Manuel Valera

Manuel Valera is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, and composer who is at the forefront of contemporary modern jazz. He represents the new generation of the best performers and composers. His sound is fresh, inviting and evocative and his goal is to achieve new sounds that produce vitality and novelty to the languages of jazz and Latin jazz. He is constantly working on new musical ideas to develop new compositions and arranging techniques that unite Cuba, Puerto Rico and Brazil and various styles and forms of jazz.

He began his musical studies early on at the Manuel Saumell conservatory in Havana where he originally studied classical saxophone. It was not until he emigrated to the United States in December 1994 that Valera switched to piano.

He began composing in 2000 while participating in the jazz program at New School in New York where he studied among others with Reggie Workman, George Garzone, Jane Ira Bloom, Gerard D'Angelo and Richie Bierach.

At the end of October 2003, two days before turning 23, Valera recorded his first CD "Forma Nueva" with great success, which is a modern jazz CD of original compositions. The following year he recorded his second project titled "Historia", his latest recording "Melancolía" came out in March 2006 is a special project that fuses classical concepts with Latin and world rhythms in the language of jazz.

In June 2006 Valera returned to the studio and recorded the CD "Numérico", in trio format where there is a selection of original compositions that were presented in 2007.

Currently Valera lives and works in New York and has played with Paquito D'Rivera, Brian Lynch&Spheres of Influence, Richard Bona, Dafnis Prieto Quintet, Vincent Herring, John Benitez, Donny McCaslin and others.

He has participated in multiple festivals and received awards.