Victor Prieto Trio

While all musical settings present different challenges to those involved, duo recordings can often be the hardest to manage well. Repetitive textural elements, characteristic of the instruments on hand, can create a certain similarity across all tracks. Some musicians fall prey to wandering free improvisation, finding various degrees of success or failure, as they try to navigate these waters and avoid unpleasant encounters with the only other musical voice on the map. Thankfully, that is not the case with saxophonist Chris Cheek and accordion player Victor Prieto on Rollo Coaster.

Cheek and Prieto began performing together in 2006, as part of Emilio Solla
's New York Jazz Tango Project, and they forged a deep musical connection. They eventually began performing as a duo, and they speak the same language throughout this recording. The album title here plays off of the Spanish phrase "Buen Rollo," meaning "cool vibe," and the music certainly merits this descriptor. Throughout these fourteen tracks, Cheek and Prieto demonstrate great versatility and establish a consistent vibe, despite navigating their way through different stylistic waters.

Prieto seems to conjure an entire orchestra of sound from his accordion. Sometimes he plays to the traditions of tango, providing a seductive and intriguing blend of sounds ("Rolocoster"), while other moments give him the opportunity to provide a cushioned harmonic blanket for Cheek ("Los Recuerdos"). Prieto even provides some organ-like accompaniment on the somber, classically influenced "Shelter." When he's not providing the harmonic foundation of a song, he is often providing some cajón-like percussive tapping ("Six Note Samba"), doubling the melody lines with Cheek while providing some horsepower from below or playing some warp-speed solo runs.

Cheek, on soprano saxophone, provides the more freely open and spacious solos. While he jumps and flies along with Prieto on the more upbeat, pan-Latin material here—like the joyously spirited "Rosa" and "Bebe"— he takes a different approach to the slower pieces. Though his overall sound doesn't vary much throughout the album, his saxophone takes on a clarinet-like quality during certain moments on the title track. His broken phrases gel into cohesive statements on "Six Note Samba" and he demonstrates a conception based on greater freedom during "Papa Pin." He even provides some wonderfully playful runs on "Memories." Three improvised tracks make their way into the program and, to the credit of Cheek and Prieto, these instant creations largely come across as cohesive, absorbing works. While this musical pairing was forged in tango territory, this music crafted on this album goes well beyond that one particular style. - All About Jazz, NYC

Prieto wants you to know that his project, is not simply another accordion group, or some light-hearted evocation of Parisian café music. "It's deeper than that," Victor, the 38-year-old accordionist who is also an educator and online entrepreneur, says of his trio. The compositions and improvisations throughout this project derive from, are influenced by and/or refer to a swath of the world that comprises not just Spain-Galicia and Portugal but Mediterranean France and Italy, North Africa, the Caribbean islands, Central and South America, as well as penetration into more northern climes. Argentine tango nuevo a la Astor Piazzolla, Brazilian bossas and choros, Afro-Cuban jazz, driving post-bop and fusion rear up in the trio's repertoire. So do Celtic and Appalachian fiddle figures, romantic serenades and contemporary classical rigor. Victor brings it all together with masterful vitality. - Time Out. USA

V. Prieto Trio featuring Ryan Keberle – Join this celebrated accordion player as he performs with his band at the awesome Terraza 7 Train Cafe. The Spanish-born Victor Prieto has performed at Lincoln Center and the Williamsburg Jazz Festival, and collaborated with greats like Yo-Yo Ma and Arturo O’Farrill. By embracing jazz, tango, classical and Celtic roots, the V. Prieto Trio continues in the rich tradition of genre-and-culture-blending at Terraza Cafe. - Brownstoner Queens, USA

VICTOR PRIETO TRIO (Tuesday through April 1) The Astor Piazzolla warhorse "Libertango" is a too obvious inclusion on "Persistencia" (Foxhaven), the new album by the dynamic jazz accordionist Victor Prieto, but there are also numerous originals, on which Mr. Prieto engages winningly with the bassist Carlo DeRosa and the drummer Allison Miller. 11 p.m., Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 258-9595; cover, $10, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at the bar.

