Jazz Articles about Victor Prieto

Victor Prieto: The Three Voices

by Dan McClenaghan
March 19, 2016

On the cover of his CD The Three Voices, Victor Prieto looks as if he's going to do something crazy with his accordions. He is a giant behind the big city skyline, towering over tall buildings. It's sort of like a “Godzilla of the squeeze boxes" scene. But the accordionist doesn't look like he's bent on Godzillian destruction; he, in fact, looks as if his intention is the spreading of musical joy. Prieto is New York City-based now--he ...

Chris Cheek / Victor Prieto: Rollo Coaster

by Martin Gladu
March 17, 2010

Chances are you have never heard the accordion played the way Victor Prieto plays it. Indeed, much like Toots Thielemans established the harmonica in the jazz lore huffing and puffing bop lines through his teeth, Prieto breaks the glass ceiling hovering above the crown of Cyrillus Demian's patented invention, squeezing improvised airs with a technical assurance that deserves more widespread recognition.Long known for catapulting the French valse musette, the Bohemian polka, the French-Canadian reels, and the festive music ...

Victor Prieto: Persistencia

by Marcia Hillman
July 1, 2006

On Victor Prieto's debut recording, the accomplished Spanish accordionist has chosen to approach his instrument in a new way. Aided by bassist Carlo DeRosa and drummer Allison Miller, Prieto included Egberto Gismonti's “Frevo, John Coltrane's “26-2 and Astor Piazzolla's “Libertango in a program with six original compositions. Starting with “Frevo, Prieto immediately dazzles with his fast fingering, switching from single notes to chords in rapid fashion. The group is equally at home playing the up-tempo material (like ...

Victor Prieto: Persistencia

by Tom Greenland
May 5, 2006

Originally from Orense, Spain, accordionist Victor Prieto brings old-world charm and a new-fangled approach to jazz. Prieto's debut CD release, Persistencia, featuring Carlo DeRosa on acoustic bass and Allison Miller on trap drums, showcases the leader's unique approach to harmony, melody, and tone, effectively translating the accordionist's unique jazz sensibility via an unusual instrumental vehicle.

The accordion's distinctive timbre often conjures up associations with Polish polka, German folk lieder, Viennese waltzes, French musette & cabaret chansons, North American Tex-Mex, Louisiana ...

Victor Prieto: Persistencia

by William Grim
May 3, 2006

Spanish-born jazz accordionist Victor Prieto is the most exciting such player to come on the scene since Eddie Monteiro. Melding Argentine and Brazilian influences with a bop sensibility, Prieto gives the lie to all of the nasty things that have been said over the years about the much-maligned squeezebox.

Backed by Rachel Z drummer Allison Miller and the extraordinarily gifted bassist Carlo DeRosa, Prieto presents a varied and virtuosic set of performances on Persistencia. The variety of tunes ...

Victor Prieto: Persistencia

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 20, 2006

La Foxhaven Records è una giovane etichetta indipendente, con un catalogo ancora in divenire ma dalla linea artistica ben chiara: recuperare artisti del passato e valorizzare musicisti emergenti, come il fisarmonicista Victor Prieto, il tutto con un attenzione particolare alla qualità sonora. Nativo di Orense (Spagna) ma da tempo residente a New York, Victor Prieto è stato prima studente alla Berklee di Boston e poi docente al Brooklyn Conservatory di New York, in un percorso che ha contribuito ad affinarne ...

Victor Prieto: Persistencia

by Budd Kopman
March 20, 2006

Trios are sensitive things. They take a jump in the complexity from duos, yet can't be split into rhythm and lead instruments like quartets. To create a cohesive sound, all the members of the trio must be listening carefully to the overall balance. Each can essentially be a soloist at a different level. The trio that accordionist Victor Prieto leads on Persistencia is very finely tuned and highly responsive. Prieto plays accordion the way Toots Thielmans plays ...