On the occasion of the commemoration of his 125 birthday, the General Society of Authors and Editors(SGAE) celebrates jazz music in Spain with a tribute concert to the composer and saxophonist Pedro Iturralde, legend of the genre and pioneer in the fusion of this music with flamenco. The show has the collaboration of Palace of Music from Valencia, in whose Rodrigo Room will take place, and will be next 20 of April, at 20 hours. Tickets can be purchased free of charge from the day 21 of March.
“SGAE is also jazz. That's why, coinciding with his 125 birthday, We wanted to pay tribute to the presence of this genre in Spain, from one of the most prolific and illustrious figures of our scene, Pedro Iturralde, teacher and inspiration for later generations of musicians, that in 2016 He was recognized with the SGAE Medal of Honor”, points out the president of the entity, Antonio Onetti. “The choice of Valencia to hold this concert is not accidental, since it is undoubtedly one of the cities with the most tradition and love for jazz in our country”, assures.
Under the artistic direction of the Valencian trumpeter David Pastor, the concert SGAE. 125 jazz years. Tribute to Pedro Iturralde, will feature the participation of prominent artists linked to jazz, of various generations and origins: Ximo Tebar (Valencia, guitar), Santiago Auserón (Zaragoza, voice and guitar), Andrea Motis (Barcelona, trumpet, sax and voice), Susana Sheiman (Madrid, voice), Javier Eguillor (Xixona, Alicante, percussion), Antonio Lizana (Cadiz, sax and voice) y Moisés Sánchez (Madrid, piano).
The instrumental basis of the performance is made up of a big band made up of almost twenty instrumentalists, both emerging and already established in the jazz scene.: to the trumpets, Juan Luis Torre (Madrid), Sebastian Gil (Gran Canaria), Alex Lopez (Valencia) y Elsa Armengou (Barcelona); to the trombones, Paco Soler (Valencia), Alejandro Ramirez (Barcelona), Eva Garin (Galicia) y Berta Alvarez(Logroño); on the alto saxophone, Ivan Albuixech (Castellon) y Rose Monforte (Barcelona); al saxo tenor, Clara Juan (Valencia) y Martian wind (Bilbao); on baritone sax, Inma Martínez (Castellon); on the floor, Moisés Sánchez (Madrid); to keyboards, Will Martz (Valencia); bass and double bass, Toño Miguel(Madrid); and to the battery, Ramon Angel (Barcelona).
About Pedro Iturralde
Pedro Iturralde (Scythes, Navarra, 1929 – Madrid, 2016) was a composer, clarinetist and saxophonist of recognized international prestige and pioneer of jazz in Spain. His main contribution was to promote a rapprochement between this genre and flamenco., which crystallized in albums like his debut Jazz Flamenco (1967) y Flamenco Jazz (1974), and they are a reference for those who came after. He was also part of the National Orchestra of Spain and the RTVE Symphony., among other, in addition to collaborating with artists of the most diverse styles, as Miguel Rios, Luis Eduardo Aute, Joan Manuel Serrat, Mari Trini,Burning o Los Pekenikes. His resume includes movie soundtracks. New friends(1963), of Ramon Comas, y The journey to nowhere (1986), of Fernando Fernan Gomez.
Parallel to his artistic career, Iturralde carried out intense activity in the field of education. Was, in fact, the first professor of Saxo at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid. His main connection with Valencia came through the Unió Musical de Torrent, where he taught technique and improvement courses, in addition to performing with the Symphonic Band of the Valencian town. In fact, The Torrent City Council named him an adopted son and named the square that gives access to the Torrent Auditorium with his name..
Other recognitions were the SGAE Gold Medal (2016), which he recognized as “one of the most special ones I have received”, the Medal for Merit at Work (2017), the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2009) or the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Music (2007), among many others.
