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Artist Feature
Alfredo Rodriguez
- Samples by Alfredo Rodriguez
- Cu-Bop
- Sounds Of Space
- …Y Bailaria La Negra? [A Ernesto Lecuona]
- Sueno De Paso
- Qbafrica
- Hear All Songs...
Sounds Of Space, the title of Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez’ debut recording, evokes images of science fiction. In truth, it’s about a far more personal adventure. “It’s about the space that surrounds us,” he explains. “In this record I wanted to introduce myself: here are the people, the places and the sounds that have surrounded me, and made me who I am.”
A key player in Rodríguez’ extraordinary story is producer Quincy Jones, who co-produced Sounds Of Space with Rodríguez.
“He is very special, and I do not say that easily because I have been surrounded by the best musicians in the world my entire life,” said Jones. “And he is one of the best.” In turn, for Rodríguez, 26, Jones has not only become a mentor and a teacher but “like a new father.” Still, such priceless endorsement can also create impossibly high expectations. But in Sounds Of Space, Rodríguez proves up to the challenge.
The album comprises 11 tracks composed and arranged by Rodríguez. It includes nods to Cuban masters such as Ernesto Lecuona, but also pianistic models such as Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk; it draws on the tradition, but it has a personal imprint. And now and then, Sounds Of Space is also shaped by nostalgia for a country left behind, so near yet so far.
Born in Havana, Cuba, the son of a popular singer, television presenter and entertainer of the same name, Rodríguez began his formal music education at seven. Percussion, not piano, was his first choice. “But…to choose what I wanted I had to wait until I was 10,” he explains. “So I picked piano. By the time I could actually switch to percussion, I knew the piano was my path.”
He graduated to the Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán, and then to the Instituto Superior de Arte. But while his formal musical education was strictly classical, he also learned music “on the street,” or more precisely, on stage. “I didn’t play with many dance groups, but I played in my dad’s band since I was 14,” he says. “And my dad presented a daily TV show and many famous Cuban musicians came through it and we had every type of music. I was still a kid but had a chance to perform every day, and write arrangements for all kinds of music: boleros, rock ’n roll, dance music—you name it. It is where I learned the discipline of being a professional musician. That was another great school for me. I was very lucky.”
Artists Featured
- Aaron Diehl
- Alfredo Rodriguez
- Andrew Marks
- Anna Rae
- Bela Karoli
- Brian Bromberg
- Casey Hurt
- Cécile McLorin Salvant
- Christian McBride
- Cliff Wagner & The Old #7
- Count Basie Orchestra
- Cydney Robinson
- Cyrille Aimée
- Danilo Perez
- Fairchildren
- Freda Payne
- Gary Burton
- Gerald Wilson
- Hot Club of Detroit
- Jackiem Joyner
- Joanne Paratore
- John Brannen
- Jonathan Butler
- Justin Farren
- Kenny Garrett
- Kenny Rankin
- Kevin Eubanks
- Kirk Whalum
- Kyle Eastwood
- Owen Plant
- Planet D Nonet
- Rahsaan Patterson
- Raul Midón
- Richard Elliot
- Richard Smith
- Rick Braun
- Sci-Fi Romance
- Scott Gwinnell
- Sean Jones
- Sense Motive (FKA Laura Maust)
- Stanley Jordan
- Stephanie Schneiderman
- Steve Cole
- Tasha Taylor
- Tha Vill
- The Seven Hats
- The Tree Ring
- Tia Fuller
- Warren Wolf
- Wayman Tisdale
- Yellowjackets