Jazz Articles about Dave Valentin

Dave Valentin: Pure Imagination

by Glenn Astarita
July 29, 2011

Grammy Award-winning Latin-jazz flutist Dave Valentin was the first artist signed to the now defunct GRP record label, founded by keyboardist Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen in 1978. GRP's hefty roster of jazz artists became a popular commodity, and the label was also commended for its cutting-edge analog and digital audio engineering. Thus, Valentin's flight to notoriety via his superior technique and stylistic approaches became rather legendary. Valentin demonstrates his modern-day vision on the jazz-fusion-hued “Joy." Here, ...

Dave Valentin: Come Fly With Me

by Michael P. Gladstone
February 1, 2007

Flutist Dave Valentin is a New Yorker who has capitalized upon a plethora of easy-to-take Latin-lite albums over the years, largely for the GRP label. The emphasis that Valentin lent those GRP albums was fusion-ish, with the perfectly syncopated sounds of smooth Latin jazz and R&B. Of the seventeen albums Valentin has recorded since 1980, only a handful have fallen outside of this categorization. The flutist also led dates on the more authentic Latin RMM label and one date on ...

Jazz Flute: World on a String and Flutevibes

by Marcia Hillman
May 29, 2006

Dave Valentin World on a String HighNote 2005 Gerald Beckett Flutevibes Summit 2006 The tale of two pied pipers is told on two new CDs: one by Dave Valentin and the other by Gerald Beckett.

Starting with the spirited original “Meet You At The Coda , Valentin plays through a set of ...

Dave Valentin: Sunshower

by Jim Santella
November 1, 1999

New York flutist Dave Valentin gigged as a teenager on congas before studying with Hubert Laws and taking his flute talents seriously. Today he’s musical director for Tito Puente and firmly rooted in the Latin jazz tradition.

Valentin’s latest album crosses a variety of styles, from the modern mainstream spark of “Space Cadet" to the smooth jazz melodies of “Reunion" and “Sunshower," the funk groove of “Embers" and “Porkchops," and the Latin dance of “Bandit" and “Subway Six," both of ...

Dave Valentin: Sunshower

by Douglas Payne
November 1, 1999

Flautist Dave Valentin is fast becoming as ubiquitous a player as his former teacher, Hubert Laws, used to be. Indeed, Valentin has become the flautist of choice on a great quantity of recent Latin jazz recordings by such varied artists as McCoy Tyner, Tito Puente, Elaine Elias and Dave Samuels. Not as distinctive as Laws (nor as notable as many reed players who blow flute part time), he is nevertheless a highly appealing player whose often simple melodies seem to ...