Bennett Morgan & Associates, Ltd.

     
Dave Valentin
Even in the genre of music where virtuosity is the rule and not the exception, Dave Valentin stands out. The recent history of contemporary jazz and Latin music has produced scant few instrumentalists as singularly talented, artistically accomplished and popular as this remarkable musician, composer, arranger, and band leader. Indeed, for almost two decades, the role of the flute in Latin jazz has all but been defined by this native New Yorker whose total command of Latin and non-Latin styles makes him unique in the world today.

Born in the South Bronx in 1952 to Puerto Rican parents from the city of Mayaguez, Valentin studied percussion at New York City's High School of Music and Art before taking up the flute at the age of 16. Private lessons with master jazz and classical flutist Hubert Laws and early professional work with some of the leading Latin bands of the day quickly established the young musician as a rising star on his instrument.

In 1979, at the age of 26, he recorded his first album as a leader, initiating an uncommonly successful and long-running association with GRP, a contemporary jazz label noted for its all-star roster and pioneering role in digital recording technology. The partnership produced 16 albums and solidified Valentin's position as one of the best selling Latin instrumental artists of the era, as documented by a Grammy nomination and selection by the readers of JAZZIZ Magazine for six consecutive years as the top flutist in jazz.

Valentin's success stems from his eagerness to investigate and absorb any style of music. Having long mastered the common European model of flute, recent live performances and recordings have found him successfully experimenting with a growing collection of bamboo, wooden and porcelain flutes from cultures around the world.

At the same time, his curiosity and passion to master the most challenging instruments in the flute universe has led him to perform, for hte first time on a recording, solos on alto and bass models on his Tropijazz debut, Primitive Passions.

A stickler for authenticity, Valentin once spent hours with the legendary Cuban charanga flutist Jose Fajardo to better understand the finer points of of the maestro's technique. He's brought the same passion to an ongoing quest to perfect his understanding of the rich amalgam of Brazilian, R & B, Pop, be-bop and Latin styles that make up his musical persona.

Along the way, this incomparable artist has become one of the most in-demand guest soloists in Latin jazz today, recently enhancing albums by label mates Hilton Ruiz and Humberto Ramirez, and has earned uncommon distinction as featured soloist and musical director for Latin music icon Tito Puente's Tropijazz ensemble, the Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars.

All of his experiences, talents and exuberance merge in an especially brilliant fashion on Primitive Passions, an album that marks the beginning of an important new chapter in the flutist's one-of-a-kind career. From sultry samba rhythms and the fiery flabor of Afro-Caribbean jazz to be-bop, silky ballads and funk-fortified urban grooves, Primitive Passions is the kind of passionate musical experience that's become all but synonymous with the name of Dave Valentin.

Bennett Morgan & Associates, Ltd. •  p:  845-227-6065  •  f:  845-227-4002  •  1022 Route 376, Wappingers Falls, New York, 12590, US