La Nada – Trascender – Vivir
La Nada – Trascender – Vivir is the culmination of a compositional journey spanning several years. Rather than an album conceived as a continuous work, written from beginning to end, it brings together a collection of compositions that have accompanied my musical exploration and gradually found a shared home within this project.
Rooted in a strong influence of modern jazz, the album also reflects a curiosity about exploring elements of Colombian music, particularly rhythms such as bambuco. The intention is not to reproduce a tradition in its literal form, but to create a meeting point between these musical traditions and the language of contemporary jazz. It is an ongoing search for new possibilities through the dialogue between distinct musical languages.
The title La Nada – Trascender – Vivir expresses a way of understanding life as a process: a beginning, a development, and an end. It is neither intended as a fatalistic statement nor as an exercise in existential reflection, but rather as an acknowledgment of something simple and tangible: life unfolds through different stages, moments, and transformations. This idea runs throughout the repertoire, allowing each composition to be understood as part of a larger journey.
The album features nine tracks: seven original compositions and two pieces that pay tribute to musicians whose work has been fundamental to my musical studies and to the development of this project: Colombian composer José Revelo and American composer Ornette Coleman. The album closes with our interpretations of two of their compositions, Fantasía en 6/8 and Ramblin', reimagined through the distinctive sound and musical identity of our ensemble.
The musicians played an essential role in shaping this work. Juan Camilo Anzola on drums, Héctor Marín on double bass, James Holguín on piano and keyboards, and Pablo Beltrán on soprano saxophone brought not only their experience as performers, but also their attentive listening, musical interplay, and improvisational sensibilities. Much of the album's identity emerges precisely from this dialogue between composition and performance, in which the music evolves through the musicians who bring it to life.
A significant part of this repertoire will be performed at Jazz al Parque 2026, as part of a distinguished programme of Colombian and international artists, bringing this compositional and sonic journey to one of Colombia's most important stages for jazz.
-La Nada - Trascender - Vivir -
Olvido II
LIVE SESSION - “ENNO” -
This live session was recorded at Enno, a creative space in Bogotá dedicated to audiovisual production and the development of live recording sessions for musical projects.
The session features Libardo Cardozo — Jazz 5tet performing original compositions in a live setting that highlights improvisation, musical interplay, and the spontaneous evolution of the music in real time. The ensemble features Libardo Cardozo on guitar and original compositions, Juan Camilo Anzola on drums, Pablo Beltrán on soprano saxophone, James Holguín on piano and keyboards, and Héctor Marín on double bass — all active and accomplished musicians within Colombia’s jazz scene.
These recordings form part of the ongoing documentation of the project, capturing the quintet’s distinctive sound and aesthetic in an intimate performance setting.
-CANTO & VIDA -
iii Movimiento - Perdon & Verdad
La Nada - Trascender - Vivir -
“La Nada – Trascender – Vivir (2024)” grew out of an idea that runs through several of my works: the notion of music as a journey unfolding across movements.
La Nada (Nothingness) marks the beginning — the state before existence. It represents the one inevitable certainty we all share: before life, there is nothing. From this point of departure, the first movement takes shape.
Then comes Trascender (Transcendence), the very act of being alive. To exist, to transform, to leave a mark — not necessarily through grand gestures, but simply through being and inhabiting the world.
Finally, Vivir (To Live) brings the cycle to a close. Not as a reflection on the past, but as an experience of the present. For death may not be the opposite of life, but perhaps its purest expression — the moment in which everything we have lived comes together in a single instant.
This work was conceived between 2024 and 2025.
Libardo Cardozo, 2026
Libardo Cardozo Jazz 5tet
“These videos were recorded during a live session at ENNO in Bogotá, capturing the spirit of the moment and the immediacy of this composition as performed live.”
Live at El Bolón de Verde — November 2025
This recording captures a special evening at El Bolón de Verde, one of Bogotá’s most iconic jazz venues.
The performance, held in November 2025, featured a selection of my recent compositions, developed in collaboration with the quintet through a process that brought together exploration, improvisation, and an in-depth study of the jazz language.
The evening was also shaped by remembrance. We dedicated the concert to two great drummers we lost that same year: Jack DeJohnette and Plinio Córdoba, whose music and legacy continue to resonate in every note.
As part of this tribute, we performed “Blue” and “Inner Urge,” two pieces that embody the intensity and freedom at the heart of that memorable night.
Blue - Jack Dejohnette
AMSER JAZZ TIME
Amser Jazz Time is a concert series dedicated to contemporary jazz and part of the musical landscape of Cardiff, Wales. The series brings together emerging and established musicians in an environment that encourages original compositions, improvisation, and the development of new approaches to the language of modern jazz.
Closely connected to the artistic and academic community of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Amser Jazz Time has become a platform for presenting musical projects within the local scene, fostering encounters between generations of musicians and creative exchange within a European context.
In 2017, Libardo Cardozo took part in Amser Jazz Time, performing as part of one of the series’ concert programmes within Cardiff’s contemporary jazz scene.
His performance took place at the Richard Burton Theatre, where he presented original compositions in a jazz trio format alongside Matheus Prado (Brazil) on double bass and Ben Hunt (England) on drums.
The concert marked an important moment in the development of his compositional voice, further establishing his work within an international setting and in creative dialogue with musicians from different backgrounds.
