Jose Valdes
Jose Valdes was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States on August 4th, 1957 and is the Pianist. At the age of 66, Jose Valdes biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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José Angel Valdes (born August 4, 1957) is a Jazz, Latin jazz and classical pianist, organist and bandleader.
Career
José Valdes, José Valdes' father, was born in San Carlos, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and was his first musical influence. Elena Valdes, his late mother, was from Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. His father's uncles were Norte (music) musicians who played accordion and guitar. Valdes, the eldest of three children, grew up on Chicago's south side. His father's musical influence came from his obsession with jazz and be-bop, as well as Mexican music. His mother loved classical music, particularly waltzes by Johann Strauss II and the music of classic Mexican trios such as Los Tres Reyes.
Valdes began piano lessons in elementary school at age six, following a nun who came to the public school where he went. His predilection for piano was partially influenced by the pianists he encountered on television, including Steve Allen, Liberace, Oscar Levant, and Lawrence Welk. When taking his parents and his sons to the Sears store, he discovered the organ. He read Magnus chord organ books for himself. He played for two years on the organ and a 3-octave keyboard. His parents bought him a Hammond organ when he was eleven years old. Paul Renard, the author of The Music Dynamics Method for Sight Reading, staff organist for Hammond, and co-inventor of the Wurlitzer electric piano, which was developed in 1954 by the Wurlitzer Company in Chicago alongside Howard Holman, received lessons at a bookstore in downtown Chicago.
Valdes performed alto saxophone and became a member of Chicago's Bass Public School concert band. He was a member of the marching and stage bands during his time at the St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago. He continued to develop his organ skills while playing alto sax with the stage band. He studied at DePaul University, where he concentrated on composition and Jazz studies.
He formed Purple Sunshine, a soul music project in 1972, where he first performed on organ and saxophone in public. Los Diamantes Negros, a five-piece dance/pop band, formed his first Latin band in Los Angeles Negros in 2009. He performed in both bands, the Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes electric piano. He enlarged the band to eight pieces while still attending high school by adding a brass section. Valdes made charts, transcribed and arranged music, and performed as bandleader. Edgar Winter, The Brecker Brothers, Grand Funk Railroad, Sly and the Family Stone, and Latin music performances such as El Gran Combo, José José, and the Fania All-Stars were among his favorite musicians. He appeared with his band in Chicago during his college years.
He toured as a member of the Topaz, a four-piece band, after college. He spent time in Chicago as a freelance guitarist and in Fields Piano Company's sales. He appeared in five nights a week at restaurants with a singer/guitarist who performed commercial music, such as Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond. He began playing with local Latin bands in 1985, and then joined La Confidencia with Mike Rivera and Angel Melendez, led by trumpeter Rich Straka.
He founded Valdes Music Productions (VMP) in 1992 and founded the Latin Jazztet, Mambo All Stars, Jazz Faces, and the International VMP Orchestra with Tito Carillo, Charles Desormeaux, Sonia Perez, Luis Rosario, and Cal Drake. These groups appeared at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Detroit-Montreaux Jazz Festival, and the Hennessy Jazz Search in New York City.
He was the pianist for a band that mixed Latin rhythm with music by Dave Brubeck and John Coltrane. Cal Drake, Charles Desormeaux, Tito Carillo, Rey Reyes, and Joe Frau formed the band. With Desormeaux and Rosario, he formed Mambo Zombies, which released three albums from 2006 to 2008.
Fred Cantu, Ian Letts, John Mose, John Mose, Frankie Ocasio, Nathan Rodriguez, Luis Rosario, and Sonia Perez appeared with José Valdes and the Mambo All-Stars in 2015. Valdes has worked with Jose Fajardo, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Parada Pagina, Pago D'Rivera, Armando Manzanero, Nelson Ned, and several Salsa and Jazz musicians.