(♪♪♪) - (narrator): In addition to a stay in Mexico with Maricarmen Graue... - I feel that my visual disability gives me a deeper overall perception of life.

- ... and a detour through Barcelona with pianist Ignasi Terraza... - Music has been a great companion.

- ... today we invite you on a journey where the unexpected and the ethereal meet the truly sublime - in the wonderful world of musical improvisation.

Blind or partially-sighted, the musicians featured in this series ar living out their musical dreams.

Their stories are examples of hard work, dedication and passion that let us all share in the wonder of truly seeing music.

(♪♪♪) - (dubbed): If you ask me what's the first thing that comes to mind, a first piece to play, I'd say nothing.

I'd just put my fingers to the piano, see what comes out, and take it from there.

(♪♪♪) - (narrator): Jazz is a unique musical style, inseparable from improvisation.

And if the chords of a given piece are immutable, they only serve as the starting-point t constantly-evolving melodies.

It's a demanding artform, and one perfectly mastered by pianist Ignasi Terraza.

Since I began my relationship with the piano, music has been a great companion.

During moments of sadness, as well as happiness, music has always been a refuge for me.

Especially during very difficult moments, I sit down at the piano and improvise for a while.

It's been a way to bring out what's smouldering just under the surface.

(♪♪♪) I'm doing concerts and working with different musicians.

I teach piano jazz at the Conservatorio Superior de Barcelona.

And I founded a record company with Miriam Guardiola, with whom I've overseen a number of albums dedicated to jazz.

- (narrator): Ignasi lives in the heart of the Catalan capital, a vibrant city whose architectural wonders attract visitors from all over the globe.

Even though he may not be able to admire its visual beauties, Ignasi deeply enjoys his city.

Wandering its streets, or stopping for a moment on one of its famous terraces.

He also loves meeting up with good friends, like double bass player Horacio Fumero.

- (dubbed): My name is Horacio Fumero, and we are at Ignasi's hous on Mayorca Street, in Barcelona.

Ignasi is a phenomenal musician, a great pianist.

I don't want to say too many good things about him since he's standing right next to me, so it's going to be tough.

- (narrator): Along wit an excellent sense of humour, Horacio has incredible musical talent.

Like Ignasi, he teaches at th Barcelona Conservatory of Music.

(♪♪♪) The two friends have known eac other for over thirty years, and it's safe to say that they are true pioneers of the Barcelona jazz scene.

- In Catalonia, we had a network all across the country, small places, meeting places, associations.

I don't know what it was called, but there were people interested in jazz because I remember a lot of musicians came.

Very great American musicians who were on tour in Europe.

And I had the chance to work with them.

And then, we played in a lot of small towns and villages.

But there weren't a lot of musicians.

There were very few - but they were very, very good ones.

(♪♪♪) Then, after around the year 2000, there was a blossoming of young talent.

And now, it's great.

Naturally, we're very close to France.

And in France the tradition is enormous.

- Jazz is a language that has a great deal of freedom and offers a vast terrain for improvisation.

But at the same time, it's a collective improvisation.

- A certain trust is established.

You know that the other one's into the same, the same thing - so you can take risks.

It's like talking, having a conversation with someone you know well, you have a good sense of where they'll go.

So you can risk exploring ideas that you wouldn't with someone you don't know that well, that you wouldn't take such risks with.

Someone you're confident with, I mean.

That, I think, ultimately produces far more interesting music.

- (narrator): From Barcelona, we move on to Mexico City, home to cellist Maricarmen Graue, who is blind due to congenital glaucoma.

Trained in Russia under the great masters, she's an accomplished multi-disciplinary artist also involved in dance and sculpture.

But music always has a special place at the very heart of her life.

- (Maricarmen, dubbed): For me, music has to be expressive.

It has to express everything.

Sweetness, joy...

I like the audience to be moved by the music.

(♪♪♪) I love to improvise because I feel like it's a way to free up ideas and flow with what's inside of me.

I take taxis because public transportation terrifies me.

Mexico City is a chaotic place - too much traffic.

Noise, congestion...

In general, there's very little awareness towards the visually-impaired.

City planning isn't accessible, the sidewalks are all broken...

It's a challenging city for the visually-impaired.

Okay.

We've arrived.

- (narrator): At a studio in the capital, Maricarmen joins her goo friend, pianist Alex Mercado.

The two artists love to improvise together.

This also saves Maricarmen the huge task of learning and memorizing scores in Braille.

But above all, it offers the pair a magnificent space for creation and freedom.

- (dubbed): Improvisation is the art of expressing what one is feeling at the very moment you're feeling it.

In other words, improvisation is all about the present.

(♪♪♪) The element of pertinence i very important in improvisation.

Novelty, surprise... (♪♪♪) When I improvise with Maricarmen, we're always tossing around new ideas.

We surprise each other - and ourselves.

And this makes the music flow, new and fresh.

And we hope the audience can feel it emerging like that.

(♪♪♪) - I'm thrilled to be playing with Alex again, because there's always a kind of exciting anticipation.

We'll see what happens.

Who'll toss the first stone, how far will it go, and who'll get hit by it?

(♪♪♪) In the streets of Barcelona, Ignasi has no trouble getting around on his own.

- (dubbed): It's hard to say whether the loss of vision had anything to do with the music.

The truth is, I discovered music after losing my own vision.

So, what would my life have been like if I'd kept my sight?

