THE JAZZ FLAMENCO MAN

Chano Domínguez is one of the most celebrated of jazz pianists and composers. His singular work is defined by his flamenco origins.    In more than 40 years of his career, he has dazzled all kinds of audiences, including other musicians spanning both worlds of jazz and flamenco.

His interpretive talents are highly sought after for his authentic integration of both jazz and flamenco traditions, working with an extensive range of colleagues such as Paco de Lucía, Enrique Morente, Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Martirio, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito d’Rivera, Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Jerry Gonzalez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdés, Joe Lovano, and George Mraz, among others.    

Chano has achieved an unusual integration between the rhythms and languages of jazz and flamenco, creating a unique style that places him among the top musicians practicing this artform. Internationally acclaimed, he has influenced and changed the history of flamenco-jazz.    

His music has been played by many different ensembles and orchestras such as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, WDR Cologne Big Band, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Nacional de Latvia, Orquesta de Cámara del Vallés, and the Orquesta Nacional de Costa Rica.    

In 2016 he’s been nominated for his fourth Grammy, this one a Latin Grammy for his latest release “Bendito”. This recording features Chano as producer, composer and pianist with his preferred ‘cantaor’ (flamenco singer) Blas Cordoba aka “El Kejio”.    

Chano is also a seasoned educator, available for master classes, workshops and residencies. He has previously taught at Taller de Músics in Barcelona, The Music Conservatory of Bogotá, the Julliard School in New York and at the School of Music at the University of Washington, among others. Chano has lived in New York, where Sunnyside Records has released his newest piano solo album Over the Rainbow.    

His most recent works include an album with Antonio Lizana, Manel Fortiá and Marc Miralta "Standards" from 2021, an album based on American Standards in the purest Jazz Flamenco style; and the Album "Chabem" with Hamilton de Holanda and Rubem Dantas from 2021. Also an album recorded with the legendary singer Martirio from Spain, "A Bola de Nieve" (Universal Music Spain 2019) Duo of Martirio and Chano Domínguez on piano, based on the Repertoire of the great Cuban singer, pianist and composer Bola de Nieve, one of the most brilliant musicians on the island of Cuba. Chano Domínguez has also recently released a Live Piano Solo album (Lo Otro, 2020), recorded from two live sessions in 2015 in Madrid. And the immigrant Jurney album recorded live at the Fazioli room in Italy in 2019.

With his brilliant reimagining of jazz and flamenco, Chano Dominguez continues to create timeless art that knows no bounds. 

ALEXIS CUADRADO

Barcelona-born and Brooklyn-based Alexis Cuadrado is an award-winning composer, producer, bandleader, bassist and educator. He has become one of the most sought-after musicians in the New York scene. NPR music says: “Listen to Cuadrado’s compositions and you’ll find every reason to take him seriously.” NY magazine: "His intricate and sharply defined compositions show that he’s tapped into something much deeper."

Cuadrado's work draws from the crossover of jazz, world, flamenco and new music, exploring the confluence of the Hispanic and American cultures, as well as embracing a deep commitment to comment on social issues. His recent output is a restless exploration of cross-disciplinary works that embrace poetry, film, radio-podcasts, dance and design.

His main outlet for creative work is his own ensemble, the Alexis Cuadrado Group, for which he’s written a plethora of commissioned pieces. Recent work include the live short film scores of pioneer female filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché’s The Consequences of Feminism and Algie the Miner (2020), Harold M.Shaw’s The Land Beyond the Sunset (2020) and Lois Weber’s 1916 feature film Shoes (2018) which premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Other works include Poètica (2014) a collaboration with poets Rowan Ricardo Phillips and Melcion Mateu; Jazz Miniatures for Double Quartet (2012) featuring a jazz and a string quartet; A Lorca Soundscape (2011) featuring Claudia Acuña and Miguel Zenón, in which he adapted the poetry of the legendary Spanish author Federico García Lorca; and Noneto Ibérico (2009) a nine-part Flamenco-Jazz Suite for nine musicians featuring Avishai Cohen, Perico Sambeat and Israel Suarez “Piraña”.

He's also composed for a large variety of jazz and chamber ensembles with pieces like Encuentros (2017) for string quintet, Trivium (2016) for piano trio, Polar Litany (2016) and Hispalis (2013) for big band, and the live score for the silent Charlie Chaplin 1916 film The Immigrant (2015) for a jazz-chamber tentet. Additionally he has composed and produced music for radio and podcasts like The New Yorker Radio Hour, The Slowdown - Featuring U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, Fiasco (Slow Burn) and Studio 360. Other recent productions include a collaboration with Spanish vocalist Antonio Lizana and a dance score for Declaration of Independence by Hungarian choreographer Kata Juhasz.

Cuadrado has six albums as a leader/composer of his ensemble: Poetica (2016),  A Lorca Soundscape (2013) and Noneto Ibérico (2011), which have all received extensive media accolades. His first albums: Puzzles (2008), Visual (2004) and Metro (2001) document his original work of the 2000s, and were widely recognized by from critics, presenters and fans alike. 

As a bassist, he has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, jazz festivals and clubs around the world (fancy and dingy), 24 hour-long Roma weddings in the south of France and sea-sickness inducing cruise ships in the Mediterranean. He has appeared in recordings and performances with such greats as Grammy Award winners Angélique Kidjo, Youssou N’Dour and Dianne Reeves, Omara Portuondo, Chano Domínguez, Steve Wilson, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Mark Turner amongst many others. He keeps his calendar full freelancing with different bands around the world.

Alexis graduated in Jazz Performance and Composition from the Taller De Músics in Barcelona (1993) and went on to study with the legendary concert bass master François Rabbath in Paris (1995-98). In 2001 he received a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance and Composition (graduating with honors) at the Aaron Copland School Of Music-Queens College  in New York. He is also a devoted educator and a current faculty member at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC, and teaches worldwide as a guest lecturer.

Cuadrado lives in Brooklyn with his wife and twin children.