Emilio Solla, started studying piano at 8 in Buenos Aires....

Started studying piano at 8 in Buenos Aires, but nobody told me you never really stop studying! Otherwise, I'd have been a dentist and make lots of money with the suffering of other people. Too late now. So, where was I? Oh, yes, I went to the conservatory, classical training, then jazz, composition, moved to Spain, toured Europe, more teachers, went to Japan with Jorge Cumbo, played, and played and played, recorded with singers, wrote arrangements, taught some smart students, more teachers, wrote for a short movie and theatre pieces, coreographers took my music and put some people to dance to it, that was nice.

Too fast? ok, ok...believe me it is boring to write about yourself. why are you reading anyway? Just go to the music! If I ever had anything to say, it is all there. So, I had classical training, but what really got me was the folk music from north west of Argentina. My parents were friends with Jaime Torres, Hugo Diaz...Of course, jazz music and tango have been there since I was a teen, so there they are in what I write as well. I have been playing, arranging, recording with all styles of singers from rock to tango, from folklore to jazz since 1983.

The list is long and includes Jorge Sobral, Miguel Cantilo, Cecilia Rossetto, Marcelo San juan...After moving to Barcelona in 1996, I have travelled quite a lot playing my own music through Europe and the US in clubs, theaters and festivals...I guess my different interests and approaches to music has allowed me to live quiet a diverse life , from being guest pianist with Edimburgh Chamber Orchestra to conducting my own Tango Big Band arrangements with the Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at Lincoln Center ; to recording with Paquito D'Rivera in NY.

I have 6 CDs on my name for Fresh Sound Records. I am so thankful to whoever gave me this skill to put sounds together in a way that sometimes can touch people souls. I am thrilled now that I moved to NYC, being able to play with all these great musicians and learn more and more. If you want to book me, go to my site at emiliosolla.com for info on my two agents, depending on the group. And there are some complete bios there as well. Thanks for taking a moment to listen to what I do. The two videos here are parts of piano solos with the Tango Jazz Conspiracy at Smalls, NYC, April 2007, with Jeff Ballard, Chris Cheek, Pablo Aslan, Donny McCaslin and Victor Prieto. Below, and on the left side of the page, my European band, Afines, in a 2005 Barcelona concert.

Influences:
ariel ramírez, eduardo lagos, keith jarret, egberto gismonti, fellini, kurosawa, borges, castaneda (the writer), buenos aires, mendoza, barcelona, new york, hermeto pascoal, hernan lugano, mi mama, stravinsky, debussy, Bach (the greatest Master ever), chopin, ravel, bartok, piazzolla, rachmaninov, bill evans, brad meldhau, horacio salgán, julio cortazar, beatles, satie, kusturica, duke ellington, miles davis, john coltrane, paz sintes, manolo juárez, el grupo vocal argentino, lalo zanelli, fernando otero, luca solla, los huancahuá, susana kasakoff, paul bley, chango farías gomez, jorge cafrune, atahualpa yupanqui, kenny wheeler, dino saluzzi.

Band Members Emilio Solla & the Tango Jazz Conspiracy:
Solla, piano & compositions; Chris Cheek, saxophones; Victor Prieto, accordeon; Jorge Roeder, double bass; Richie Barshay, drums. Emilio Solla y Afines: Solla, piano & compositions; Gorka Benitez, sax and flute; Carlos Morera, bandoneon; David Gonzalez, double bass; David Xirgu, drums
http://www.myspace.com/emiliosolla