Other Mentions:
Victor Prieto "A fiendishly skilled accordionist and composer"...."An effervescent improviser"...."A dynamic jazz accordionist" - The New York Times

Su nombre, para aquellos que todavía no le conocen es Víctor Prieto y, como tantos otros, es un talento gallego que, en este caso decidió un día cruzar el charco seducido por la música de j­azz un día le sedujo por la radio. Inició su formación en Galicia pero, siguió su viaje con su acordeón a cuestas y la ilusión de triunfar en el centro del mundo. No fue fácil. Pero una mezcla de tenacidad y enorme talento le llevó a ser el primer y único acordeonista el graduarse en jazz en la prestigiosa escuela de Berklee, en Boston. Poco después, M­anhattan no tardaría en rendirse a los pies de este joven, ourensano de Toén, que ahora acaba de poner un nuevo jalón en su trayectoria tocando el Grammy. Víctor ha elevado el acordeón a un listón diferente. Ha triunfado y compartido escena con los grandes del panorama jazz actual. Después de doce años de su salida de Galicia, quizás sería un buen momento para hacer patria. El Xacobeo 2010 está ahí. Víctor podría venir a Galicia y no precisamente a peregrinar. Lo dicho, tengan presente su nombre. - ABC, Magazine (Spanish)

Aquellos que frecuentan los mejores foros del jazz de las orillas del Hudson saben que Víctor Prieto (Toén-Ourense, 1975) es uno de los mejores acordeonistas de la Gran Manzana. Este músico, que lleva casi doce años fuera de su Galicia, empezó a tocar este instrumento casi por casualidad, y años después el destino el llevó a ser el primer y único graduado en acordeón de la prestigiosa universidad de Berklee. Ahora, Víctor está radiante. Vive fechas muy especiales. Recientemente nació su hija y hace pocas horas el disco de Yo Yo Ma, Songs of Joy and Peace en el que colaboró junto a la también gallega Cristina Pato, recibió el premio Grammy al mejor álbum de fusión.

_ ¿Qué tiene de especial la música de Víctor Prieto para llegar y triunfar en Nueva York?

_ Yo intento siempre estar al nivel artístico que la ciudad me requiere musicalmente. Aquí, en Nueva York, respetan muchísimo la musicalidad y no importa tanto el instrumento. El acordeón es nostálgico, pero tiene que ser tocado con un lenguaje propio, no sé, especial.

_ Me habla de los músicos pero usted llega con un acordeón a hacer jazz ¿Cómo le acoge el público?
_ El trío con el que yo trabajo acordeón, batería, contrabajo, en contra de lo que podría parecer no era inusual. Otros lo habían hecho antes, no era una novedad aunque quizás en cierto modo por la forma de tocar. No fue fácil, hubo que hacerse un hueco entre un público muy experimentado al que lo que le interesa siempre son cosas y sonidos nuevos. Pero a medida que el tiempo pasa se ve con mayor popularidad, cada vez tiene más auge. Tocar jazz aquí es como tocar sevillanas en Andalucía. Son exigentes.

_ Su música abarca distintas tendencias ¿Por qué optó finalmente por el jazz?

_ Me llamó la atención a los 16 años escuchando la radio y algo iba a cambiar. ¿La razón? el jazz son miles de influencias, de culturas, de países...

_ Y por esa forma de tocar se ha definido en cierto modo como músico e inventor...

_Es una técnica llamada de aproximación de acorde en ambas manos, que consigue crear armonías que antes no fueron interpretadas. De alguna forma, da un estilo muy particular.

_ ¿Cuáles son sus principales influencias musicales?

_ Hay extraordinarios instrumentistas como Richard Galiano o Frank Marocco pero yo siempre digo que yo no tengo sólo influencias de acordeonistas sino también de saxofonistas y pianistas como es el caso de Chick Corea, Keith Jarreth o Chris Cheek que es un buen amigo y además uno de los mejores saxofonistas del momento con el que he tenido la suerte de grabar mi tercer disco.

_ ¿Cuándo veremos a Víctor Prieto en Galicia?

