The New York Times
“Cristina Pato and the Migrations Band (Tuesday) A worldly and commanding improviser whose chief instrument happens to be the gaita, or Galician bagpipes, Ms. Pato is probably best known in these parts as a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. She draws here from her self-assured new album, “Migrations” (Sunnyside), playing not only the gaita but also piano and flute, alongside the accordionist Victor Prieto, the bassist Edward Pérez, the percussionist John Hadfield and the drummer Eric Doob. Jazz Standard NYC. (Chinen)”
The Wall Street Journal
by Will Friedwald
“The 32 year old Spanish virtuoso makes unique music on an uncommon instrument: She’s one of the major living masters of the gaita (though she also plays piano and flute, and sings), and her performances feature elements of world and folk music, pop, classical (often in the company of Yo Yo Ma) and even choreography. So where else would she appear in New York but Jazz Standard? The gaita is sometimes described as the Galician equivalent of the bagpipes, yet the sound Ms. Pato extracts from this device (though it often looks like she’s wrestling an octopus) is more a cross between a soprano saxophone and an accordion. Tuesday’s show marks the release of her new album, “Migrations,” which, on tracks like Bill Evans’s “Blue in Green” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Dindi,” demonstrates the transmutability of Ms. Pato’s playing and singing, as well as why she belongs in a jazz club as much as anywhere else.”