Artist Profile — Michel Camilo's New Rhapsody Release
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Album and Cover courtesy: Telarc
All photos by: Michael A. Black - Black Sun Studio, LLC
Michel Camilo has been a Steinway Artist since November of 2005, though Steinway pianos have been part of his musical life for quite some time. "I have found that the Steinway piano lets me express the richest colors, textures and nuances of my soul", says Camilo.
On the heels of two of his finest recordings to date-the Grammy winning Live at the Blue Note (2003) and the intimate Solo (2004), Steinway Artist Michel Camilo's newest effort on Telarc seamlessly merges jazz and symphonic sensibilities with a unique rendition of Gershwin's immortal "Rhapsody in Blue," followed by some of the great American composer's lesser known work-his Concerto in F, followed by his Prelude No. 2 for solo piano, with a touch of improvised blues.
"I'm a big admirer of Gershwin. I always have been," says Camilo, who has included Gershwin music in his stage and studio repertoire since the earliest days of his career. "The reason is because he pushed all the boundaries from one musical world to another, and he did it with no fear. I have been trying to do the same with my career, going from jazz to film scores to world beat experiments to guest solo performances with symphony orchestras."
Fernando Gonzalez, managing editor of Jazziz magazine and author of the Rhapsody in Blue liner notes, takes the comparison a step further. "Like George Gershwin before him, Camilo is an irrepressible New World romantic," says Gonzalez. "Both his music and his playing are open faced, generous, and ambitious, full of energy and brash optimism." Read what other established critics have to say about Mr. Camilo's release.
Would Gershwin approve of a 21st century jazz interpretation of his work? Gonzalez has little doubt. Michel Camilo's Rhapsody in Blue "is a streetwise approach to Gershwin's work," he says. "Respectful but not reverential, exact but also swinging, classical in form but jazz in spirit-that would have done Gershwin proud."
Michel Camilo has been active as a jazz educator all over the world, conducting master classes and teaching private students in New York (NYU), New Orleans (Loyola), Montreaux Switzerland, Copenhagen, Denmark, and more. He has developed a special relationship with the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Over the past three years, Michel Camilo has been a Visiting Professor at Berklee, through a generous grant from legendary musician Herb Alpert. There he has conducted private one-on-one teaching sessions; master classes and group classes in composition, piano techniques, composition and arranging. In January 2006, he was a featured artist for Berklee's 60th Anniversary Gala Concert. Also in January 2006, as a result of a personal five-year fundraising effort, Mr. Camilo established a full scholarship in his name at Berklee, to enable a student from his native Dominican Republic the opportunity to attend Berklee for four years, all expenses paid. Berklee has further honored Michel Camilo by matching that scholarship with four additional scholarships for students from the Dominican Republic, as well as creating a special Presidential Scholarship in his name over the next 10 years.
Michel Camilo recently rehearsed at Steinway Hall in New York City to prepare for his next release "Spain, Again" - an album including original compositions featuring the flamenco guitarist Tomatito, along with a special guest vocalist, on Universal Classics. This album is scheduled for release in Europe and Asia on May 28, and the end of August in the United States.
For more information on Michel Camilo, please visit his website www.michelcamilo.com.