AVANTANGO

Victor Prieto (accordion) Victor Prieto was born in Orense (Spain). He pursued his studies in classical accordion at the Orense Conservatory (Spain), while studying harmony, arranging and improvisation at Estudio Escola de Musica (Santiago de Compostela, Spain). He is the creator of a new technique for the accordion called “chord approach on both hands,” which creates rich and elaborate harmonies. After graduating from Berklee College of Music with a performance major in Accordion, he moves to New York City where he is the Jazz Accordion Professor at the Brooklyn Conservatory. Victor has performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Diego Urcola, Carlo DeRosa, Mark Walker, David Sammuels, Allison Miller. He teaches Master Classes in Spain, Italy, Portugal, and USA and is a recipient of more than twenty coveted awards such as the first prize at the Citta De Catelfidardo Jazz Competition (Italy), the Creative Performer award from the Spanish Association of Artists and Performers, and the first prize at CMZK’s Concourse of Composition (Argentina). He has performed at many prestigious venues such as Berklee Performance Center, Blue Note NY, Lincoln Center, Dizzy’s Coca-Cola Club, New Jersey Performance Art Center. Victor now lives and performs in New York City and has recently released his first CD, Persistencia, Foxhaven Records. 

Oscar Feldman (saxes) Oscar Feldman created quite an uproar by the end of the nineties with his impressive recording debut as a leader El Angel. Feldman has extensive performance and recording experience, that ranges from straight ahead jazz, Brazilian, pop to fusion. Mr.Feldman won the Outstanding Performance Award as the Best Soloist in fusion in Buenos Aires, 1986 and in 1992 the Achievement Scholarship Award from Berklee College of Music, where he graduated cum laude in 1995 with a Major in Professional Music. Oscar has recorded and toured internationally with notable artists such as Paquito D’Rivera’s United Nations Orchestra, Eumir Deodato, Jeff Tain Watts, Avantango, Al Di Meola, Alex Acuna, Dino Saluzzi, Bebo Valdes and His All Star Latin Jazz Band at prestigious venues such as the Opera Vienna House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Town Hall in New York, Park La Villette in Paris, the Blue Note as well as many International Jazz Festivals in Europe, the Americas and Africa. In 1999 Oscar recorded “Tropicana Nights” with a Big Band conducted by Paquito D’Rivera which won the Latin Grammy Award 2000 for “Best Latin Jazz Album”and in 2000 he recorded “The Grande Passion” with guitar legend Al Di Meola. His first CD as a leader “El Angel”, released in 1999 under the Song-o-saurus label received rave reviews and features guest appearances by Gato Barbieri, Claudio Roditti, Alex Acuña and Paquito D’Rivera. Most recently he toured in Greece with his own band featuring Horacio “Negro” Hernandez. 

Noah Bless (trombone) has been performing for over 15 years. Style and execution merge gracefully in his trombone playing. He received his Bachelor’s degree in classical and jazz performance from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a Master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music. Since arriving in New York City in 1990, Mr. Bless has contributed his authoritative sound to over 25 albums for various artists including Paquito D’Rivera, Mario Bauza, Don Braden and Celia Cruz. Mr. Bless’ work and contributions have been honored with major industry awards including the Grammys and the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Currently he brings his rich expertise to many world-class jazz and Latin orchestras including Willie Colon, La India, Spanish Harlem, Duke Ellington and Chico O’Farrill. Noah continues to devote his energies to jazz through teaching, writing and live performance.

Emilio Solla (piano) Born in Mendoza, Argentina. He studied piano at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires, where he got a degree in Piano. He continued his theoretical studies with some of Argentina’s most prestigious professors. He attended workshops given by well known artists such as Greg Hopkins, Ensamble Modern, Michel Petrucciani and Lyle Mays. From 1983 to 1994, Solla participated intensively in the new Argentinean music scene, building a reputation as a composer to fuse the modern tendencies of Argentinean folk ,tango with jazz; a musical stream in which he is considered nowadays one of the most representative artists. Once in Spain, where he moved in 1996, he continued to study conducting with Miquel Ortega and composition with Gabriel Brncic. His wide and eclectic musical influences have allowed him to move naturally in extremely different musical contexts. He was guest pianist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Edimburgh International Festival 1997, the conductor of Bernstein’s West Side Story and toured Japan with the “quena” player Jorge Cumbo. He first presented his nonet Emilio Solla y La Orquestable for the 31st edition of Barcelona Jazz Festival 1999, performing his Suite Piazzollana, later recorded and released by Fresh Sounds. He has been a lecturer on Composition at Gotemburg School of Music (Sweden), Bates College( USA), the Jazz & Pop Conservatory (Finland). In 2005 he played for the first time in NYC and other cities in the USA, both with his own group and as side man to Pablo Aslan’s Avantango.