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Schedule
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hops to Cuban beats of Paredes, 6/3/05 |
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 By
Bob Young. Boston HeraldFriday, June 3, 2005 Boston's an unlikely stopping-off point for some of the world's best young Latin jazz players, but that's exactly what the city has been for several years now. Cuban-born pianist Osmany Paredes, the
latest heavyweight to hang his hat here, put on a show Wednesday night at
Ryles that had the crowd rushing home with a message to absent friends:
Catch this guy while he's still in town. From the supporting instrumentation -
stand-up electric bass, timbales, congas, guiro and vocals - to the
interpretations of songs, danzons and guarachas, this was Afro-Cuban jazz
for the new millennium. At Ryles, his band of like-minded compadres hailing from Cuba, Costa Rica and Colombia sounded far tighter than anyone could have expected from a first gig together. They were clearly more than happy to take direction from the quietly charismatic Paredes. He turned Miles Davis' ``Seven Steps to
Heaven'' from jazz standard to seething danzon, playfully slowing and
speeding the tempo as his bandmates grinned at the challenge. |
By Larry Katz Wednesday, January 12, 2005 The surprise isn't that so many talented Latino musicians are coming to Boston to play. It's that so many are coming to stay. Consider as a prime example Cuban pianist Osmany Paredes, who now lives in Roxbury and is rapidly emerging as a highly visible and exciting presence on the local scene. ``When I first came to the United States, I moved to Los Angeles,'' says Paredes (pronounced pah-RAY-dess) over lunch in Harvard Square. ``The idea was to extend and develop my career. I could have stayed there, but I had already spent 11 years living in Mexico City, another very big city. I had some friends in Boston, and they encouraged me to come.'' One of those friends was Pedro Aizcorbe, a tireless promoter of the Boston Latin jazz scene. He convinced Paredes - as two years earlier he had convinced another top-flight Cuban jazz pianist, Tony Perez - that Boston is now a hub for Latino musicians looking to hone skills and forge reputations. ``I could have stayed in L.A. or gone to New York,'' says Paredes, whose size makes him look more like a Patriots linebacker than a fleet keyboardist with a delicate touch. ``But I liked that Boston was smaller, but is still a place filled with musical activity. People had told me about Berklee and all the people from around the world who come there. I didn't come here to go there, but I appreciate the musical ambience Berklee creates. ``So I was very curious to experience Boston,'' Paredes continues, speaking in a mix of halting English and Spanish translated by Bertram Lehmann, a Berklee teacher and the drummer in his new quintet. ``I moved here in August, 2003. And I found that I like what's going on in this city.'' Even the winter weather? Paredes laughs. ``That's the only thing I don't like.'' When Paredes, 32, arrived in Boston, he had already released a debut CD, ``Osmany Paredes & Menduvia,'' that he had recorded in Mexico with a group of young Cuban players. Produced, arranged and mostly composed by Paredes, it earned enthusiastic reviews from the international press for its enticing mix of lyrical introspection and rocking Cuban jazz. While Paredes can be as introspective as Keith Jarrett or as complex as Chick Corea, he just as frequently accompanies his playing by bursting into actual song. It's the sort of openly accessible music that inspires the belief the road to the future of jazz will be paved with Latin rhythms. ``The rhythm Osmany plays with,'' says drummer Lehmann, ``is so strong, so organic, he just pulls you along when you are playing with him. The Cuban pianists are basically percussionists. They play with a drummer's sense of time, but they express it playing harmony and melody. Their timing is incredibly crisp.'' The flavor and fire Paredes brings to a jazz party has made him an increasingly busy piano man about town. Tonight he performs at Ryles in Cambridge, leading his own new band, which in addition to Lehmann includes reknowned bassist Oscar Stagnaro, saxophonist Tim Mayer and percussionist Ernesto Diaz. Tomorrow he plays with the Cuban Jazz Project, featuring saxophonist Bob Gullotti, at the Fireside in Brookline. Paredes has also been working with singer Patricia Vlieg, a native of Panama, who comes to Ryles on Feb. 11, as well as with Rhode Island-based Grupo Chekere. You might also find him playing for dancers at Johnny D's weekly Sunday night salsa parties in Somerville. And he's also performed recently in New York with fast-rising Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry. Which means music-loving Bostonians would be wise to enjoy Paredes while they can. ``In the future, I might want to go to New York,'' he admits. ``But who knows? Right now, I am very happy here.'' |
Check www.osmanyparedes.com/html/itinerary.php
Currently based in Boston, MA, and available for teaching and for gigs. Contact osmanyparedes72_AT_yahoo.com.mx (antispam: replace _AT_ with @)
| Contact: Makuta Music, (617) 335-3851, makuta_music@yahoo.com ‘BATUQUE BELÉ’ Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA. Wednesday, September 27th, 2006, 9p.m. Bertram Lehmann – drums, Osmany Paredes – piano, voice; Lamine Toure – sabar percussion, Ernesto Diaz – percussion, Peter Slavov – bass; Rick DiMuzzio – saxophone; Mehmet Sanlikol - ud; Amir Milstein – flute. The Berklee Performance Center is located at 136 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. Tickets are $5 for general public, $1 for Berklee students. Call 617-747-2261 for info and tickets. On Wednesday September 27th, Berklee College of Music Assistant Professor Bertram Lehmann will lead his ensemble in another edition of ‘Batuque Belé’, featuring an eclectic blend of World Music influenced Jazz and originals. The evening will include Bulgarian and Turkish folk music arranged for a large jazz ensemble, original Cuban Jazz, and tunes by Wayne Shorter and others. Mr. Lehmann will be accompanied by some of Boston’s finest performers, including Cuban piano virtuoso Osmany Paredes, Senegalese master drummer Lamine Toure, and Mehmet Sanlikol, the director of the accomplished DUNYA organization, which explores all facets of Turkish music, on ud. Amir Milstein is an internationally recognized flutist, who has performed with the Israeli-Arab group Bustan. Rick DiMuzzio and Ernesto Diaz are also long-standing Berklee faculty. Bertram Lehmann has been based in Boston for over a decade, performing Jazz, Latin and World music with artists like Mili Bermejo, Katie Viqueira, Mango Blue, Luciana Souza, Natraj, as well as Cuban pianist Tony Perez. In addition to his appearances in the U.S. with artists such as Paquito D’Rivera, Romero Lubambo, Danilo Perez, Claudio Roditi, Kenny Werner, and The Caribbean Jazz Project, he has toured internationally in India, Ecuador, Ghana, Mexico, Israel, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and Germany. |
Osmany Paredes and Menduvia
www.artistdirect.com/store/artist/album/0,,2551160,00.html
Review of Osmani Paredes & Menduvia, Latin Jazz Network
Intrevista: De Cuba a México y más allá: Osmany Paredes
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