_ Ahora sigo con el trío y afortunadamente tenemos muchos conciertos aquí pero el Xacobeo está ahí y podría ser una estupenda oportunidad para tocar allí.

ffranjo@elcorreogallego.es
Trayectoria

Desde Ourense a Manhattan

De Víctor Prieto puede decirse que ha conquistado las américas circulando a velocidad de vértigo por las octavas de su acordeón. Este ourensano de Toén, fue el primer y hasta el momento único acordeonista en graduarse en jazz en la prestigiosa universidad de Berklee de Boston. No fue fácil, él mismo recuerda que sus profesores querían convertirle en pianista pero Víctor, que había aprendido a tocar el acordeón por influencia materna no cejó en su empeño: podía hacerlo. En 2002, tras su graduación, se trasladó definitivamente a Nueva York donde tras alternar trabajos ocasionales con conciertos en la noche de Manhattan, acabó por establecerse como uno de los grandes del acordeón. Entre los años 2003 y 2004, fue el jefe de estudios del Brooklyn Conservatory.

De Víctor Prieto se ha dicho que las piezas clave de su música son la lírica y el drama a partes iguales y que ha conseguido interpretar el acordeón como Thielemans la armónica o Saluzzi el bandoneón.

Víctor siente en cierto modo morriña de no haber sido profeta en su tierra pero ha triunfado en la diáspora y buena prueba de ello es que ha compartido escenario con figuras como Yo Yo Ma, Paquito d’Rivera, Matt Wilson o el saxofonista Chris Cheek, con el que grabó su tercer y último trabajo discográfico hasta el momento. - La Voz de Galicia (Spanish)

Originally from Orense, Spain, accordionist Victor Prieto brings old-world charm and a new-fangled approach to jazz. Prieto's debut CD release, Persistencia, featuring Carlo DeRosa on acoustic bass and Allison Miller on trap drums, showcases the leader's unique approach to harmony, melody, and tone, effectively translating the accordionist's unique jazz sensibility via an unusual instrumental vehicle.

The accordion's distinctive timbre often conjures up associations with Polish polka, German folk lieder, Viennese waltzes, French musette & cabaret chansons, North American Tex-Mex, Louisiana Cajun & Zydeco, Argentinian tango, and Mexican conjunto/tejano/norteño—but jazz? This isn't accordion accordin' to Hoyle!

One of the inherent problems in utilizing the accordion for harmonically complex music such as jazz lies in the fact that the left-hand chord buttons are preset, strictly limiting choices for chord construction as well as comping techniques. Prieto has straddled this limitation via custom adjustments to his instrument—don't ask, it's top secret—and by adding voices to his left hand chords by layering in notes with the right hand, resulting a harmonic textures unprecedented on this ax.

Persistencia features six original tunes by Prieto, along with covers of Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti's "Frevo, Argentinian tango-maestro Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango, and John Coltrane's "26-2, the latter a three-in-one key workout from the Giant Steps album. Prieto's own compositions range from lyrical to neo-boppish to progressive. "Muiñeira da Carmen, "Persistencia, and "Only for You are wistful and romantic; "Freva, "Contrasts in NY, and "Mugares have angular lines and unusual harmonies; while "Mundos Celtas sounds like an Irish reel or jig, interspersed with sections of drawn-out, atmospheric chords.

The members of the trio work well together. Allison Miller's brushwork on "Muñeira da Carmen, her rolling tango-esque fills and feathered high-hat on the outro vamp of "Libertango, and her conversational counterpoint on "Persistencia are adroit and apropos. Bassist Carlo DeRosa is also excellent, particularly during his strolling intro on "Persistencia, his interactive commentary during Prieto's solo on "Mundos Celtas, his bowed vocalisms on "Libertango, and his driving solo over the samba groove of "Contrasts in NY.

Prieto's playing is stellar: virtuosic without seeming to be in a hurry, his melodic phrases materialize nonchalantly, commanding but never imposing, gaining momentum and urgency when inspiration strikes. The accordionist's linear vocabulary is unusual, at times hard-bopping, yet never quite resolving as "expected." His tone displays a horn-like quality—"breathing," swelling, and fading with the motion of the bellows—while his harmonic accompaniment often detours adventurously in parallel and symmetric motions that flirt with quasi-tonality.

