Alfredo Rodríguez Band

Following his spectacular performance last season as part of Terence Blanchard’s UpSwing series, Cuban piano savant Alfredo Rodríguez returns with his powerful Afro-Cuban ensemble featuring the dynamic percussion master Pedrito Martínez for this evening of rhythmic fireworks. 

After Quincy Jones first heard Alfredo Rodríguez at the Monteux Jazz Festival in 2006 the legendary producer guided his ascent as Rodríguez became one of Cuba’s most visible and creatively unfettered musicians. Based in Los Angeles since he defected in 2009, the pianist has released a series of increasingly expansive albums for Mack Avenue, incorporating sounds from South India, Argentina, Spain, the Middle East and beyond. His formidable technique and soulful approach was described by the Mercury News as “the way Monk might have sounded if he had been born in Chick Corea’s body and raised on a diet of Bach, Chopin and Stravinsky in a Havana conservatory.” 

Released on his own Take Cover imprint, Rodriguez’s new album is a blistering collection of standards and covers called ¡Take Cover! that includes his takes on the music of Tito Puente, Henry Mancini, Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, Lalo Shifrin, and more.