Luis is one of the most active jazz pianists in NYC. Originally from Venezuela, he began playing piano at age 10, and by age 12 he was playing professionally on radio and TV as well as concerts and clubs.
Later on, Luis moved to the U.S to attend the Manhattan School of Music on a scholarship, he graduated in 1997 and would later obtain a Master’s degree from Queens College, where he was a student of the great pianist Sir Roland Hanna.
Soon after moving to New York, he quickly established himself as an in-demand pianist amassing quite an impressive resume. Some of the artists Luis has recorded and/or performed with include Ravi Coltrane, David Sanchez, Jerry Gonzalez and the “Fort Apache Band”, Tom Harrell, John Patitucci, Ray Barretto, Brian Lynch, Robin Eubanks, Miguel Zenon, Dave Douglas, David Weiss and The Cookers, David Gilmore, La India, Ralph Irizarry & Timbalaye, Henry Threadgill and Steve Turre, among others; a list that is as notable both by its high standard as well as its diversity. Luis is also recognized as a longstanding member of several bands, most notably groups led by Ravi Coltrane, with whom he spent 10 years and Miguel Zenon, with whom he has had a collaboration that is currently on its 19th year. Luis has made also a mark as a performer, composer and arranger on recordings by Ray Barretto, Ignacio Berroa, John Benitez and Ralph Irizarry. He can be heard most recently on both Grammy nominated Ravi Coltrane's "Spirit Fiction" and Miguel Zenón's "Tipico". In 2002 he obtained the 2nd Grand Prix at the “3rd Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition” in Paris, amongst a pool of 66 international pianists.
As a sideman, Luis has performed in most major Music Festivals and venues in over 50 countries, and as a leader he has toured in Europe, Japan, South America and the U.S.
Luis has also been very active worldwide in recent years as a teacher, solo artist, and as a leader of his own trio: “The Controlling Ear Unit” and several other projects, and has released nine highly praised recordings as a leader: "Focus Point" (2005), "Awareness" (2006), and the highly acclaimed "Universal Mind" featuring Drew Gress and Jack Dejohnette (2012) for Ravi Coltrane's RKM Music label. "Pathways" in 2008, The "Infancia" Project in 2012, and “Links” in 2013 were recorded for Criss Cross Jazz.
His project "Twenty - Two", with the “Controlling Ear Unit” was released in 2015 on the Hot Tone Music label. This high octane CD unites Luis with bassist/vocalist Mimi Jones and drummer Rudy Royston. The two most recent CD’s: “Montage”; Luis’ first solo piano output and “Spirits and Warriors”; a quintet release for the Criss Cross Jazz label which features drum legend Billy Hart, were released in May 2016. Luis Perdomo has also participated in over 170 recordings as a sideman.
As an educator, Luis has taught masterclasses at the Conservatories of Amsterdam and Paris, Vassar College, Oberlin Conservatory, Princeton University, Hochschule Fur Musik und Theater (Munich, Germany), Berklee (Valencia, Spain), IUDEM (Caracas, Venezuela), Esmuva (Madrid, Spain); and the Jazz School in Berkeley, CA among others. He has taught summer jazz camps including the “Jazz in July” at the University of Massachussetts, Langnau Jazz Nights in Switzerland; Banff International Workshop and the University of Manitoba in Canada, Badajoz Jazz Worshop in Spain; Universidad EAFIT in Medellin; Tonica Jazz Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico and the Guimaraes Jazz Workshops in Portugal, among others.
In 2016, Mr Perdomo served as the artistic director of the Langnau Jazz Workshops in Switzerland.
Luis has also taught at the New School for Social Research, and currently serves as an adjunct piano professor at Queens College in New York City.
For more than two decades she’s been on the scene, bassist/vocalist/producer/label owner and now filmmaker Mimi Jones has reigned supreme, as a side woman to an impressive coterie of musicians and as a leader with three CDs on her own Hot Tone Music label, A New Day (2009) and Balance (2014) ----her third CD for the label, Feet in the Mud, being her most powerful, propulsive, and personal recording to date. “Feet in the Mud to me means being true to one’s own self despite your race, age, gender, size etcetera,” Jones says. “It’s about finding true joy within yourself, having an open mind and spirit and a connection to the earth.”
