Alexis Cuadrado – Trio of Words at the Blue Note Jazz Festival: European Sounds Series

  • Music
  • New York
  • Sat, June 16, 2018
  • 11:30 am
Alexis Cuadrado – Trio of Words at the Blue Note Jazz Festival: European Sounds Series

Alexis Cuadrado and his new trio present a set of music inspired by the poetic and folkloric traditions of Spain and Latin America.

Sony presents Blue Note Jazz Festival: European Sounds Series, in partnership with the European Union Delegation to the United Nations and nine EU Member States, to showcase European culture and jazz within the United States. The series, which kicks off June 2nd, takes place during brunch on Saturdays and Sundays throughout June at the Blue Note Jazz Club.

On Saturday, June 16th, Alexis Cuadrado and his new trio present a set of music inspired by the poetic and folkloric traditions of Spain and Latin America. Drawn from such diverse sources as the surrealist poems of Federico Garcia Lorca or the moving protest songs of Víctor Jara, this trio explores the Hispanic diaspora with in an intimate setting that promises to enlighten your mind and stir your soul.

Alexis Cuadrado – Trio of Words

  • Claudia Acuña: Voice
  • Pablo Vergara: Piano
  • Alexis Cuadrado: Bass

About Alexis Cuadrado

An award-winning composer and bandleader, a bassist with a solid reputation, and a devoted world-class educator, Barcelona-born Alexis Cuadrado has become one of the most sought-after musicians in the New York scene. As NPR music states, “Listen to Cuadrado’s compositions and you’ll find every reason to take him seriously.” NY magazine said that “his intricate and sharply defined compositions show that he’s tapped into something much deeper.”

Cuadrado’s compositions show a unique voice that draws from the crossover of jazz, flamenco and new music, exploring the confluence of the Spanish and American cultures and its social connotations. His output as a composer has peaked in recent years, premiering multiple commissioned works such as The Immigrant (a live score to the 1917 Chaplin silent film), Poetica (featuring poets Rowan Ricardo Philips and Melcion Mateu), A Lorca Soundscape (drawn from the Poetry of Federico García Lorca and featuring Claudia Acuña and Miguel Zenón), Jazz Miniatures (a work for jazz quartet and string quartet), and Noneto Ibérico (a nine-part Flamenco-Jazz Suite for nine musicians featuring Avishai Cohen, Perico Sambeat and Israel Suarez “Piraña”.)

Cuadrado has six albums as a leader/composer of his ensemble: Poetica (2016), A Lorca Soundscape (2013) and Noneto Ibérico (2011), which have received massive media acclaim, plus three previous albums: Puzzles (2008), Visual (2004) and Metro (2001), which document his original compositions and had excellent reactions from critics, presenters and fans alike. He has also exceptional credits as a performer, with recording and live appearances at venues that range from Carnegie Hall and numerous international jazz festivals and clubs around the globe.

Cuadrado is a prominent educator and a faculty member at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. He also teaches worldwide as a guest lecturer.

About Claudia Acuña

Born in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, Claudia Acuña was inspired as a child to perform a variety of music, including folk, pop and opera, by Victor Jara and Violetta Parra. Her attention turned to American popular music and jazz at the age of 15, when she first heard Frank Sinatra, Erroll Garner and Sarah Vaughan. Returning to Santiago in 1991, she quickly gained prominence on the local jazz scene through live performances and radio broadcasts with visiting artists. In 1995, Acuña moved to New York City and began performing at jam sessions and clubs including the Zinc Bar and Smalls. She also performed with her own band at the famous Jazz Gallery.

Her debut album, Wind from the South, was released in 1999 on Verve Records, followed by Rhythm of Life in 2001, and Luna in 2004. Acuña’s first recording on the Marsalis Music label, En Este Momento, was released in 2009. She has also been featured on various recordings with Peck Almond, George Benson, Joey Calderazzo, Avishai Cohen, Mark Elf, Tom Harrell, Antonio Hart, Arturo O’Farrill and Guillermo Klein.

About Pablo Vergara

Producer, pianist and composer Pablo Vergara is an award-winning musician who has performed across four continents. A classically-trained pianist in his native Chile, Vergara moved to New York to study with some of his jazz heroes like Barry Harris, Ron Carter and Bruce Barth. Since then he has worked with artists like saxophone legend Gato Barbieri, Grammy winners Dave Valentin and Paquito D’Rivera, Turkish music masters Husnu Senlendirici and Omar Faruk, Claudia Acuña, Fred Wesley, Edmar Castañeda, Alain Pérez, Bebel Gilberto, Mino Cinelu, Keith Carlock and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Vergara composed and produced the score for Alejandro Fernandez Almendras’s To Kill A Man, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival and Dutch Circle of Film Critics Award at Rotterdam Film Festival. He also produced and performed the piano music score for Alejandro Fernandez feature film By The Fire, featured at major festivals around the world, including San Sebastián, Toulouse and San Francisco.

Vergara studied at the Julliard School and at City College of New York and holds an MA in Music. He studied orchestration with Daniel Ott, counterpoint with Jonathan Pieslak and conducting with Vincent La Selva. Performance credits include Newport Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, Istanbul Is Sanat, Paris’ Le Zenith, New York’s Central Park SummerStage and Australia’s Sidney Festival, amongst many others.

Venue

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Blue Note Jazz Club, 131 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012
212-475-8592

Admission

Buy tickets. Ticket includes brunch, music and a drink

More information

Blue Note Jazz Club

Credits

Sony presents the Blue Note Jazz Festival with the European Union Delegation to the United Nations and nine EU Member States as supporting partners. The European Sounds Series is curated by Blue Note, the European Union Delegation to the United Nations, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Consulate General of Luxembourg, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Consulate General of Greece in New York and Onassis Foundation USA, Balassi Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center New York, Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, Consulate General of Slovakia, and Consulate General of Spain New York. Image by Sue Kwon

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