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Adrian Suarez Composer, arranger, trombonist and percussionist
Trombonist Adrian Suarez’s musical career began when he was very young at a music school.
“From the age of five they put us to study theory and solfège, and four years later I managed to get my hands on an instrument.”
However, once he was able to play an instrument, he took a break to dedicate himself to baseball. “It was at the age of 14 that an uncle took me to some Latin percussion lessons and soon after that I started with the trombone.”
On April 23, 1969, in Caracas, Venezuela, Adrian Suarez was born.
Excellent composer, arranger, trombonist, percussionist and researcher.
Bachelor of Arts (UCV-1994), he studied music, trombone and composition at the Escuela Superior José Ángel Lamas.
He also studied Afro-Caribbean percussion and Afro-Venezuelan percussion (1985-1990). He was a researcher and advisor for the foundation of ethnomusicology and folklore, fundef, between 1993 and 1995.
He studied composition at the Cátedra Latinoamericana de Composición Antonio Estévez, with maestro Juan Carlos Núñez from 1994 to 1996. In Germany he obtained a master’s degree in composition.
As a professional, he has collaborated with the Papel Musical Magazine (1992); he has been a researcher and advisor for the Foundation of Ethnomusicology and Folklore (FUNDEF) under the direction of Dr. Isabel Aretz; and he has worked as a documentary advisor for visual arts exhibitions.
He studied composition with Helmut Lachenmann and Marco Stroppa. In 2001 he received his master’s degree in composition from the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany.
Since 1999 he has been a founding member of the international group of composers Aspect, based in Germany, and since 1991 of the Musikós Association in Caracas. He participated in the Latin American Composition Chair Antonio Estévez, under the direction of Juan Carlos Núñez (1994-1996).
He has received numerous awards, including the Unique Prize of the Manuel Enrique Pérez Díaz National Composition Competition (CONAC, Caracas, 1998) for his work “Soledades”, “Hommâge à Octavio Paz”, for two guitars and harp, the Municipal Music Prize (Caracas, 2002 and 2017), the National Culture Prize (2010) as well as the Prize of the Ibero-American Composition Competition for Symphonic Band Ibermúsicas-Oaxaca (2016).
He has worked as author and director of musical-dramaturgical shows in Venezuela, including titles such as: “Lamas siempre” (1995), “Proyecto Música e Hipótesis Aleatorias” (1997), “Atavismos del Sol y de la luna” (2000), “Maithuna” (2009), “Watunna” (2010), “Meñé Ruwa, los dueños del canto” (2011) the first musical theater play in the continent for instrumental ensemble and two shamans and “La salsa es trombón” (2012, 2015, 2017).
He led a band integrated by a group of the best musicians of the salsa scene nationwide: Tuky Torres, on piano; Carlos Rodríguez, bass; Víctor Cardona, on timbal and bongo; Freddy Rivas, congas; Johan Muñoz, trombone; Eliel Rivero, trombone. Special guests included soneros Edgar Dolor Quijada, Reinaldo Torcat, as well as a group of batá drummers.
Creator of the Ensemble Lux Aeterna, dedicated to the interpretation of spiritual and sacred works of all times. He is also founder of the Akoustikos New Music Festival in 2009.
As a trombonist, he has cultivated popular music from all over the continent, with special emphasis on Venezuelan and Caribbean music. His work as a researcher, composer and performer has allowed him to take his work and music to several countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.
“It won’t be a master class in history,” says Venezuelan musician and composer Adrián Suárez with a chuckle; in reality it is a musical show, with hints of theater and dance, that will show the public the evolution of the trombone, and its relationship with the salsa genre from prehistoric times to contemporary times.
Adrián Suárez brings sacred sounds and turns them into music.
Suárez won the Second Iberoamerican Composition Contest for Symphonic Band Ibermúsicas, in the Mexican city of Oaxaca, with his work Aerofanía, retumbos místicos para banda sinfónica.
Salsa is trombone, Suárez assures, “It is a beautiful show that is not only educational, but also seeks to inspire the audience through the values and feelings it promotes”.
The artist and researcher’s expectation is that his audience will be completely involved with the sound and ambience: “To completely move the energy, since it is not only music to dance to, it is to sit down and listen to it carefully”.
Víctor Porfirio Baloa Díaz, more commonly known as Porfi Baloa
North America – Septembre 2019
La Topa Tolondra & its Salsa with Criterion – Colombia
Latin America / Colombia / Cali
Something magical happens in a unique space in Cali – Colombia: Topa Tolondra
La Topa Tolondra & its Salsa with Criterion ¨ A magical place in a unique space in Santiago de Cali¨
Because what matters is the music and its only and great protagonist “la salsa” a whole universe of happy individuals united by the melody, and all this happens because the salsa is tattooed in the hearts of many caleños and visitors to the area who It becomes evident on the dance floor, where you can find that visiting salsa public from all over the world that dances professionally, there are also those who dance well and those who don’t dance, but who doesn’t give a damn? “nothing”.
