Luis Perdomo Bridges Two Jazz Festivals

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Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo will play at two great Jazz Festivals. The Bellevue Jazz Fest is occurring close to where I currently live, and the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest is where I used to live.

Luis Perdomo Trio Impresses at Bellevue Jazz Fest

The performance of Luis Perdomo’s Trio impressed the audience that gathered at the Meydenbauer Theater in Bellevue, Washington. With longtime friend Hans Glawischnig on bass, and the sharply dressed Rodney Green at drums, the trio performed a few of Perdomo’s compositions from his 2008 album “Pathways” and a couple of new compositions not recorded yet.

Despite his experience playing as a sideman with several Jazz and Latin Jazz bands, and his Venezuelan roots, Luis Perdomo’s music stays within contemporary jazz. “I like to play this music because of my musical education, which was classical and jazz-oriented” says Luis in a conversation we had a few hours before his performance at the Bellevue Jazz Fest. “As a sideman, you play what the band plays. When I play with my trio, I get the opportunity to play something different, and play my own compositions.

The audience at the Bellevue Jazz Fest reacted well to his moderately complex modern jazz songs, which showcase his flair at the piano but also display his sensitive side to jazz. Luis Perdomo leaves enough space for bassists Hans Glawischnig and drummer Rodney Green to also receive several applause from the audience as they demonstrate their chops on their respective instruments.

Jazz Career Based on Networking

Hector Aviles with Luis Perdomo
Hector Aviles with Jazz pianist Luis Perdomo.

Luis Perdomo participation at the Bellevue Jazz Fest is a great example of the evolution of his career. “I have been very lucky that I don’t have to go out looking for gigs, they normally result from a previous event” says Luis, who has a degree in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Luis Perdomo participated in a recording where trumpeter Brian Lynch participated. From there, some gigs with Brian Lynch followed one of them being at the Triple Door club in Seattle.

One of the advisers for the Bellevue Jazz Fest was impressed enough with his performance that he approached him about the possibility of participating at the Jazz Fest. And as the cliché saying goes…”the rest is history”.

In the Manhattan School of Music he met vibes player Stefon Harris. They played together in those early days before their career took different paths. Luis now occasionally reunited with Grammy-nominated Stefon in a new project he has called “Ninety Miles”, where he teams with Puerto Rican sax players David Sanchez, and trumpeter Christian Scott. As luck will have it, Luis Perdomo will join Ninety Miles as they are scheduled to perform at the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest this Sunday, June 5th (weather permitting).

It is in this way that the career of Luis Perdomo has evolved, starting with playing in a Salsa band in New York due to a friend, then playing for Ralph Irrizarry’s Timbalaye band, from where another connection took him to play with the late and legendary bandleader Ray Barretto. “Playing with Ray was an amazing experience. I learned a lot about how to approach the music and how to interact with the public”. That showed in the Bellevue Jazz Fest, as Luis took a couple of breaks to share with the audience a bit of what they were listening to. I was disappointed that last year’s Bellevue Jazz Fest main attraction Terrance Blanchard did very little of this.

The Future for Luis Perdomo

Luis has a project titled “Universal Mind” that is already recorded and mastered, and he hopes to get released later this year. He continues to compose, as a couple of songs we heard at the Bellevue Jazz Fest are even newer than his unreleased recording.

In the meantime, Luis Perdomo stays busy playing sideman with Miguel Zenón and with his trio. “In order to make a living as a musician, you have to participate in different projects, which means being a sideman while doing your own music”. Luis Perdomo’s Universal Minds would be his 4th release under his name, following Pathways (2008), Awareness (2006), and “Focus Point” (2005).

For this tall and soft-spoken Venezuelan pianist, life as a musician has been a series of network meetings combined with his well-honed talent, which have enabled him to take advantage of the opportunities that come his way.

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