Alfredo Rodriguez Brings Fresh Style to Jazz
Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by Hector Aviles in Blog
Its not often you come across an articulated, intelligent, and yes, master of the instrument musician that has yet to celebrate his 25th birthday. Young Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez is a true artist, one who gets inspiration from everything around him and shares it through music. Many artists do this, and Alfredo seems to not only have the technical aptitude to do it, but also the creative mind to express it like few can. Quincy Jones’ new protégée is coming to Seattle’s Jazz Alley on August 31st and September 1st and I can hardly wait for the rare opportunity to witness another star Latino artist on his road to greatness.
I had the opportunity to talk to Alfredo Rodriguez ahead of his visit to Seattle, and covered everything from his musical formation in Cuba, his influences, his approach to music and life, to his recent projects and new CD.
Alfredo’s Musical Development in Cuba and Influences:
Musically educated in one of Cuba’s most prestigious music schools, Alfredo Rodriguez was influenced primarily by his father, Alfredo Rodriguez Sr., who was a known singer-songwriter in Cuba, and by all the music that was played in his home. Alfredo’s music is also influenced by his surroundings, as he reflects in his music his experiences and emotions. The great musical diversity in Cuba, with its Afro-Cuban rhythms all the way to its influences in Jazz, helped shaped Alfredo’s thirst for learning more about music. “I am continually learning and studying music. When I visit other countries, I like to learn about their folk music. I’m also very fortunate to be exposed to the musical richness available in Cuba. My humble advice to those seeking a career in music is to learn every day.”
A friend gave Alfredo Rodriguez a jazz album of the great pianist Keith Jarrett, and this gift opened Alfredo’s eyes to other possibilities that could be explored with the instrument. “When I listened to Keith Jarrett’s music I was immediately impressed with the level of improvisation that could be achieved in jazz”. This seed grew in Alfredo the love for a music genre that could be played without being first written. ”Keith Jarrett is one of my idols because into his 60′s his music continues to sound new and fresh; he has never lied to his music and continues in his musical journey, just like I want to do with mine.”
Since Alfredo Rodriguez reflects his experiences in his music, the move to the United States has influenced his music by providing a wider diversity of available music from various countries, as well as now being in the country which created jazz. “I reflect in my music what is happening with me. Each person should know what they want and know how to express that. Coming to the United States has given me exposure to many styles of music from many countries within just one country. This is the country to be in to learn jazz, and I’ve been learning a lot.”
The Music Scene in Cuba
Alfredo Rodriguez
According to Alfredo, there has been a boom of musicians developing in Cuba and he has also seen recently a greater musical interchange with musicians from the United States. “There are many musicians coming out in Cuba which are doing very interesting things with music there. Sometimes it’s much harder to get certain type of information or access to certain styles of music, mostly because of lack of means. Not everyone has access to the internet, and you can find everything in internet. But those who really want to learn find a means. When I was there I used to ask friends that were out of Cuba to send me CDs or hard drives with music. Also with the Obama administration, there has been a greater interchange of musicians coming and going between Cuba and the U.S.”
Alfredo Rodriguez Gets Connected to Quincy Jones
Because of his skill and deep musical knowledge, Alfredo Rodriguez was selected among 12 musicians in the world to participate in the 2006 Montreaux Jazz Festival, which Quincy Jones attended. The producer of the jazz fest invited Alfredo to his house, where Quincy Jones was also invited, and asked Alfredo to play a song. Alfredo recounts “I played the song ‘I Love You’ with a special arrangement I made, and Quincy liked it very much. Right there we exchanged business cards and Quincy told me he would like to work with me.”
Despite Jones connections it became impossible during the Bush administration to get the papers needed to bring Alfredo to the United States, but that changed once President Obama took office. “In 2 previous trips to the U.S. Quincy’s manager reaffirmed their intent of pursuing a management deal with me if I could make it to the United States. After much deliberation to leave my country, my family, and my friends behind, I decided to move to this country in January 2009 to work with Quincy Jones.”
As part of working with Quincy Jones’ production company, Alfredo Rodriguez has kept busy playing in the most important Jazz festivals and events in and out of the U.S, as well as with “The Quincy Jones All Stars”.
Visit to Seattle’s Jazz Alley
Part of Alfredo Rodriguez busy work has been recording his 1st CD produced by Quincy Jones which is titled “Sounds of Space” and right now is only being sold in Alfredo’s live presentations while Jones’ production company finalizes a distribution deal. “We completed the recording but we are still negotiating with various distributors to get a deal that works best for all”, says Alfredo, who will be at Seattle’s Jazz Alley in August 31st and September 1st.
“I’ll be there with my trio, which includes Bulgarian bass player Peter Slavov, and Cuban percussionist Francisco Mela, who has been in the U.S. for 10 years and has taught at Berklee. I’ll be playing songs from my CD as well as some Cuban standards with my own style.”
The still commercially unavailable CD of “Sounds of Space” includes a varied selection of formats, with songs played by the trio, while for some songs he adds horns, and has a couple of songs with only the piano. “I like the trio format, and perhaps the next project will be just with the trio; and I’m considering if it should be a ‘live’ performance” says Alfredo of the ideas for his next recording.
I look forward to the opportunity to witness a Latino artist blossoming to greatness when Alfredo Rodriguez visits Seattle’s Dimitrious’ Jazz Alley next week.
Photos by Michelle Cantarelli
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