Cuban-born jazz pianist and composer Fabian Almazan and guests perform Alcanza, a vibrant multi-movement suite that fuses jazz and contemporary classical chamber music. Alcanza received 5 stars in Downbeat Magazine. Founder and director of Biophilia Records, he has worked tirelessly towards ensuring a continued dialogue of awareness concerning music and environmental justice.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
“Alcanza” (Spanish for “Reach”) is a nine-movement suite of music that deals with those brief moments in our lives in which within a blink of an eye, everything changes—or at least gives us a remarkable new perception of our condition. It also deals with the process of finding our own path as we go from childhood into adulthood; reflecting the beauty, frustrations, and paradoxes of modern-day life and not giving up on reaching for everything in life that brings us joy and love.”
“Alcanza” by Fabian Almazan has been made possible with support from Chamber Music America’s 2014 New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development program funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
“Alcanza es una pieza de nueve movimientos que se enfoca en esos breves momentos de nuestras vidas en los cuales una fracción de un segundo lo cambia todo - o al menos nos da una percepción nueva sobre nuestra condición en este mundo. También trata sobre el proceso de encontrar nuestro propio camino a medida que pasamos de la infancia a la adultez… reflejando la belleza, frustraciones y paradojas de la vida moderna y no renunciar a alcanzar todo en la vida que nos trae alegría y amor.“ - Fabian Almazan
PROGRAM
Trio Music:
Fabian Almazan - Piano
Armando Gola - Bass
Lucas Apostoleris - Drums
The Vicarious Life
The Everglades
Una Foto
Pet Steps Sitters Theme Song
Sol Del Mar
Rhizome Ensemble:
Roxana Amed (FIU alumna) - Voice
Stephanie Jaimes (FIU alumna) - Cello
Fabian Almazan - Piano
Armando Gola - Bass
Lucas Apostoleris - Drums
The Alcanza Suite:
Alcanza Suite: I. Vida Absurda y Bella
Alcanza Suite: II. Marea Baja
Alcanza Suite: III. Verla
Alcanza Suite: IV. Mas
Alcanza Suite: V. Tribu T9
Alcanza Suite: VI. Cazador Antiguo
Alcanza Suite: VII. Pater Familias
Alcanza Suite: VIII. Este Lugar
Alcanza Suite: IX. Marea Alto
THE ARTIST
Recently nominated for a Grammy for his work on Terence Blanchard’s Breathless, pianist and composer Fabian Almazan found his musical roots as a child in his homeland of Havana where he first became involved in the classical piano tradition. When his parents could not afford to pay for private piano lessons after they had migrated to Miami, pianist Conchita Betancourt was gracious enough to impart free lessons for over three years. Thanks to Betancourt’s exceeding generosity, Almazan was able to audition for Miami’s New World School of the Arts High School where he studied from 1998 to 2002. He then attended the Brubeck Institute’s Fellowship Program in Northern California where he studied with Mark Levine and performed with Dave Brubeck and Christian McBride. In 2003, Almazan moved to New York City to study with Kenny Barron and Garry Dial at the Manhattan School of Music. He also studied instrumentation and orchestration with Giampaolo Bracali. In 2009, he received a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music and was selected as a recipient of the Michael W. Greene Scholarship, which enabled him to study privately with Jason Moran.
Almazan has written several film scores and can be heard on several Spike Lee films as well as George Lucas’s Red Tails, among other films.
In 2014, Almazan was voted #1 “Rising Star” for piano in DownBeat’s Critics Poll and was granted a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission. He was also selected as one of six composers to participate in the Sundance Composers Lab where he studied with such acclaimed film composers as Harry Gregson-Williams, Alan Silvestri, George S. Clinton, Christopher Young, Ed Shearmur, and Peter Golub. Since 2007, he has been the pianist for Terence Blanchard’s various bands including the E-Collective.
Almazan’s solo albums, Personalities, which was released on his own record label Biophilia Records, and Rhizome (ArtistShare/BlueNote Records) have garnered nationwide critical acclaim, including a glowing review in The New York Times. His most recent album is the critically acclaimed Alcanza (Biophilia).
Almazan has toured North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe and has had the opportunity to perform with such artists as Linda May Han Oh, Gretchen Parlato, John Hollenbeck, Paquito D’Rivera, Mark Guiliana, Dave Douglass, Chris Dingman, David Sanchez, and Ambrose Akinmusire, among others.