Jose Valdes
| Jose Valdes | |
|---|---|
circa 2009
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jose Angel Valdes |
| Born | August 4, 1957 |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Genres | Jazz, latin jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader, composer |
| Instruments | Piano, organ, Alto Saxophone |
| Years active | 1968 onwards |
| Associated acts | Catherine Whitney |
| Website | http://www.valdesmusic.com/ |
Jose Angel Valdes (born August 4, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois) is Chicago-based, Mexican American jazz pianist and bandleader.
His father, Jose Valdes, was born in San Carlos, Tamaulipas, Mexico and was Jose's first musical influence. His late mother, Elena Valdes, was from Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. His father's uncles were Norteño (music) musicians that played accordion and guitar. The oldest of three children, Jose grew up on the south side of Chicago. The musical influence from his father came as a result of his dad listening to jazz and be-bop records along with Mexican music. His mother preferred classical music and, in particular, waltzes by Johann Strauss II.
Jose's first "hands on" experience with music occurred in public school while attending the second grade. His teacher asked the class if anyone was interested in learning piano and that they were seeking volunteers. Jose responded to this opportunity by volunteering. Since the public school did not have a music program, the students who volunteered were sent to a parochial school nearby where they learned how to play piano from a nun. Jose's decision to choose piano may have been influenced by his familiarity with the popular pianists and bands that he had been exposed to such as Steve Allen, Liberace, Oscar Levant and Lawrence Welk. These stars of the TV undoubtedly had some influence on his musical interests as Jose would be exposed to their talents when viewing these shows. Once a week, Jose met with the nun for piano lessons and having no piano at home he would practice the fingerings on a table. He memorized his lessons as a result. Jose did not take lessons or play again until fourth grade.
When Jose was nine years old, while they were shopping at a local Sears store (located near 63rd & Halsted in Chicago), Jose went off by himself to the lower level of the department store only and came across an organ sale display . There were about six different models of Magnus organs and one had a music book on it. The music in the book was numbered as were the keys on the organ itself. Jose proceeded to play all of the tunes in the book one after the other. He played through the whole book and being a Saturday the store was very busy and his playing began to attract a small crowd of people intently listening to the little boy at the keyboards. At about this point his parents found him and Jose remembers his mother asking him "How can you play all that?" His response: "It's all right there!". His mother said to his father, "You should buy this organ."…and his dad agreed. Jose was self-taught eventually going through the whole Sears Magnus Harmonica Corporation Chord organ library of music books. The organ had 12 chord buttons and a 3-octave keyboard which he played for two years. At age 11, his parents bought him his first full sized organ which was a Hammond organ Spinet Blonde Model M3. Finally he started taking formal keyboard lessons at the Lyon & Healy store downtown Chicago with Paul Renard (who later went on to create "The Music Dynamics Method for Sight Reading", became a staff organist for the Hammond Organ Company and was co‐inventor with Howard Holman of the electric piano which was developed in 1954 at the Wurlitzer Company in Chicago, Illinois...Sun Ra was the first musician to record with an electric piano, the Wurlitzer, for his 1956 recording Angels and Demons at Play.) Jose continued to study with Renard for three more years.
...
Wikipedia