Manuel Valera, one of the headliners at the most recent Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, will appear October 21, 2017 in an intimate house concert setting with Hans Glawischnig on Bass and Mark Whitfield Jr. on Drums! This concert is not to be missed!

Manuel Valera

Born and raised in Havana, Grammy nominated pianist and composer Manuel Valera since arriving in NYC has become well known in the modern jazz scene, garnering national reviews and lending his talents as a pianist and composer to such notable artists as Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, Brian Lynch, Dafnis Prieto, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Chris Potter, Dave Binney, Adam Rogers, Mark Turner, John Benitez, Samuel Torres, Joel Frahm, Yosvany Terry and Pedro Martinez and classical violinist and composer Joshua Bell among many others. 

This dynamic and prolific artist has recorded 12 cds as a bandleader with touring projects ranging from his Grammy nominated group New Cuban Express to his modern contemporary trio to solo piano. His latest trio recording The Seasons will be released on MAVO Records spring 2017.

Valera is the recipient of many composition grants — most notably Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works, the Dranoff International 2 Piano Foundation and the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. He has travelled the world performing in more than 30 countries at some of the biggest international venues and festivals in the world.

Press Quotes

“He leaves no doubt that he is destined to play a role in the future of jazz.” 
—Philip Van Vleck, Billboard

 "The sound is both old and spectacularly new in terms of his re-invention of the music of a tradition to which he is inextricably linked. And this increases Valera’s importance as a musician in the arena of Afro-Cuban music." 
–Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network, June 2012

 "New Cuban Express is one of the best new Latin Jazz releases we’ve heard this year (or in a while, frankly), and sets a bar that will be hard for others to jump over." 
–Bill Tilford, Timba.com, June 2012

 "With New Cuban Express, Valera stakes his claim for the establishment of a new sound in fusing rhythms of Latin with elements of modern/fusion." 
–Edward Bianco, EJazz News, June 2012

Social Media

Facebook.com/manuelvalera
Twitter.com/manuelvalera

Video clips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk-Mi6p029I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Li_f3VuPU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7FnIuQ35vw

Hans Glawischnig - Bass

Hans Glawischnig was born in Graz, Austria on October 22,1970. His father, a respected pianist, big band leader and educator, instilled in Hans an early interest in music, enrolling him in 1976 as a violinist in the talented pupils class of the Academy of Music in Graz.

Hans’ first break came in 1995 when he was hired to fill the bass chair in Bobby Watson’s Urban Renewal band on the recommendation of fellow student Steffon Harris, playing alongside New York veterans Victor Lewis, Mark Soskin, Rachel Z, Sammy Figueroa and Steve Kroons. A stint with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau was to follow later that year. 1996 was to be a pivotal year for Hans.

To date Hans has participated in over 50 recordings and continues to perform throughout the world, as well as giving master classes and teaching privately.

Hans can currently be heard on tour around the world with artists such as Miguel Zenon, Chick Corea, and many others, as well as with his own group.

Mark Whitfield Jr. - Drums

Mark Whitfield Jr. comes from a dynasty of incredible musicianship and that has most certainly left a mark on his life as a musician. Beginning on the drums before even he could remember, Whitfield Jr. grew up shuffling around gigs with his father always eager to hop on stage and hold down the beat.

He made his first concert appearance at age two as a guest drummer with his father, guitarist Mark Whitfield, and clarinet legend Alvin Batiste, at the Varsity Theater at Louisiana State University. At four, he appeared with his father's quartet on the Good Morning America 1994 Thanksgiving Day broadcast, and he would continue to perform with his father throughout his early years. Whitfield has opened shows for the likes of Peter Cincotti and Chris Botti, and performed at the Newport, Duke Ellington, and Monterey Jazz Festivals. He was enrolled on full scholarship at Berklee, where he has studied with Hal Crook, Joe Lovano, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Ralph Peterson. Mark was a member of the inaugural class of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute.