Elio Villafranca

Elio Villafranca was born in the Pinar del Rio province of western Cuba and graduated from the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana with a double najor in Composition and Percussion. While pursuing his masters degrees, Villafranca began to train as a jazz pianist, studying informally with Jess Chucho Valdes and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Villafranca has been the recipient of several prestigious awards for both his playing and compositions. He won prizes for Best Composition at the Music Creation and Scientific Research Festival, ISA in 1994, and the Sixth National Percussion Festival PERCUBA in 1995, both held in Havana, Cuba.

Since arriving in the U.S. in late 1995, he has been deeply involved in the Philadelphia Latin jazz scene as an innovator and preserver of Afro Cuban traditions within jazz. From syncopated bass lines and intricate jazz harmonies to rhythms derived from the rich African Diaspora of Cuba, Villafranca creates a unique musical concept different from the common Latin jazz sound.

Villafranca has performed with many musicians, including Lenny White, Jane Bunnett, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Terell Stafford, Candido Camero, Bobby Sanabria & the Afro Cuban Jazz All-Stars Big Band, Jose Luis Changuito Quintana, John Santos, Orestes Vilat, Ralph Peterson Jr., Don Braden, Eddie Henderson, Sonny Fortune, Ralph Bowen, Charles Gayle, Johnny Pacheco and Pat Martino. Villafranca has appeared in numerous festivals in the U.S., Cuba, and Europe and was commissioned to compose and record the sound tracks for A Philadelphia Diary and Murals produced by WHYY-TV.

Villafranca currently teaches in Philadelphia at The University of the Arts and AMLA. He is currently under contract with the Smithsonian Institution Press to publish his second book: Cubano! Evolution of Popular Cuban Piano Styles due for release in 2003. He has presented and performed master classes, workshops and residencies in both the U.S. and Cuba. Villafranca was also awarded an Independence Foundation "Fellowship in the Arts" grant in 2000; the Doris Duke Foundation "Preservation of Jazz" grant in 2001; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship Award for musical composition in Jazz in 2001, and a Doris Duke Foundation Philadelphia Music Project grant in 2002-2004. His first CD, "Encantaciones," made the Jazz Times Top 50 list for 2003.

Elio's debut album Incantations/Encantaciones was selected by Jazz Times Magazine as one of the top 50 Jazz albums in 2003. He is following up that with a new recording featuring tenor master Eric Alexander.

Hear Elio Villafranca on Piano master thmusician Terell Stafford on trumpet, Casey Benjamin on alto saxophone, Francisco Mela on drums, and Yunior Terry on bass on May 4th at:
Sweet Rhythm
88 Seventh Avenue South, NYC
Thursday, May 4, 2006
Showtimes 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.