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| Manuel Valera Brings ’Fourth Stream’ To NYC's Jazz Standard  On Tuesday, July 3, Manuel Valera - the pianist that Jazz Times recently hailed as "a major new talent" - will preview music from his groundbreaking new album 'Vientos' at NYC's Jazz Standard. Valera will be backed by the same group that recorded 'Vientos, ' including Ernesto Simpson on drums (Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker), Joel Frahm on saxophone (Brad Mehldau, Jane Monheit), and James Genus on bass (SNL House Band, Roy Haynes). That group will augmented by the woodwind quintet of Charles Pillow (bass clarinet), Anders Bostrum (Flute + Alto Flute), Marc Phanuef (Clarinet), Alden Banta (bassoon) and Steve Kenyon (Bass Clarinet).Though Valera - all of 26 years old - combines elements of jazz and classical music reminiscent of the so-called "third stream" of the 1960s, he reaches a "fourth stream" on 'Vientos' through the Latin music influences that also inform the album. At times, he transcends genre altogether. Billboard recently predicted Valera is "destined to play a role in the future of jazz", and that future is now. Born in Havana, Cuba, Valera has become a fixture of the NYC jazz scene in recent years. The Village Voice recently gave him props for "[living] up to all the buzz about his rad chops." In 2005, he earned an ASCAP Young Composers Award, and a New Works Commission from Chamber Music America the following year. Twice, in 2004 and 2006, he took second place in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in Jacksonville, FL. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |