Elio Villafranca is at the forefront of the latest generation of remarkable Cuban pianists, composers and bandleaders that for several years has been making major creative contributions to the international development of modern jazz. In the 2010 Grammy Awards he was nominated in Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year, for his performance, composition and coproduction in the album Things I Wanted To Do by Chembo Corniel
Elio Villafranca is now an official Steinway Artist. Since 1853, Steinway pianos have set an uncompromising standard for sound, touch, beauty, and investment value. Elio is delighted to be an official representative of Steinway
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Listen to an interview with Elio Villafranca on The Checkout
This album, my first LP, features just two musicians, Charles Flores on bass and my self on piano. All compositions are originals I wrote, created in the spirit of “jazz meets classical music”-- my two strongest influences in music, after Cuban music, of course. It was recorded December of last year at the Greene Space in NYC, before I became an Steinway Artist, and that explains why I'm not playing at a Steinway, my favorite piano in the world.
Dynamic Resolution is exclusively distributed by Acoustic Sounds Inc. and it is available in
Straight ahead jazz by Cuban pianist with shades of Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and featuring the bebop sound of Eric Alexander on Saxophone. Villafranca, whose Latin Jazz debut, "Incantations/Encantaciones," was voted amongst Jazz Times Magazine's top 50 best jazz albums of 2003 explores the straight-ahead form in "The Source In Between."
Supported by a powerhouse rhythm section and the tremendous contributions of Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, and Jane Bunnett, Villafranca storms the Latin Jazz scene with a debut album that is at once tightly orchestrated, compositionally impressive, and improvisationally rich. A testament to his broad emotional palette, musical expertise, and defined sense of taste, this album reflects Villafranca’s attempt to defy the borders of conventional Latin jazz by intertwining his Cuban musical heritage with eclectic American traditions.