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Miguel "Angá" Díaz
1961: Born Miguel Aurelio Diaz Sayas in San Juan y Martinez in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, area known for its rumba traditions. Shares the nickname Angá with his father. Began playing prodigiously early.
1971: attends the Escuela Nacional de Arte de Pinar del Rio. Begins formal percussion studies.
1975: scholarship to study classical percussion at the National School of Art in Havana. Joins group Treceto de la ENA on the first day of college, and would perform with them for the remainder of his academic career. Whilst at college is invited to record some film and TV soundtracks by the pianist Jose Maria Vitier, playing alongside his heroes conga master Tata Güines & drummer Guillermo Barretto
1978: Treceto de la ENA reform as Bus Trece (Opus 13), finishes college and begins his professional career with the band. Spends 9 years recording and touring internationally with Opus 13.
1987: joins Irakere led by piano maestro Chucho Valdés; pioneers of Latin jazz in Cuba; hugely influential. Perfects his 5 conga technique. Spends 7 years recording and touring internationally with Irakere.
1994: starts career as freelance solo artist. Records ‘Pasaporte’ with Tata Güines (wins EGREM Album of the Year in 1995, the equivalent of a Cuban GRAMMY). Teaches master classes, including the Stamford University summer workshops in California, and Banff University in Canada. Sets up second base in Paris, divides time between Cuba and France. Begins working with Steve Coleman, experimental US saxophonist
1996: joins Roy Hargrove, acclaimed US trumpeter; at Havana International Jazz Festival. Records ‘Habana’ (GRAMMY winner) with Roy Hargrove’s Crisol Joins Hargrove’s touring band. Records ‘A Toda Cuba le Gusta’ with Juan de Marcos’ Afro-Cuban All Stars, cross generational album of Cuba’s finest musicians; hugely important in late 90s Cuban music explosion.
1997: records ‘Genesis & The Opening of the Way’ with Steve Coleman
1998: on tour in Senegal & India with Coleman; records and performs with local musicians
1999: records ‘Distinto Differente’ with Afro-Cuban All Stars, and Records ‘The Sonic Records Language of Myth’ with Steve Coleman & Five Elements. Produces tuition video ‘Anga Mania!’ (wins DRUM Magazine Percussion Video of the Year 2000).
2000: records ‘Chanchullo’ with Rubén González (GRAMMY nominated). Tours with Rubén González. Records ‘a lo cubano’with Orishas" groundbreaking Cuban hip-hop group;
2001: key figure on Orlando ‘Cachao-to’ López" Cuban bass genius; Buena Vista stalwart" hugely experimental album ‘Cachao-to’ released on World Circuit. Band leader on Cachao-to’s critically acclaimed tours.
2003: moves to Barcelona. Records ‘Buenos Hermanos’ with Ibrahim Ferrer (GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner). Records ‘Mambo Sinuendo’ with Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán (GRAMMY winner)
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Roy Hargrove's Crisol: Grande-Terre
by Chris May
Increasingly and with growing momentum, right up until he died at the young age of 55 in 2018, Roy Hargrove was a standard bearer for a new kind of African American jazz. The recipe embraced a variety of styles--jazz, Afro-Cuban music, funk, hip hop and soul--and it influenced a generation of musicians in jazz and beyond. But Hargrove never abandoned jazz, the foundation stone of his style. Instead he regarded other genres as part of a rainbow ...
Continue ReadingNew York's Smoke Jazz Club Announces Line-up For July Including Miguel Zenon, Tierney Sutton, Ron Carter And More
Source:
AMT Public Relations
Rated the #1 Jazz Club in New York City (Secret NYC), Smoke Jazz Club welcomes some of today’s leading artists to the stage during the month of July. Making their Smoke Jazz Club debuts are alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, trumpeter Tony Glausi, and vocalist Tierney Sutton. Many jazz legends return to the Smoke stage including Ron Carter, Louis Hayes, Billy Harper, and more. Please scroll down for the complete schedule or visit SMOKEjazz.com. Thu-Sun Jun 29-Jul 2 Russell Malone Quartet ...
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New Genre Blending Album Released by saxophonist Jeff Miguel
Source:
Jeff Miguel
The Hero’s Journey is Jeff Miguel’s second album as leader and quite an evolution from the 2015 release Perseverance. The Hero’s Journey was designed to be a heavily produced jazz crossover album where every note has a distinct purpose. The short songs are meant to be listened to in order and feature various saxophones as well as flute. “It Will Be Okay” and “Guilty Pleasures” were released as singles prior to the full album release. About Jeff Miguel Jeff Miguel ...
