Pedro Menendez Ensemble at South by Southwest

Pedro Menendez Ensemble
Genre: Jazz Hometown: Buenos Aires ARGENTINA
www.contemporaneomusic.com
Saturday, March 15 11:30 p.m.
Elephant Room (315 Congress Ave)
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Pedro Menendez Ensemble - Kolndombe
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PEDRO MENENDEZ ENSEMBLE:

PEDRO MENÉNDEZ /
PIANO, FLUTE, SOPRANO SAX, BANDONEON, COMPOSITION

FITO VEGA /
BASS

Gerardo Stubrin/
DRUMS

Performing pieces of the recent CDs

'ARQUITECTURA TANGO’ / ‘AMERICA SOLAR’

AND OTHER DISCOGRAPHIC WORKS

VANGUARD JAZZ + A NEW TANGO / FOLK CONCEPTUALITY

PEDRO MENÉNDEZ is a prolific composer, more than 300 pieces for the most varied ensembles.
As a talented multinstrumentalist, he naturally changes from the piano to the flute, guitar, soprano sax or bandoneon, performing virtuoso on improvisations and with subtlety selecting notes upon developed armonies.
His own and personal composition style as well as his vast discography are the reflect of his long trayectory of quests on the rythms of his country folk music -tango, candombe, chacarera- and the strong influences of jazz, bossa nova and contemporary classical expressions.
As a bold creator, he certainly proposes a new different, innovative tango and Latin American folk conceptuality. The compositions bright for his direction as well as for the interpretation of the chosen musicians.

PEDRO MENÉNDEZ BIO:

PEDRO MENÉNDEZ was born in Buenos Aires in 1957.

He has been dedicated to the music since he was 7 years old. He studied with professors as the worldwide known Oscar Aleman ( Josephine Baker's jazz guitarist), Arturo Schneider (Astor Piazzolla´s flutist) and the contemporary classical guitarist Miguel Angel Girollet, among others. He also attended the composition career at the UCA (Universidad Católica Argentina).

His composition style was mainly influenced by the rythms of his country folk music - tango, chacarera, zamba, and candombes- jazz, Brazilian rythms such as bossa nova or capoeira and contemporary classical expressions, which can be appreciate throughout his vast discography.

He has recorded 11 discographic works with compositions of his own and the participation of distinguished musicians as Osvaldo Fattoruso on drums (from the latin jazz Band ‘Opa’), Rodolfo Mederos, Marcelo Nissinman on bandoneon, percussionist Rubén Rada, musicians from the Colón Theatre orchestra, among others.

Troughout his career he has played with many wellknown musicians of the local scene, as Luis Salinas, Agustín Pereyra Lucena, Guillermo Reuter (2004 SGAE Award), Danil ‘Pipi’ Piazzolla, Lito Nebbia, etc.

He has also composed incidental music for television, theatre and cinema (Argentina and the Munich School of Cinema).

He has a long career in jazz festivals in his country, including the last ‘Buenos Aires Jazz and other musics’ organized by the Bs As Secretary of Culture.

He tournee in Norway and Germany with the ‘Trio de Janeiro’ (Agustín Pereyra Lucena - Pedro Menéndez - Guillermo Reuter) performing on radio, TV, live concerts, jazz festivals, universities and theatres. During 2001 he stayed in Spain and France, featuring his own compositions as well as playing traditional tango with the ‘Rojo Tango’ ensemble in festivals and ‘milongas’.

Since 1986 he is the Artistic Director of Contemporaneo Art Music, an Argentine record label dedicated to genres as tango, jazz, crossover, folk, world and contemporary classical music.

FULL DISCOGRAPHY:
America Solar - 2007
Arquitectura Tango - 2006
Profundidad - 2005
Mi Buenos Aires herido - 2003
Secretos de la guitarra - 2002
Luna - 1999
Viaje por Latinoamérica - 1993
Cantos Secretos - 1989
Nuevos Caminos - 1986
Capoeira - 1984
Hora del Eclipse - 1983