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Manuel Valera: The Planets
by Mike Jurkovic
Cuban-born pianist Manuel Valera is not unknown to jazz-heads who make it their business to listen and champion. But, since his acclaimed 2004 debut Forma Nueva, a couple of Grammy nods, and last year's quietly brilliant The Seasons, Valera's name and exciting blend of culture, tradition, and progression has spread deservedly like wildfire through the larger audience. The Planets ramps up the forward rate of spread. Ranging fiercely across the 88s like peak McCoy Tyner--fanciful, fluid chromatic runs ...
read moreManuel Valera Trio: The Seasons
by Troy Dostert
Although Manuel Valera originally staked his claim to fame as a “Latin jazz" pianist, it's fair to say that he has sought to transcend the constraints imposed by that label. On this release, the second by his trio with bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer E.J. Strickland, Valera displays just as much interest in drawing from the musical worlds of classical and pop, refracted through the general prism of post-bop, as anything immediately identifiable as “Latin" jazz. With a well-developed group ...
read moreManuel Valera Trio: The Seasons
by Edward Blanco
Offering his twelfth recording as a leader, Grammy-nominated pianist Manuel Valera unveils a dynamic session of modern jazz on the vibrant The Seasons and follow up to Live at Firehouse 12 (MAVO Records, 2015). The album also happens to be the second date with his current working trio of jazz luminaries' bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer E.J. Strickland providing one of the most powerful piano trios in the jazz world today. The main theme of the session is the four-part ...
read moreManuel Valera Trio: Live at Firehouse 12
by Edward Blanco
Leader of the Latin jazz-styled group New Cuban Express, New York-based, Cuban-born pianist Manuel Valera, unveils his 10th album as leader and his first recording in a live setting with the untypically non-Latin Live at Firehouse 12, his first trio format release in six years. This, very excellent trio features jazz luminaries Hans Glawischnig on bass and veteran EJ Strickland on the drums--all together forming one solid power threesome. Recorded at the renowned New Haven, CT club, Firehouse 12, a ...
read moreManuel Valera Trio: Live at Firehouse 12
by C. Michael Bailey
Cuban pianist Manuel Valera readily extends the jazz language of his predecessors Bebo and Chucho Valdes. He is comfortable leading all band formats from septets (In Motion (Criss Cross, 2014) to solo performance (Self Portrait (Self Produced, 2014). Valera may presently be found fronting an exceptional trio performing Live at Firehouse 12. Orchestral or symphonic best describes Valera's pianism. His command of the complete keyboard; his ability to effect emotive arrangements with cogent beginnings, middles, and ends; ...
read moreManuel Valera Sr.: Recuerdos
by Ernest Barteldes
Recuerdos might translate as “Remembrances," but save for maybe a track or two, this album is clearly not about nostalgia--it is a contemporary Latin jazz album filled with inspired moments--among these “Solitude," a tune in which veteran saxophonist Manuel Valeras, Sr. and his son (pianist Manuel Valera) share a close duet. “Si La Comprienderas" opens the disc with an up-tempo groove, and “Si Te Contara" has a very modern feel thanks to the solid backing from the rhythm section of ...
read moreManuel Valera Sr.: Recuerdos
by Dan Bilawsky
There's quite a bit of Cuban music history in Manuel Valera Sr.'s fingertips. Over the course of his career, he's put his saxophone to good use in the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, Mario Bauza's Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Machito's Orchestra, Paquito D'Rivera's Big Band, and numerous other groups; he's played alongside bassist Israel “Cachao" Lopez, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, and percussionist Carlos “Patato" Valdez; and he's even been cited as the creator of the first jazz saxophone quintet in Cuba. ...
read moreManuel Valera: Self Portrait
by Dan McClenaghan
On Self Portrait, Grammy-nominated pianist Manuel Valera's first solo piano outing, the artist displays a supple and exquisite touch on his instrument, reflecting the erudition and precision of his classical background. This is worth saying right off because Valera is best known for his vivacious Latin jazz ensemble outings, New Cuban Express (Mavo Records, 2012) and Expectivas (Mavo Records, 2013). On this introspective set, Valera explores his classical influences with nods to Eric Satie, George Gershwin and Nicoloas ...
read moreManuel Valera: Self Portrait
by Dan Bilawsky
Pianist Manuel Valera's New Cuban Express has pulled into the station for a pit stop, his band mates have stepped off the train to stretch their legs, and the conductor of said locomotive is now left to ponder his own existence in front of his controls. Such is the story that could be told to detail and dance around this pivotal point in Valera's career: the creation and release of his first solo piano record. Valera--a Cuban-born, ...
read moreManuel Valera & New Cuban Express: Expectativas
by Edward Blanco
A follow up to pianist Manuel Valera's 2013 Grammy--nominated New Cuban Express, his seventh album as leader, Expectativas continues the melding of Afro-Cuban rhythms with the modern fusion jazz sound fusing the two into a new form of jazz best described as “modern Latin fusion." Consisting of eleven originals and one cover, the project is a testament to Valera's compositional talents and his vision for the future Latin Jazz. As such, the approach is not all Latin-tinged as evidenced by ...
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