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Jessica Valiente

Jazz, classical, Latin and Brazilian flutist

About Me

A conservatory-trained classical musician, Jessica Valiente began to expand into jazz improvisation and studies of traditional musics from all over the world about 10 years into her classical performance career. Her musical interests reflect her family's mosaic heritage, including African American traditional and popular styles, music of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, and indigenous music of both North and South America. She specializes in Afro-Cuban and other Latin styles, Brazilian choro, straight-ahead jazz and performs on traditional Native American style courtship flutes and the Andean quena as a soloist.

Ms. Valiente holds a BA in music from Barnard College in conjunction with Manhattan School of Music, an MA in music performance from Queens College and is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has performed in numerous classical, jazz, experimental and Latin groups, and was formerly a member of the salsa and mambo orchestra of Orlando Marín and the Afro-Dominican folkloric group, Pa'lo Monte, lead by Osvaldo Sanchez. Ms. Valiente has also distinguished herself as a leader, formerly leading the classical chamber groups Non Sequitur (flute, violin, cello) and the Harbor Wind Quintet, and the all-female jazz group, Nosotras. She performed with the bilingual Italian/English commedia dell'arte troupe, I Giulari di Piazza, and has performed on numerous occasions with the critically-acclaimed bilingual Spanish/English Teatro Pregones. Today Ms. Valiente is known mostly as the musical director of Los Más Valientes, the salsa and Latin jazz ensemble that she has been leading since 1995. Together Ms. Valiente and her band have produced and released three CD’s on the Laughing Buddha label, which have all received wide critical acclaim. Ms. Valiente has taught music at Brooklyn College, John Jay College, Baruch College, University of Bridgeport, New School University, Mercy College, and the John J. Cali School of Music of Montclair State University.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because when I'm improvising I feel like I'm really playing the whole instrument. I was first exposed to jazz when I was too young to remember. My dad had an enormous collection of jazz records. I met Cecil Payne, Milt Hinton, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Jerry Dodgion, many more! The best show I ever attended was Sonny Rollins at Lincoln Center Out of Doors. The first jazz record I bought was Dexter Gordon, "Go." My advice to new listeners keep an open mind, and listen to things more than once, even if you're not sure you like it. Or whatever else you have in mind.