Reflection of Another Self – Milena Casado

Confronting the versions of ourselves that others have constructed. Spanish trumpeter and composer Milena Casado turns that experience into Reflection of Another Self, her debut album on Candid Records. Born in Huesca and educated in Spain and the United States, she found refuge in music while navigating the contradictions of growing up as a Black woman in predominantly white spaces. Now, her memories, insecurities, and questions of identity find their own voice between acoustic jazz and electronic soundscapes.

Co-produced with Terri Lyne Carrington and Morgan Guerin, the album brings together Lex Korten on piano, Kanoa Mendenhall on double bass, and Jongkuk Kim on drums, alongside guests including Brandee Younger, Nicole Mitchell, Kris Davis, and Meshell Ndegeocello. Recorded conversations also become part of the music. On “Lidia y los libros,” her mother's voice introduces an intimate dimension, while “This Is My Hair (!)” features a conversation with Esperanza Spalding about identity and the freedom to be oneself.

The influence of Miles Davis emerges in the way space is created for improvisation, although Casado follows other paths through synthesizers, atmospheric textures, and her flugelhorn. On “O.C.T (Oda to the Crazy Times),” her encounter with Kokayi opens a dialogue between the spoken word and the instrument.

Reflection of Another Self does not seek to answer every question it raises. Its strength lies in allowing vulnerability, resilience, and the contradictions of an evolving identity to coexist. Listening to Milena Casado means accompanying her through that process and discovering how a deeply personal story can resonate with the experiences of others.