Speaking
on this new album Aldana says, "Pablo Menares & Francisco Mela both
help bring a unique perspective to playing in the saxophone trio format. Our
approach is very much coming from the core of the Jazz Tradition, not least
from contemporary musicians such as Kurt Rosenwinkel & Mark Turner, but
with Mela being from Cuba and Pablo and I both from Chile, there is no question
there is a flavor of that as well.”
In
September 2013, Melissa became the first female instrumentalist and first South
American ever to win the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz
Saxophone Competition. Judges for the
competition included Jane Ira Bloom, Branford Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Wayne
Shorter and Bobby Watson. In addition to a scholarship to the Monk Institute,
Melissa won a recording contract with Concord Music Group.
Born in
1988, Aldana began to play the saxophone as soon as she was able. She was taught
by her father Marcos Aldana, who was also a renowned jazz saxophonist and
sought out teacher in their hometown of Santiago, Chile. By age 13, Melissa was
frequenting the jazz clubs in Santiago with her father and by 16 was headlining
the Club de Jazz de Santiago, which, at the time, was the center of the Chilean
jazz community. In 2005, with help from
Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Pérez, she procured auditions at the Berklee
School of Music and the New England Conservatory. She was accepted into both
and chose to attend Berklee, from which she graduated in 2009.
After
graduating, Melissa immediately moved to New York. With the help of mentor, the
legendary George Coleman, and former teacher Greg Osby, among many others,
Melissa recorded two albums Free Fall (2010) and Second Cycle (2012) for Osby’s
Inner Circle Music label, and quickly became a vital part of the New York jazz
scene. She has since performed in such prestigious venues as the Blue Note,
Lincoln Center and Smalls. After a 2013 performance at the Jazz Gallery, The
New York Times touted, “…she moved toward a kind of music (including ‘First
Cycle,’ from her new record) that really felt like the current moment in
jazz…Ms. Aldana worked over short motifs, using the full range of her instrument,
articulating long and fast lines. But she also condensed her phrases into great
wipes of sound up and down the horn, and clamped into the rhythm…She wasn’t
just exhibiting her own voice but embodying it…”
Pablo
Menares is one of the most important bass players in Chile. His bass playing is considered to be elegant,
musical and lyric, while firmly rooted in swing and polyrhythmic concepts.
Menares has performed and/or recorded with all the leading jazz musicians in
Chile and has also performed at major jazz festivals all over South America.
Since moving to New York City in 2009 he has become a sought after bass player
for both Jazz and Latin music. He has performed in many of NYC's most notable
jazz clubs including Lincoln Center, Jazz Gallery, Smoke, Smalls Jazz Club, Fat
Cat, 55 Bar and world famous venue Carnegie Hall. He has performed with such
jazz luminaries as Sam Yahel, Arturo O’Farrill, Randy Brecker, Aaron Goldberg,
Greg Hutchinson, Claudia Acuña, among others; and has toured throughout North America,
becoming an increasingly important presence in the jazz and Latin music scene.
Francisco
Mela is a favorite among jazz’s elite instrumentalist, including Joe Lovano,
Kenny Barron and McCoy Tuner, all of whom cite his charisma, sophistication and
life-affirming spirit as an extension of his incredible talents as a composer
and drummer. Born in 1968 in Bayamo, Cuba, Mela moved to Boston in 2000 to
pursue a degree from Berklee College of Music. Since then, he’s made quite a
name for himself by becoming an integral part of Joe Lovano’s quartet, joining
McCoy Tyner’s trio and developing himself as a band leader. Mela has released
three albums, all receiving compelling critical acclaim. His latest project,
Cuban Safari, is an amalgamation of his favorite bands that inspired him to
become a drummer – Miles Davis’ fusion group featuring Chick Corea and Keith
Jarrett, Weather Report, and the Latin- jazz super group Irakere.
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