Those who are stung or guilla of dancers, those who go in sandals, those who go with tennis, those who go with heels, those who go elegant, those who go relaxed, the dreadlocks with long hair, those with afros, the gentleman and the lady, the chickens, the urban cyclists and even the rockers… and the list is endless because what matters is the music and its only and great protagonist “salsa”
“Lovers of Salsa and Bolero romantics attend weekly without age limits” To the rhythm of the Charanga, the Pachanga, the Boogaloo, the Guajira and the Son Cubano, it is enjoyed every night at the Topa Tolondra. Something unique happens in that magical place and that is that everyone forgets what they will say and they enjoy it from start to finish. In addition, local and international artists such as:
Esteban Copete y su Kintelo Paci co, Habana con Cola, Los Hermanos Lebrón, Clandestina Orquesta, Africali, Ebano y Marl, Bailatino, La Negramenta, Bobby Valentín and among others. For special dates ¬these and events such as Halloween that is approaching are organized. In “La Topa” as it is already known in Cali, sounds resound that arrived in the city between the 50s and 70s, where Salsa shapes the body and bolero its spirit, and going a little deeper we also perceive inclusive energies.
“Having fun is the only requirement to attend” “The Environment” For an unforgettable night you need two halves. The first is a table, chairs, water and drinks. And the second, and perhaps the most important: music and hit.
In Topa Tolondra there is plenty of space for gozadera, to sit down, to toast. Time does not run and there is no decache… “La Música” Here they marry the old guard of Los Hermanos Lebrón, Ángel Canales, La Sonora Ponceña, Frankie Dante and La Flamboyán.
The curatorship of its owner Carlos Ospina, its disc jockey and owner, is to learn it. It is not at all about impressing, it is about knowing how to find the subject at the right time.
¨Variety¨ Mondays are for foreigners. On Tuesdays there is a cinema-forum space and separate classes that are included with the 3 for 1 promotion (for every 3 Salsa songs, one bolero). Wednesdays are the best dancers in the city, Thursdays are dedicated to live salsa.
Finally, Fridays and Saturdays are reserved for these traditional Topa. “To Many Degrees” If your hair is long, bring something to tie it up with. If you are wearing a long-sleeved shirt, roll up the sleeves. If you are one of those people who is not used to consuming water, be prepared to drink what has not been drunk in a year. In La Topa you feel the harsh heat, so it is necessary to establish breaks to go outside to cool off “the heat outside will seem cool to you.”
For a round night, the ideal combination is beer, brandy and water, in dosed sips. Does the temperature exhaust? Yes, but it doesn’t matter if the song that is playing touches your ¬bras and reaches your heart. If you don’t know La Topa Tolondra, be sure to go and if you want to get a clearer idea before visiting, visit their fan page on Facebook www.facebook.com/Latopabar but don’t stay intrigued! Location of La Topa Tolondra. Cl. 5 #13-7, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia Telephone: +57 323 5972646
Arturo “Chico” O’farrill
North America / United States / New York
Arturo “Chico” O’farrill “The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect”
Arturo O’Farrill or better known as “Chico” O’Farrill was born in Havana (Cuba) on October 28, 1921. He was the son of a recognized Jewish family whose father was an eminent lawyer whom one day decided to immigrate to the United States. Arturo undertook his studies at the Riverside Military School in Gainesville, Georgia (interned by his father).
He began to love the jazz orchestras (big bands) and within that environment he fed musically, listening to recordings of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey, so much, that in a brief time he learned to plays the trumpet and became the trumpet player of the military band as well as the several dance groups.
Years later, Chico returned to Cuba. He studied law and at the same time developed his facet as a composer, receiving a composition and harmony study with the master, Félix Guerrero. Likewise, he was also Armando Romeu Bellamar Orchestra’s member and the Isidro Pérez Orchestra, when the Son and the Mambo prevailed in the Latin music.
TRAJECTORY
From 1943 to 1947 “The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect” worked at the cabaret Montmartre. He was a member of Bellamar Orchestra, directed by Armando Romeu and integrated by Luis and Pucho Escalante, Gustavo Mas and Mario Romeu, among others. He traveled to Mexico and Europe as a trumpeter musician as well as he created the band, Los Raqueteros del Swing, being the director and trumpet.
Subsequently, he founded Los Beboppers (the first group of Cuban bop), which was presented at the Saratoga Hotel with Chico again as the director and the trumpet.