Following closely on the heels of artists like Poland's The Motion Trio, Victor Prieto is teaching the old cats new tricks: compositions, improvised lines, tonal manipulations, and—above all—a novel way of chordin' the accordion. - The New York Post

Sus prestigiosos profesores del Berklee College of Music de Boston no querían que estudiase acordeón. Tras pasar una dura prueba de selección para entrar en una de las universidades especializadas en música más importantes del mundo, al acordeonista gallego Víctor Prieto lo querían convertir en pianista. Nadie antes había estudiado acordeón en Berklee ni nadie lo ha hecho después. Pero no contaban en el Harvard de la música moderna -están especializados en jazz o rock- con la confianza inquebrantable que este gallego de Toén tiene en su instrumento de fuelle. «Fui el primer, y hasta ahora el único, músico que se ha graduado en acordeón en Berklee», explica Prieto, que tuvo que luchar un año entero antes de convencer a las autoridades educativas de Boston de que el acordeón no era solo un instrumento «raro» y que servía para cursar estudios de música. «Tuve que discutir mucho, con la dificultad añadida de que al principio mi inglés era malo. Después de un año dejaron de presionarme», recuerda un Víctor que reconoce que el acordeón es un instrumento poco conocido en EE.?UU.

Fue su primera victoria, llamémosla acordeonística, en EE.?UU. Ser graduado en Berklee otorga un plus de excelencia a cualquier músico que, además de convertirse en maestro de los secretos de la armonía y el ritmo, recibe una completa preparación en el business music. Es decir, cómo tratar con agentes, productores y otras hierbas empresariales del negocio del pentagrama. Pero ni Berklee ni nadie le asegura a un músico que entrará en el Olimpo de la fama. En el 2002, Víctor Prieto ya había lanzado su birrete al aire tras acabar sus estudios y decidió que triunfar en Nueva York sería su próximo objetivo. Si están pensando que la historia parece una película, añadamos otro toque cinematográfico: «En Boston trabajaba como camarero en un restaurante y, como necesitaba el dinero, de lunes a jueves estaba en Nueva York recorriendo locales a la búsqueda de actuaciones, y los fines de semana volvía a Boston en tren para trabajar en el restaurante», señala Prieto. ¿Y cómo consigue un músico actuar en Nueva York? «En los locales en los que se organizaban jam sessions [improvisaciones musicales en grupo] abiertas a cualquiera, me subía al escenario con mi acordeón y tocaba», relata. A través de estos duelos sonoros, Prieto se ganó el respeto del exigente circuito musical neoyorquino -«tocar jazz en Nueva York es como cantar flamenco en Sevilla», explica Prieto-.

A los seis meses de su llegada a la gran capital, el acordeonista de Toén había dejado de servir mesas y tocaba en diferentes locales de la Gran Manzana. Poco después, compartía escenario con el mítico saxofonista Paquito D'Rivera, y en el 2008, Prieto colaboró junto a la también gallega Cristina Pato en el último disco de Yo-Yo Ma, uno de los mejores violonchelistas del mundo. Como guinda, acaba de editar su cuarto disco como solista junto al prestigioso saxofonista Chris Cheek. «Ahora mismo soy de Nueva York originario de Ourense», explica el, quizá, mejor acordeonista de la Gran Manzana. Un título al que ayuda la escasez de practicantes del instrumento de fuelle en EE.?UU., pero que no resta méritos a la aventura americana de Víctor. - La Voz de Galicia (Spanish)

Victor Prieto '02 is in Berklee's record book as a first: the only student in the college's history to pursue a performance major in accordion. "I wanted to study jazz and accordion," Prieto recalls. The Berklee alum is a native of Galicia, Spain, who studied classical accordion at a conservatory before enrolling in Berklee in 1998. He specifically wanted to attend Berklee-"one of the best schools in the world for music in general," Prieto opines-despite the fact that the college had no accordion teachers and the jazz world has hardly embraced the instrument that most associate with polkas, reels, and Lawrence Welk reruns. But both he and Berklee were up for the challenge.

Now based in New York City, Prieto is transforming perceptions about the accordion and incorporating jazz, classical, tango, and Celtic music And in the process, Prieto is creating new sounds and techniques for the instrument.