I don't believe that musicians who've lost their sight are more gifted than those who haven't.

At the same time, our disability is of not being able to read the scores calmly, fluently and quickly and be able to play a new piece.

But this can also become a disability for those with sight, if they're so tied to a score they can't imagine the music any other way.

(♪♪♪) - (dubbed): I think for music, it's an advantage, because in a way sight is a problem rather than a solution.

Music is music, it's not sheet music, obviously, sheet music is paper with stains on it, that doesn't matter.

Music is something that goes through here, the ear.

We listen to music, we see through music.

(♪♪♪) I ask my students to close their eyes because the eyes are a problem.

I mean, they distract you.

It's not good to look at your hands when you play.

It's something a lot of people do, but it's a real mistake.

You don't stare at your feet when you're riding a bicycle, do you?

- (narrator): Shopping on foo in the streets of Mexico City is a daily challenge for Maricarmen, as the local infrastructure isn't well-adapted to her condition.

She moves with a white cane, but also needs to rely heavily on her hearing.

In such a noisy megalopolis, that takes some real getting used to.

- (dubbed): Actually, I wasn't born blind.

I lost my sight around 15 years ago.

I was born with partial sight, but it wasn't so severe back then; it's been progressive.

I actually consider myself very visual.

Hello!

- (man): Good afternoon.

How are you?

- (Maricarmen): I feel like it's brought me a certain added sensitivity, and a special way of seein things that's uniquely my own.

How much are the apples?

- (man): They're sixty, Carmita.

- (Maricarmen): I feel tha my visual disability gives me a deeper overall perception of life.

Do you have nopales?

- (man): No, I'm all out.

- And mint?

Like not being able to see has enriched my perception, has enriched my perception, because I notice all kinds of things that happen beyond the visual sphere.

My senses, like smell, hearing... ... pick up very subtle things that offer so much information.

I don't give that much importance to the strictly visual anymore.

- (man): Thanks.

Here you go.

Have a good day!

- Thank you very much, Memo.

Have a great day!

Not seeing is an obstacle I think I can easily overcome, and I can get to know people more intimately.

Sometimes, I get a lot more from someone's tone of voice or what they say.

The rhythm of their speech, or how close they get physically.

Although I don't see them, I can perceive their posture.

Even their smell, whether I like it or not.

I don't know exactly how to explain it, but I can even tell if a person is handsome.

Curiously, I'll sense whether they are visually good-looking.

In his office, Ignasi is planning his next visit to the Tarragona International Dixieland Festival, the only festival in Spai dedicated to this musical genre, and one of Catalonia's most important musical events.

The pianist, however, has extensive experience in major festivals, having performed all over the world - from the United States t Brazil, Japan, and South Africa.

On stage, he'll be accompanied by the young prodigy Andrea Motis, with whom he's worked closely for over a decade.

- (dubbed): I'm Andrea Motis, I'm a jazz musician, a trumpet player and a singer.

We're in Tarragona, about to do a concert with Ignasi Terraza.

(applause) (♪♪♪) I started playing with Ignasi when I was 13 or 14.

And now I'm 25 - so it was around 12 years ago.

- (dubbed): Andrea Motis is a well-known singer, trumpet and sax player in our country - and one of the most internationally-recognized.

(♪♪♪) Throughout all these years, it has been a real privilege to work alongside her and to watch her grow.

(♪♪♪) - I think he was my first contact with someone who was blind, since at school, there was no one in my class or anything.

It has been really great.

Ignasi is very curious to know things.

When we go on tour and visit cities, he always asks us to describe things to him.

I've always loved to feel that I can give him that satisfaction, to tell him what he wants to know.

I'm interested to know how he feels things and he's interested to know how we see things.

(♪♪♪) I think he's both a virtuoso and flexible.

Flexible when it comes to doing things differently.

Ignasi Terraza!

(applause) - I don't consider myself an authority.

I try to play my music and do my job the best way possible.

Every day a little bit better so that I, as well as the musicians I work with, can be happy and satisfied with what we're doing.

So that we can connect with the public.

(♪♪♪) If other sightless musician can use me as an inspiration, then that's my pleasure.

I think I'm demonstrating that music is possible, professionally, for a visually- impaired individual.

It's not the only route, o course, but it's a possible one.

(♪♪♪) - (narrator): Along with improvisation, Maricarmen is also passionate about teaching.

But during the COVID pandemic, she's had to shift her lessons online - a less-than-ideal solution for her, given her very tactile approach to the process.

- (dubbed): Let me just fine-tune with you.

(♪♪♪) It's a real pleasure to teach.

For someone to understand what I'm trying to explain, and benefit from it.

That's the most important thing.

(♪♪♪) Little by little, I've established a system with my students.

Again!

In those little sections, make it more fluid, even.

(She hums.)

I use a lot of touch, trying to feel their backs and hands, their posture where the voice is coming from, whether it's facing forward, downward or to the sides.

All those details tell me whether they're holding tension anywhere.

With the pandemic, it's been very difficult because I no longer have that tactile reference.

(♪♪♪) My dream would be to have a group where we could create our own music - freely, without so many constrictions.

I live a duality - I studied in a school tha really taught me a great deal... ... in the sense of rigorous training.

But I also have this freer side that wants to break loose and expand itself.

I'd like to find a group of musicians I could work with, without sound biases.

Just something more playful.

(♪♪♪)