Free noonhour concerts Thursdays at Glenn Gould Studio

The October 29, 2006 broadcast of Music Around Us on Radio Two features David Virelles, piano with the David Virelles Quintet.

The Quintet consists of David Virelles, piano, Luis Denis, alto saxophone, Devon Henderson, bass Ethan Ardelli, drums, and Luis Orbegoso, percussion.

The production will be taped live on Thursday October 19.

The band will perform selections from:

Los Hoyos

Double Rainbow

Sueño (Dream)

Yorubaland

Nube

Limbo

Otoño

Santa Lucia

David Virelles in conversation with Keith Horner
REALPLAYER   WINDOWS MEDIA   QUICKTIME
(runs 5:29)

The band's goal is to play original and creative music within the vocabulary of Jazz and improvised music, where the members' interaction is of extreme importance. Compositions incorporate influences from various musical traditions (Africa and countries of the African diaspora such as Cuba, Brazil and the United States) as well as elements from European Classical Music. In July 2006, the David Virelles Quintet was awarded the Grand Prix at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Currently, Virelles and his band are preparing their first CD, which will feature his original compositions.

David Virelles Gonzalez was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba in 1983 to a family of musicians, and began to study classical piano at the age of 7. Although he was trained classically, his hometown offered a very rich variety of music that marked Virelles' musical personality. He was also an avid listener to his grandfather's jazz record collection, especially the music of the great American Jazz artists like Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.

In 1998, when he was 15, Virelles won First Prize at the Concurso Jojazz in Havana Cuba. Soon thereafter he was invited to appear on the late Cuban trombonist Juan Pablo Torres' CD Together Again, which also included veterans Giovanni Hidalgo, Robin Eubanks, Horacio "el Negro" Hernandez and Chucho Valdes.

In 1999, Virelles met Canadian Jazz flutist/saxophonist Jane Bunnett in one of her visits to his hometown's conservatory. Bunnett invited Virelles to appear on her CD Alma de Santiago, which was nominated for a Grammy and a Juno Award. He has since appeared on three more of her albums, which have garnered other awards including a Juno in 2006.

David Virelles has performed with many of the world's eminent Jazz musicians. He was awarded the first Oscar Peterson Prize in the Jazz Program at Humber College, from which he graduated in 2003. In 2006 he was nominated for the Canadian National Jazz Awards in the category of Best Latin Jazz Artist and won the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award.

Luis Gonzalez Denis was born in Camaguey, Cuba in 1983. In 1993, Luis started his musical studies at the Escuela Vocacional de Arte Luis Casas Romero in his hometown of Camaguey, where he subsequently continued at the Escuela Profesional de Musica Jose White. Luis later moved to the Cuban capital, where he gratuated at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Musica (ENA), the alma mater of several of Cuba's most prominent musicians. Upon his arrival in Toronto in 2004, Gonzalez has performed and recorded with some of Toronto's most outstanding musicians, including Hilario Duran, Luis Mario Ochoa, Barry Romberg, Roberto Occhipinti, Jane Bunnett, among others. Luis is envolved on several upcoming projects including the David Virelles Quintet which he co-leads. He has also shared the stage with international figures such as Steve Turre and Donald Harrison.

Just four years after arriving in Toronto, Devon Henderson has quickly become one of the city's most sought after young bassists. He began playing bass at the age of 13.

In 2000, he was awarded a full tuition scholarship to attend Humber College. That same year he was selected to be part of the Yamaha/Galaxie Canadian Youth All Star Jazz Ensemble. At their performance at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival he was awarded the Yamaha/Galaxie 'Rising Star' award.

Since his move to Toronto Devon has studied at Humber College with some of the country's most notable musicians. His playing has been featured in the top ensembles at Humber where he has shared the stage with many greats including Paquito d'Rivera, Phil Woods, Don Thompson, Renee Lee, Michael Brecker and most recently Dave Holland. Also during this time he was presented with numerous awards including The Duke Ellington Society award and the Moe Koffman Memorial award.

Now graduated, Devon is a busy member of the Toronto music scene. His work with many of Toronto's finest jazz and commercial acts has been featured in venues ranging from restaurants and corporate events to clubs and festivals and on Canadian radio and television.

Ethan Ardelli, originally from Sydney, Nova Scotia, is currently a freelancing musician on the Toronto music scene. Ethan, a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music Jazz Program, has had the opportunity to play with a diverse number of musicians including David Virelles, Neil Swainson, Kieran Overs, Kirk MacDonald and Richard Underhill. In September 2005, Ethan traveled to Belgium to compete in the 27th Jazz Hoeilaart International Competition with the Robi Botos Trio. Also, in October 2005, Ethan recorded on Jane Bunnett's latest CD Radio Guantanamo: Guantanamo Blues Project Vol. 1 which featured jazz legends Dewey Redman and Howard Johnson.

Luis Orbegoso, known in the Latin recording industry as "Luisito") was born in Lima, Perú in 1971 and moved to Canada in 1972. He graduated from the Humber College music program in 1994. Luisito was a student of Memo Acevedo (professor of percussion at New York University) and jump-started his career as a professional conga player with Memo's ground breaking salsa band "Banda Brava" in 1993. He has performed and/or recorded with Luis Mario Ochoa & Cimarrón, Dominicanada, Jerry Gonzalez, Hilton Ruiz, Oscar de León, Hilario Durán, Nick Ali, Jane Bunnett, Diego Marulanda & Pacande, Chucho Valdéz, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Changuito, Giovanny Hidalgo, Ralph Irrizarry, Nelly Furtado, Kenwood Dennard and many others.