Jones is supported by an engaging and ingenious collection of musicians: pianist Jon Cowherd (Brian Blade, Cassandra Wilson, Rosanne Cash), drummer Jonathan Barber (Kenny Barron, Kurt Elling, Erykah Badu), and soprano saxophonist Samir Zarif (Jason Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, Aaron Neville).
The jazz world is happy that Mimi Jones is on the scene. Born Miriam Sullivan in New York City on March 25, 1972 of parents from Barbados, she was raised in the Bronx. Jones grew up listening to a variety of music including Al Green, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Earth, Wind & Fire, and more. She took up the guitar at the age of twelve, studying classical guitar with her first music instructor, James Bartow, at the Harlem School of the Arts. She also studied percussion, songwriting, voice, drums, and dance. Jones switched to cello after being accepted at the famed LaGuardia High School of Music and Art because the school because they had no guitar teacher. Band director Justin DiCioccio heard her messing around with an acoustic bass and recruited her to play in the school jazz band, which at the time included budding young lions such as Abraham Burton, Eric McPherson, Walter Blanding Jr., and Michael Leonhart.
“Once I switched to bass, I began listening Jimmy Blanton and Oscar Pettiford. They had their own sound and their individual approach to weaving bass lines and improvisation. Milt Hinton took me under his wing, and gifted me a scholarship to the jazz camp at Skidmore summer camp. He had an early influence on me to sing and play bass,” Jones fondly recalls. “I grew up listening to a lot of Miles Davis, which naturally exposed me to the great Ron Carter, Sam Jones, and Paul Chambers. Later on I experienced the Oscar Peterson trio, which exposed me to Ray Brown. Wow!”
In preparation of college, with help of her mentors, Jesse Hameen II (aka Cheese), Rodney Jones, Lisle Atkinson and Linda Mcknight Mimi was able to properly prepare for her audition which eventually would award her a full scholarship at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music.
Jones studied classically under the tutelage of Linda McKnight and simultaneously attended weekend classes at the Jazz mobile school on Saturday mornings with bassist Lisle Atkinson. She also studied with jazz masters such as Barry Harris, Ron Carter, Milt Hinton, Dr. Billy Taylor, Yusef Lateef, Max Roach, Maria Schneider, and bassist Guillermo Edgehill.
As a Jazz Ambassador, Mimi toured Africa, Europe, Russia, China, South and Central America, and the Caribbean for the U.S. State Department. Her vast work as a sidewoman includes gigs with Kenny Barron, Lizz Wright, Beyonce, Frank Ocean, Dianne Reeves, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, Roy Hargrove, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nona Hendricks, Kevin Mahogany, Corey Glover, Raymond Angry, Marc Cary, Toshi Reagon, Rachel Z, Tammy McCann, Sean Jones, Cyrille Aimee, Allan Harris, Rudy Royston, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Peterson, and Terri Lyne Carrington’s Grammy Award winning Mosaic Project.
Jones launched her own record label, Hot Tone Music, in 2009 which now has produced nine albums thus far. In addition, Mimi Jones co-directs with ArcoIris Sandoval a project called The D.O.M.E. Experience, a multimedia project that is meant to inspire its audience to become aware of environmental and social issues, within the community and globally, by original compositions performed by a 20 piece jazz orchestra, dance and cinematography. Mimi also created an original mini musical production about the great migration and harlem renaissance, with a cast of seven entitled “Next Stop Harlem”. To create more opportunities for herself as well as others she felt should have more exposure, Mimi Jones started up the annual Limitless Music Festival (NYC)in January during jazz convention week. Since 2013, Mimi has been hosting a jazz party/experimental jam called The Lab Session based in NYC, and as of October 2017 will also be hosted throughout multiple cities in the US sponsored by organization called Live it Live, that cultivates the growth of live music by bringing the musicians, the audience and the venues together.
Mimi Jones was voted #2 rising star by the DownBeat polls for 3 years straight.
Photo by Tracey Yarad © 2020