Since making New York City his home base in 2002, Prieto has demonstrated the accordion's versatility. It's a place where, like many, he's found "the competition is brutal." Nevertheless, he has applied his instrument's dulcet sounds in a variety of musical settings, from backing jazz singers to performances with the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Prieto also recorded the selection "Panxoliña: A Galician Carol" with Yo-Yo Ma on the cellist's Grammy-winning recording, Songs of Joy & Peace. "Amazing," he says of Ma. "He makes you understand the music."

The accordionist regularly performs with the Victor Prieto Trio and has appeared in such revered New York venues as the Blue Note, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, the Lincoln Center, and more. Prieto is also a prolific composer and has written many of the titles that have appeared on his four recordings. Of the composition process, he says, "Things just come out by themselves; you play what your ear forces you to play. You're hearing it, so you have to find a way to play it."

Accordion Afficionado

"Chances are you have never heard the accordion played the way Victor Prieto plays it," says a review of Rollo-Coaster-Prieto's recording with soprano saxophonist Chris Cheek '91 — on the website All About Jazz. "Indeed, much as Toots Thielemans established the harmonica in the jazz lore by huffing and puffing bop lines through his teeth, Prieto breaks the glass ceiling hovering about the crown of Cyrill Demian's patented invention, squeezing improvised airs with a technical assurance that deserves more widespread recognition."

Prieto agrees that masters of the accordion deserve more respect and recognition in this country. "The accordion is one of the most complex instruments you can play," he says. "You can play any type of music. It's a really intense, unbelievably powerful instrument."

Prieto contends that it takes about 15 years to become proficient on the accordion. "It's a really difficult instrument, and it's really expensive," he says. Children start out learning on a small instrument before taking on the full-sized accordion. But even the smaller version is costly.

He began playing the instrument at eight years old. "My mother loved the accordion," Prieto says. "She's the reason I play it and pushed me to pursue my career." In Spain, where he grew up, accordion playing is part of a long and proud musical tradition — particularly in the Galicia region. Located in the country's northwest corner, Galicia was once occupied by Celtic people. Consequently Celtic music is still heard there today.

Prieto's early musical influences ranged from European traditional and classical music to the jazz of Chick Corea and John Coltrane. While at Berklee, he studied under the direction of jazz pianist and professor Joanne Brackeen. She's played with Joe Henderson and Stan Getz, led her own trio and quartet, and was the first female member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. But Brackeen has never played accordion.

She was a tough teacher nonetheless, Prieto reports. "Joanne helped me in many ways," he recalls. "I had so many questions to ask her. 'I want to know this, I want to know that.' I said to her, 'I will ask you questions, and you tell me what you think I should do.'"

Ironically, Brackeen remembers Prieto being a tough student. "He had all the questions," she says. "He was asking for the world, and so I had to give it to him. He didn't just ask for it, he demanded it."

Brackeen and Prieto figured out sounds on the piano that enabled him to devise a distinctive harmonic approach to his instrument. It was "very intense, every lesson," as Brackeen put it. "We got all the sounds we wanted to get out [of his accordion]. It was an interesting challenge, and we worked at it. I wanted to teach him because he wanted to learn."

Noted bass player and Berklee faculty member Oscar Stagnaro, who appreciates the accordion, also helped Prieto. "It's a different color," Stagnaro says. Prieto performed in Stagnaro's Latin ensemble that included a blind percussionist and a violinist from Taiwan who was unfamiliar with Latin music. "In my ensemble, he had to adapt the piano parts," Stagnaro says. Such experiences gave Prieto a foundation in jazz. "In an ensemble, you can learn theory and harmony, the concept of how they work together, the interplay, the versatility, playing different styles," Stagnaro recalls. "I congratulate him. He had courage; it's a very hard instrument — not easy at all."

And to promote the instrument, Prieto figures that Berklee is a good place to start. As Berlee's first performance major with accordion for his principal instrument, Prieto hopes not to be its only.

Mary Hurley is a grant writer in Berklee's Development Office
Leadership - Berklee Today

Chances are you have never heard the accordion played the way Victor Prieto plays it. Indeed, much like Toots Thielemans established the harmonica in the jazz lore huffing and puffing bop lines through his teeth, Prieto breaks the glass ceiling hovering above the crown of Cyrillus Demian's patented invention, squeezing improvised airs with a technical assurance that deserves more widespread recognition.

