end of their pool. Always striving to compliment his surroundings, Rodriguez quickly discovered a new scope of expression that would challenge his ability to listen while accentuating the diverse skill set he’d manicured throughout his burgeoning career. Suddenly freedom and adventure reigned supreme. “That sense of connection,” as Rodriguez recalls it, “continually searching for something. I became addicted to that and now it always shows up when I play.” And his search continues with Seeing Sounds, featuring many of his long-time collaborators.

Two of the oldest key collaborators include Jason Palmer, with whom Rodriguez has performed with since his earliest days in Boston, cutting his teeth at the famous Wally’s Jazz Club. Palmer had a steady gig at the establishment, and Rodriguez would often run the jam sessions preceding Jason’s hit, leading to a long-standing musical connection that perseveres to this day, and is in full bloom on Seeing Sounds. Leo Genovese is another long-time musical partner dating back to 2009. Also a musical polymath, Genovese and Rodriguez have shared many musical settings together, from sets at Smalls Jazz Club to The Mars Volta.