In the ‘50s decade began the successes for Chico as an arranger, working briefly for several orchestra directors, such as Gil Fuller, Noro Morales, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Benny Goodman.
In the same way, he composed his first great masterpiece “Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite” in five movements: Song, Mambo, 6/8, Jazz and Rumba Open. This masterpiece was made and recorded for the businessman Norman Granz’s label, using the Machito’s Orchestra as an accompanist and rhythmic base.
“Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite”, according to Luc Delannoy: “begins and ends with a hypnotic flute and conga duo that reflects the essence of Cuban treatment; the union of musical universes: the European (the flute) and the African (the conga).
To these two instruments is joined the oboe, followed by the trumpets, saxophones and the “Tumbao” of the double bass… After a return to swing and bebop in the fourth movement, Chico takes us to the origins of Latin jazz with a melody of clear Arabic accents, before sinking back into the universe of Afro-Cuban percussions”. Likewise, for Benny Carter, this Suite was: “The reason for the coherence of the rhythmic parts and their relationships with the solos that have their own life and independence, Masterpiece of a genius.”
In New York and following the success of “Afro Cuban Jazz Suite”, O’Farrill writes “Cuban Fantasy” for Stan Kenton, who later changes its name to “Cuban Episode”.
In 1953 he traveled to California, where he founded his orchestra that included renowned musicians such as Mario Bauzá, Doug Mettome, Jimmy Nottingham, Eddie Bert, Fred Zito, Lenny Hambro, Flip Phillips, and saxophonist Eddie Wasserman. The orchestra used the rhythm section of the Machito’s Afro-Cuban, harp and oboe. With this concept he recorded for Norman Granz, performed in Birdland (New York), and the Hat Ballroom located in Los Angeles. In this period he composed three new movements: “La Jungla”, “Contraste”, and “Rhumba Finale”, baptized as “Manteca Suite” recorded with the Jazz player Dizzy Gillespie and orchestra of 21 excellent musicians in 1954.
He returns to Cuba again in 1956 to be inspired and immediately began working for the best record companies on the island such as Panart and RCA Víctor, recording “Chico’s Cha-Cha-Cha”, adapting the Charanga rhythm to the big band format. This album is released, one more time, on compact disc by BMG during the last decade of the twentieth century. Chico also made a recording for the popular D’Aida Quartet and arrangements for Bola de Nieve and the famous Orchestra Director, Aldemaro Romero.
In 1958 the restless O’Farrill moved for Mexico, an essential platform for all Latin American musicians at that time. There he returned to create another special sound and appears on television as musical director of the Andy Russell singer, and there his life changed radically. He started a semi-retirement period, but never stopped creating music. At that moment, he composed his famous “Azteca Suite” for trumpeter Art Farmer, and he made history again!
In the 60s he returned to New York and makes arrangements for such important figures as La Lupe (They Call Me La Lupe); Cal Tjader (Along Comes Cal); Clark Terry (Spanish Rice); Count Basie (High Voltage); Gato Barbieri (Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata); Ringo Starr (Night and Day) and dabbled in the Rock music with David Bowie (I Know It’s Gonna Happen, Looking for Lester), and finally he was director of the Aldemaro Romero´s Orchestra.
This stage extends until the end of the 20th century, although already in the 70s, the big bands go down in history for several genres that would be manifested due to their novelty and immense popularity in the United States and around the world. The architects of the new fashion used new techniques, styles, and sounds, especially in the field of harmonization. Suddenly popular music stopped being exclusively for the ballroom and -of course- “new sound” icons appeared in the Jazz Music. For this reason, Chico O’Farrill begins working in the lucrative field of music for television commercials.
In the mid-1990s, “The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect” was contacted by American producer and Jazz director Todd Barkan with Pure Emotion, a compiled of his musical career with which he got a nomination for the 37th edition of the Grammy awards.
O’Farrill toured Europe with his orchestra in 1996 and recorded his latest album titled “Heart Of A Legend”, which contains 14 tracks, a formidable orchestra of 18 masters and a staff of international artists. The arrangements of “Heart Of A Legend”, considered for many as the best album of his career, took care by himself and the musical direction was entrusted to his son, Arturo O’Farrill Jr., a formidable pianist and heir of his legacy.
Arturo “Chico” O’farrill died on June 29, 2001, in New York City at 80 years.
Undeniably, Chico for more than half a century was a great musical creator. He was at the forefront of an innovative style that many know as Latin Jazz nowadays, which was called at the beginning with many names, such as Cuban bop, Mambo Jazz and Afro-Cuban Jazz.
Our dear “AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ARCHITECT” Until forever!
In memory of 18 years of his passing!
Balazo de Norteamérica:
Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill
“The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect”
In memory of 18 years of his passing!