Long known for catapulting the French valse musette, the Bohemian polka, the French-Canadian reels, and the festive music of the Cajuns to a world stage, the instrument's acceptance into the jazz world has come rather slowly. Sure there have been other accordionists that have mined the genre before— Richard Galliano, Antonello Salis, Mat Mathews, Gianni Coscia, Art Van Damme and, lately, Frode Haltli—but aside from this honorable horde, the Hohners and Excelsiors have been found howling under quite a different moon.

Comes Prieto, with his refreshing, tango-meets-jazz-meets classical music bouquet; a cornucopia filled with earthly tones picked from the best splashed accords by the hands of a crafty artist. Add a premier weaver of melodies in soprano saxophonist Chris Cheek and the end result comes as engaging as a nightingale's courting chant. Together they make music that, despite claiming a strong foothold in the tango tradition, whistles through a wide range of stylistic influences. Their chanced meeting happened in the ensemble of top tango-jazz authority Emilio Solla.

The album opens with Hermeto Pascoal's "BeBe," an arrangement which might be described as a mix between Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody 'n You" and a feverish Brazilian dance. Cheek's "Coo" follows. Taking turns at lashing out gripping yet rather succinct solos, the pair then segues into "Rollo Coaster," a relaxed piece in 7/4.

Things take a drastically different route as Prieto intones the church organ-like introduction to the confessional "Shelter." A somewhat odd turn of event in the program's unfolding, the change in mood is a surprise, feeling more like a concert of J.S.Bach's sacred music. Thought not a disagreeable move at all, the ploy nevertheless sharply departs from the mood the musicians have set so far. The feeling resurfaces halfway through "Papa Pin" before vacating the floor for the dancing "Rosa."

Rollo Coaster is a stylistically diversified effort; one which, on the different fronts inside which it maneuvers, breaks many barriers. Who knew the accordion could sound so intriguing? - All about Jazz NYC.

Trios are sensitive things. They take a jump in the complexity from duos, yet can't be split into rhythm and lead instruments like quartets. To create a cohesive sound, all the members of the trio must be listening carefully to the overall balance. Each can essentially be a soloist at a different level. The trio that accordionist Victor Prieto leads on Persistencia is very finely tuned and highly responsive.

Prieto plays accordion the way Toots Thielmans plays harmonica or Dino Saluzzi plays bandoneon—he transcends the instrument and just plays music. The Italian feel of this recording comes more from the music than the instrumentation. Bassist Carlo DeRosa and drummer Allison Miller, both leaders in their own right, together comprise half of Agrazing Maze. DeRosa, who has an impressive technique, writes dark, muscular and propulsive music, but here he sounds as light as a feather. Miller, who is equally at home with constantly changing odd meters as a Dr. Lonnie Smith organ trio groove, provides an endless assortment of percussive effects, always keeping the trio floating forward.

The key features of Prieto's music are lyricism and drama. He writes fine, memorable melodies, then works with the band to create tracks with a very clear dramatic arch, sometimes more than one, engaging and carrying the listener forward. He tells stories and paints pictures with music.

Of the nine tracks, six are by Prieto, along with Egberto Gismonti's "Frevo," Argentinean tango composer/bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango," and a surprising "26-2" by John Coltrane. The core of the album is comprised of tracks four through six, which form the dramatic arch that is replicated within each tune.

"Libertango," the longest track at ten minutes, provides DeRosa a chance to show off his impeccable arco intonation. Prieto answers using varying phrase lengths of unpredictable form, building to a driving section that gets denser, supported by Miller's extroverted drumming. "Persistencia," the title tune, gradually develops from a solo bass intro into to a very pretty, achingly haunting melody by Prieto that has echoes of the wonderful Italian movie Il Postino. Completing the triptych is the light and quick "Mundos Celtas," with sections of tension and release where DeRosa and Miller follow Prieto's every twist and turn.

Put Persistencia on and turn the volume to club level. This music is meant to be enjoyed on many levels, but the musicianship is what makes it work—both individual and group playing is full of detail, sensitivity and finesse. Recommended. - All About Jazz NYC