Friday, November 3rd, 2023, 7:30 pm
Piano on Park Live presents:
Emilio Solla - piano
RSVP with Suggested Donation
Do not miss this rare opportunity to witness Grammy-winning pianist and composer Emilio Solla in an intimate dialogue with his old friend, the acoustic piano. His repertoire expands from fresh new versions of traditional folklore and tango tunes to originals. “The virile throb of Astor Piazzolla was omnipresent in Solla’s stately pulse” as described by the New York Times, his solo performances allow him to dive deeply into the subtleties of Argentine music phrasing and shifting tempos without disregarding the use of improvisation and jazz harmonies.
About the artist
Latin Grammy winner and multi - Grammy nominee, Argentine - born and New York - based pianist and composer Emilio Solla got his degree in Classical Pian o at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires and his MA in Jazz Composition at the Aaron Copland School of Music in New York. His first project, Apertura, was praised by Astor Piazzolla as one of the most interesting new sounds in the Buenos Air es scene in 1986. Today, with thirteen CDs as bandleader and more than fifty as arranger/producer, he is regarded by peers and critics as one of the most outstanding and unique composers in the Tango - Jazz field, a musical language that blends Argentine tango and folk with jazz and other contemporary music styles. He has performed all around Europe, Japan, the US and Latin America to rave reviews in many of the most important jazz houses and festivals, such as Bim Huis, Lincoln Center, Marciac, Blue Note, Fasc hing and more. Solla moved to Barcelona in 1996 and later to New York in 2006, and since then he has worked with Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, Yo - Yo Ma , Edmar Castañeda and many others jazz and classical music gr eats in his different capaci ties of composer, arranger and pianist. He has also performed regularly in the city with his different projects at the Jazz Standard, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Birdland. Former members of his bands include Donny McCaslin, Chris Cheek, Omer Avital, Jorge Rossy, Jeff Ballard and more. He continues to tour Europe and the US while working as a free - lance arranger and pianist in different projects. His NY based quintet Bien Sur! released its first CD in 2010 with special guest Billy Hart. This album was included in the Best of 2010 list by Downbeat Magazine. Since November 2010, he is leading a nine piece orchestra, La Inestable de Brooklyn, featuring some of the strongest jazz players in NYC. Their first CD, Second Half (2015) was Nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Latin Jazz Album. In November 2014 Solla’s first symphonic work had its World Premiere at the Palau de la Musica, during the Barcelona Jazz Festival and its US Premier at the Chicago Symphony Hall. 2017 took him back to Buenos Aires for the Premiere of the symphonic version of his Suite Piazzollan a. In 2018, he started composing for a new project, the Tango Jazz Orchestra, a 17 - piece big band, taking his blend of Latin American sounds and jazz to a whole new level of accomplishment. This orchestra released its first album, “Puertos" on August 28, 2 019. This album won the Latin Grammy 2020 for Best Jazz Album and one of Solla's compositions, La Novena, was awarded a Grammy Nomination in 2019 as Best Instrumental Arrangement , sharing the nomination with John Williams, Vince Mendoza and Jacob Collier . May 2023 finds Solla releasing two new a lbums : his new q uartet with flamenco sin g er/saxophonist Antonio Lizana, and a symphonic homage to Chick Corea feat. Paquito D ’ R ivera, in which S olla wrote all the arrangements and orchestrations (Warner Classics) . He has just finished his first arrangement for the Boston Pops and is working on a commission for the WDR Big Band. He has a long background as educator as well, having taught regularly in di fferent conservatories in Argentina and Spain. He is currently a Faculty Member at the New School of Music in NY, and has been invited for residencies at Emory University, University of Kansas , University of Nebraka - Lincoln, Bates College, Gotemburg Music School (Sweden), Jazz & Pop Co nservatory (Finland) and Western Michigan University, among others.