Jazz
Ernesto Vega
“Ernesto is a virtuoso Clarinetist/Saxophonist of higher order, he is also composer of great wit and presence. All of this isn’t of as much importance as what makes him one of my favorite musicians. He is a performer imbued with true soul.” Arturo O’Farrill
Clarinetist, Saxophonist and Composer, Ernesto Vega is a graduate of the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, Cuba. At the age of seventeen, Down Beat Magazine recognized his interpretative style on the clarinet recalling the legendary jazz clarinetist, Artie Shaw.
In 2003, Vega won the first prize at the National Jazz contest Jojazz in Havana Cuba. He performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis on their visit to Cuba. Ernesto has collaborated with Cuban legends such as Frank Emilio, Chucho Valdés, Bobby Carcasses, Ernan Lopez Nussa, Jorge Reyes, and Changuito among others. He also has been part of various projects involving Arturo O'farrill & His Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Houston Orchestra & Vincent Gardner, Kingwood Big Band, Havana Jazz Collective, Carlos Masa Group,Yuri Buenaventura , Alfredo Rodriguez Project, Alejandro Vargas & Oriental Quartet.
Ernesto Vegas' first album, Venir al Mundo, won the Cubadisco Award as the Best Jazz Album of 2009. His second project DVD DUO along with Harold Lopez Nussa was nominated as best live recording performance at Cubadisco awards in 2012. Since 2013 Ernesto is based in Houston TX, being one of the most demanded musicians in the city, in 2017 he was invited as a soloist by Arturo O’Farrill & His Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra to record in the acclaimed Grammy award project Familia alongside Chucho Valdés, his versatility and virtuosity make Ernesto one of the leading musicians of his generation and one of the finest clarinetist from the Island of Cuba.
Mr.Vega latest project Tradition and Beyond, a testimonial to his homeland, recorded in Havana, Cuba, promises to be a masterpiece of these times.
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