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Internationally Renowned Saxophonist/Composer Miguel Zenón And His Quartet Tour To Ten European Cities From October 30 To November 13, 2015
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
“Two words: cultural treasure!” —Sandra Guzman, NBC News Internationally acclaimed saxophonist/composer Miguel Zenón performs in ten European cities from October 30 to November 13, 2015. Zenon will be joined by his quartet featuring drummer Henry Cole, pianist Luis Perdomo and bassist Hans Glawischnig, performing new music as well as music from his highly acclaimed 2014 recording Identities are Changeable, a groundbreaking project focusing on the cultural identity of the Puerto Rican community in NYC. Performance dates: Friday, October 30
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New England Conservatory’s Jazz Lab with Miguel Zenon
Source:
Ann Braithwaite
One-Week Intensive Jazz Program for Students Ages 14-18 Sunday, June 21 – Friday, June 26, 2015 Special Guest Artists MacArthur Fellow and Grammy Nominee Miguel Zenón plus NEC Jazz Studies Chair Ken Schaphorst headline the week holding masterclasses paired with evening concerts of their music Students ages 14-18 are invited to explore jazz at New England Conservatory during Jazz Lab, a one-week intensive program for students of all proficiency levels, from throughout the United States and abroad. Instrumentalists and vocalists ...
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Miguel Zenón On Teaching At New England Conservatory
Source:
Ann Braithwaite
Miguel Zenón, the alto saxophonist and composer who has blended jazz and the music of his native Puerto Rico into one of the most passionate and coherent forms of contemporary expression, exemplifies the new possibilities that jazz envisions in the 21st century. His triumphs of the past decade, at the head of his own quartet and as a founding and ongoing member of the SFJazz Collective, have inspired Zenón to continue pushing creative boundaries. Identities are Changeable is the most ...
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Aloe Blacc, Bilal, Chris Turner, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Berklee Neo-soul Ensemble & Contemporary Symphony Orchestra Perform Tribute To Storied Marvin Gaye Album Dec. 4
Source:
Berklee Media Relations
Berklee's 2014-15 Signature Music Series continues as Berklee and Revive Music present the first live performance of Marvin Gaye's storied album, Vulnerable, on December 4. The concert features special guest Aloe Blacc, who co-wrote and sang on Avicii's chart-topping single “Wake Me Up," and whose current album, Lift Your Spirit, includes the hit song “I'm the Man." The all-star lineup also includes Bilal, a genre-bedning R&B/jazz vocalist who has collaborated with Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Common; funk/soul crooner Chris Turner, who ...
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Pianist Miguel Rodríguez Presents Debut Album
Source:
Dox Amsterdam
Influenced by the vast range of musical styles arising out of his hometown of Madrid, pianist Miguel Rodríguez has come up with his own style. This distinct mix of improvisation, flamenco and Latin is apparent on the self-titled debut Miguel Rodríguez recorded with his band. The album will be released in digital format on 22 February. After his piano studies at the Rotterdam and Amsterdam conservatories, Miguel Rodríguez saw no reason to return to his native Spain since he considered ...
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Winter at the Annenberg Center Heats up with Grammy-Nominated Latin Jazz Musician Miguel Zenon
Source:
AAJ Staff
Philadelphia, PA: Acclaimed Latin jazz saxophonist Miguel Zenón will take the Annenberg Center stage to “create music that is full of life, history, richness, and realness” (All Music Guide). The 2008 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s prestigious Genius Award, Zenón possesses a progressive sound that fuses contemporary jazz and Latin rhythms, particularly drawing on his own Puerto Rican heritage. This performance will take place on Saturday, February 16 at 7 PM and 9 PM. Tickets are $20-$45 (prices are subject ...
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Guitarist/Composer David Gilmore Releases "Numerology" "Live at the Ja77 Standard" Featuring David Gilmore with Claudia Acua A, Miguel Zenon, Luis Perdomo, Christian McBride, Jeff "Tain" Watts and Mino Cinelu
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Numerology Suite is musical exploration into the mystical, divine, and spiritual meaning of numbers, which reflect the creation of the Universe and the underlying structure upon which the material world is built. Music is the language of the Universe, and the elements of music - harmony, melody and rhythm, are all expressions of number. Pythagoras, the father of mathematics, taught that the numbers one through nine represent the universal principles and progressive cycles in life. Here David Gilmore invites the ...
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Harpist/Composer Edmar Castaneda Releases "Double Portion" Featuring Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Miguel Zena^3n from Arpa Y Voz Records.
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Edmar Castaneda's new album may be titled Double Portion (Arpa Y Vaz Records, Street Date April 17th, 2012), but don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting more of this sumptuous meal after you've tasted it. Castaneda, who has virtually reinvented the role of the harp in jazz singlehandedly within the past several years, explores fertile new territory on his latest release, fusing the sounds of his native Colombia with the energy of his adopted home of New York City. ...
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