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Flux Music Essentials

Greetings and blessings fellow jazz aficionados … I imagine you’re wondering what’s up with this Rob? As enthusiasts, we all have recordings we deeply love, respect, and value. Jazz to me is very interesting musically, genre wise, it’s the most creative music available! I know, it’s a matter of taste or opinion. Nevertheless, being that I’ve been blessed to collect a diverse palette of music over the years I decided too share with you one of these recordings each week. SORRY, ABSOLUTELY NO DOWNLOADS! Content wise, the posting(s) will follow the usual status quo viewed here until otherwise stated. What someone says about a particular recording is very important to me, that’s why I’ll gladly post their writings/remarks “credited of course always to them.”

As usual, I respectfully recommend that you suggest your favorites with comments about the recordings you adore as well.

[Flux Music Essential for the Week] … I’m enthralled to feature this week a fabulous Latin Jazz pianist from Cuba named Manuel Valera!

Manuel Valera - Historia

Manuel Valera -:|:- Historia – [Fresh Sound New Talent, 2005]

Cuban-born pianist/composer and bandleader Manuel Valera is a forward-minded jazz musician with a knack for combining myriad Latin styles with contemporary jazz and post-bop. Starting out as a saxophonist while studying at the Manuel Samuell Conservatory in Havana, Valera switched full-time to piano after moving to the United States and enrolling in the New School in New York City around 1994. He has performed with a variety of name musicians, including bassist John Patitucci, reed player Paquito D’Rivera, saxophonist Seamus Blake, percussionist Dafnis Preito, trumpeter Claudio Roditi, and many others.

He released his debut album, Forma Nueva, on Mavo Records in 2004. Since then he has released a handful of records, including Melancolia in 2006 and Vientos in 2007. — Source: Matt Collar, All Music Guide