David Virelles
| David Virelles | |
|---|---|
 Playing in Aarhus, Denmark | |
| Background information | |
| Born |
1983 (age 32–33) Cuba |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | Early 2000s–present |
| Labels | Justin Time, Pi, ECM |
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David Virelles (born 1983) is a Cuban jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Virelles was born in Cuba in 1983[1] and grew up in Santiago.[2] His father is José Aquiles, a singer-songwriter;[2] his mother was a Santiago de Cuba Symphony flautist.[1] Virelles started classical piano studies at the age of seven and heard various forms of Cuban music during his childhood.[1] He met Canadian musician Jane Bunnett in Cuba and she invited him to Toronto.[2] He eventually studied at the University of Toronto.[2] Virelles also recorded and toured with Bunnett,[1] including for her 2001 album Alma de Santiago.[3] He started communicating via e-mail and telephone with Steve Coleman around 2006; the saxophonist gave him detailed responses to questions on music.[2]
Later life and career
A Canada Council for the Arts grant allowed Virelles to study with Henry Threadgill in New York.[2] Virelles moved to New York permanently in 2009[1] and soon played with major jazz figures, including saxophonists Coleman, Chris Potter and Mark Turner.[2]
Virelles was part of a trio in 2010, with bassist Ben Street and drummer Andrew Cyrille, that played largely improvised music.[4] The pianist later added percussionist Román Díaz to this group.[4] In 2011, Virelles played prepared piano, celeste and harmonium on Potter's album The Sirens.[5] Virelles made his ECM Records leader debut with the 2014 release Mbókò.[6] The Guardian reviewer reported that "Virelles explores ancient Afro-Cuban sacred and ritual musics through imaginative fusions with contemporary materials. Mostly he does this by using the two basses as drones, mixing spacious chord-moods with bursts of startling improvisation in a flux of styles, and focusing much of the melody-playing on [the two] drummers."[6]
Discography
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
As leader/co-leader
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Motion | Justin Time | Most tracks quintet, with Luis Deniz (alto sax), Devon Henderson (bass), Ethan Ardelli (drums), Luis Obregoso (percussion); some tracks sextet, with Mark Turner (tenor sax), Jose Aquiles (vocals), or Pablosky Rosales (guitar) added; one track septet, with Turner (tenor sax), Celso Machado (vocals, gimbri) added |
| 2012 | Continuum | Pi | Quartet, with Ben Street (bass), Andrew Cyrille (drums), Román Díaz (percussion) |
| 2013 | Mbókò | ECM | Quintet, with Thomas Morgan and Robert Hurst (bass), Marcus Gilmore (drums), Roman Diaz (biankoméko, vocals) |
As sideman
| Year recorded | Leader | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Bunnett, JaneJane Bunnett | Alma de Santiago | Blue Note |
| 2002 | Bunnett, JaneJane Bunnett | Cuban Odyssey | Blue Note |
| 2011 | Potter, ChrisChris Potter | The Sirens | ECM |
| 2012 | Stańko, TomaszTomasz Stańko | Wisława | ECM |
| 2015 | Threadgill, HenryHenry Threadgill | Old Locks and Irregular Verbs | Pi Recordings |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Jurek, Thom "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ratliff, Ben (6 October 2011) "New Pilots at the Keyboard". The New York Times.
- ↑ Josselyn, Jim (1 November 2001) "Jane Bunnett: Alma de Santiago". AllAboutJazz.
- 1 2 Blumenfeld, Larry (30 January 2013) "A Man of Two Islands". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ "ECM". ECM Records. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- 1 2 Fordham, John (16 October 2014) "David Virelles: Mboko CD review – Jazz-Infused World Music That Goes Beyond Categories". The Guardian.
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