Pavel Urquiza

Musician, composer, producer, arranger, guitarist and Cuban singer born in Kyiv, Ukraine while his parents were on an educational mission in the Soviet Union representing the Cuban government.

Pavel began playing guitar and composing in his adolescence, mainly in youth and university groups until in 1990, the duo "Gema y Pavel" was formed, which changed his musical life forever.

Internationally recognized, he is an artist of prolific creativity and deep connection with the musical cultures of the world.

His respect and understanding of Cuban roots, his rich musicological heritage, in combination with 22 years of musical life and experience in the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands, has resulted in a truly unique style that offers a wide range of rhythms, harmonies, melodies and lyrics.

The Afro-Cuban-Iberoamerican flavor is evident in his guitar and his voice. A kind of Caribbean-Mediterranean that plays with a singular Cuban swing.

Among the rhythms he has inherited and others he has developed: Progressive Filin, Flamenco Guaguancó, Flamenco Tango with Son, Filin Bolero, Bomba-Makuta, Timba Funk, Chacha-Blues, Trova-Jazz and more.

Urkiza has published more than 40 compositions in his own works, as well as in productions by world-class artists such as Ana Torroja, Miguel Bosé, Albita Rodríguez, Ketama, Cristina del Valle, Echegaray, Yusa, whose first album he produced, and Luis Enrique with whom he also co-produced this great Nicaraguan artist's album, "Dentro y Fuera".

He has participated as a performer, guitarist and arranger with the prestigious San Francisco Bay Area artist, John Santos on his work -Filosofía Caribeña.

He has been the musical producer of more than 20 recordings, including the Gema y Pavel duo, his own albums and those of other artists such as Omara Portuendo, Virtudes Moreno, Giselle Solís, Habana Abierta, Yuniel Jiménez, Canary-Palestinian poet F. Javier Rahim, also collaborating on the productions of two great Argentine artists residing in New York, Sofía Rei and Sofía Tosello.

In 1990 he formed the duo Gema y Pavel, with Cuban singer Gema Corredera, opening a chapter in the history of Cuban music. With the duo, he has traveled the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe sharing the stage with artists of the caliber of Ketama, Alejandro Sanz, Tito Puente, Pablo Milanés, Martirio, Compay Segundo, La vieja Trova Santiaguera, Marta Valdés, Carlos Cano, Pedro Guerra, Javier Ruibal, Lenine, Angelique Kidjo, Meme Solís and many others. Making performances at the Frankfurt Opera, Arezzo Wave Festival in Italy, the Nice Jazz Festival in France—coinciding with musicians Herbie Hancock and Brazilian Joao Bosco, among others. Also at the International Jazz Festival of Skopje in Macedonia – sharing the stage with the latin-jazz legend, Tito Puente. Among other festivals, Le Printemps de Bourges in France, WDR Cologne International Music Festival, La Côte d'Opale in France, Cuba es música in Paris and the Saint Nazaire Latin Festival in France. In Spain, at the Córdoba Guitar Festival, the Tropical Festival of Bilbao, Festival Pirineo sur, International Theater Festival of Cádiz, Milenaria 95 in Logroño and Cuba es música in Madrid.

He has composed music for theater and film, standing out in the composition of the soundtrack for the Spanish-Cuban production "Las Noches de Constantinopla", directed by Orlando Rojas.

He has formed the project "De Akokán" with Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist Ricardo Pons with which he recorded the CD "Buscando la esquina" and performed at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in addition to 2 performances at the Jazz Gallery in NYC. Pavel Urkiza's ingenuity and Ricardo Pons' mastery provoke an intimate encounter between these two greats of Afro-Caribbean music. This work creates a musical fusion that brings together the genres of jazz, "filin" bolero, "progressive filin", bomba, rumba and other Caribbean rhythms in a dialogue performed by guitar and woodwinds.

Another project by this multifaceted artist is "Pavel Urkiza & Congrí Ensamble" a reinterpretation of Cuban music between 1851 and 1941 with a chamber format and using ancient instruments such as the romantic guitar, the corneto mutto, baroque flutes as well as double bass and percussion. This project premiered at the church auditorium of Santa María de Albarracín sponsored within the framework of the XV music seminar taught by the renowned maestro and prestigious orchestra director José Luis Temes.

Pavel Urkiza's most recent musical creation is the music documentary titled: "La Ruta de las Almas", a film that illustrates the ancestral connections between the music of the Iberoamerican region. Through his journey to discover these musical roots, he recorded and interviewed 85 musicians from diverse regions, simultaneously creating a CD of original compositions inspired by the ancestral connections of music from Persia to Patagonia, tracing a cultural and spiritual journey.