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Aldemar Valentín
The bassist and composer Aldemar Valentín was
born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. He studied for two years in the
Escuela de Bellas Artes in Ponce, Puerto Rico under professor Irvin
Cancel. In 1999 he earned a bass performance diploma from Berklee
College of Music and in 2003, his Bachelor of Music Degree. While
attending Berklee, he studied under renowned jazz mentors: Oscar
Stagnaro, Bruce Gertz, Hall Crook and Greg Hopkins. In May 2006,
Aldemar obtained a Master's of Music degree in Jazz performance from
the New England Conservatory of Music.
Besides being a performer and a composer, Aldemar has also gathered
experience as a bass instructor. From 1999 to 2002, he taught in the
preparatory school of the Conservatorio de Música in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, and from 2000 through 2002, he was a bass instructor in
the undergraduate program of the Inter American University in San
Germán, Puerto Rico. He currently teaches bass-guitar, harmony and
composition courses at the Inter American University (Metropolitan
Campus) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Aldemar has also played an important role internationally as an
instructor in various jazz lecture series. Some of these include:
The lecture series on jazz improvisation and composition held in
Ecuador in the summers of 1999 and 2002 under the direction of
pianist and composer Manuel Larrea. Lectures on Jazz and
Afro-Caribbean music offered in West Africa (Congo, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea)
under the United States Department of State's "Jazz Ambassadors"
program, sponsored by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington D.C. and directed by Miguel Zenón (2003) and the Jazz
Lecture Series (Panamá Jazz Festival, 2006) directed by Danilo
Pérez, where Aldemar participated as a member of the New England
Conservatory Ensemble.
He has performed with artists of the standing of Hologramª ("JazzOrden"
2010 Jazz Festival, San Juan Puerto Rico), Angel David Mattos & Jazz
Boricua (Berklee Performance Center, Boston Ma, 2009), Alejandro
Aviles Group (Tour through the Republic of Perú, 2008), Edsel Gomez
(Inter American University Thether, San Juan Puerto Rico, 2008),
Roberto Zayas (Beijing, Peoples Republic of China 2007), Danilo
Pérez (Panamá Jazz Festival 2006), Néstor Torres (Tour through Japan
and Taiwan, 2006), Paoli Mejías (The Triple Door, Seattle, WA. 2003)
and Miguel Zenón (Tour through West Africa, 2003). In 2009, in
recognition to his merits and versatility, Aldemar was featured as
performer and honoree at the Mayagüez Jazz Festival.
Aldemar has appeared in various recordings, most notably: "Introspection"
by Ermesc Gonzalez (2010), "Oye" by the Rhythm Collective (2009),
“Memoirs from Granada” by Brenda Hopkins Miranda (2009), "Traditions"
by Angel David Mattos (2007, featuring Bob Mintzer and Paquito D'
Rivera), "The Panama Suite" by Danilo Pérez (2006), "Sentido
Tropical" by Rique Colón (2006), "Mi Tambor" by Paoli Mejías (2005
Grammy® Award Nominated)
In 2009, Aldemar released his first solo recording: Finding My Path.
The recording presents original compositions inspired by his
experiences as a student under jazz masters Danilo Perez and Rakalam
Bob Moses at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Finding My Path
features Ricardo Pons- flute and baritone sax, Raúl Romero-Guitar
and Efraín Martínez on drums. |