Biography

Carme Canela & Grupo's biography

Special guest: Ben Monder
One of the most renowned voices of Spanish jazz, this Catalan artist is visiting Buenos Aires for the first time. Her career spans collaborations with Spanish and international musicians such as Guillermo Klein, Bruce Barth, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Perico Sambeat, Lluís Vidal, Joan Albert Amargós, David Mengual, Horacio Fumero, Carles Benavent, Bernardo Sassetti and Agustí Fernández, among others. She has participated in different ensembles, including the Orquestra de Cambra del Teatre Lliure, Terrassa Club’s Big Band Jazz and the Orquestra Nacional de Cambra d’Andorra. She toured many countries, included Italy, Portugal, Morocco, Israel and France, and sang at the Village Vanguard in New York alongside Guillermo Klein and Los Guachos, as well as the Carnegie Hall, invited by Laura Simó.
She boasts five albums as a leader and has participated in over thirty recordings of prestigious artists; worthy of mention is the Porgy & Bess version by the Orquestra de Cambra del Teatre Lliure in Barcelona. She was awarded by the Asociación de Músicos de Jazz de Cataluña for best soloist of the year on many occasions. In addition, she is an eminent teacher at the Escuela Superior de Música de Barcelona.
Carme will be accompanied by a special guest: Ben Monder (see his details on p. 25), one of the “cult” guitarists of the New York jazz scene.
Monder will be joining a very compact band including the instrumentalists who usually accompany the singer: saxophonist Gorka Benitez and drummer David Xirgu, as well as two Argentine artists: Guillermo Klein, Carme Canela’s artistic partner in many projects, and bassist Matías Méndez (see his details on p. 60).
Hailing from Bilbao, Gorka Benítez is one of the most sought-after saxophonists of the Spanish scene, both for recording and for performing live. He studied in Barcelona and afterwards in New York, where he was taught by such eminent teachers as Dave Kikoski, Billy Hart, Jim Hall, Barry Harris and Cecil Bridgewater, among others. He released four albums under his name, with his own ensembles, and also participated in numerous recordings as a guest. He has toured with many artists, including Guillermo Klein, Steve Cardenas, Arthur Kell, Brad Shepik, Martirio, Chano Domínguez and Omara Portuondo, and has garnered several awards from the Asociación de Músicos de Jazz y Música Moderna de Cataluña.
David Xirgu, who in addition to the drums plays the piano and composes, was a member and founder of a great number of ensembles. Worthy or mention are his long-lasting collaborations with Lluís Vidal, Carme Canela, Iñaki Salvador and the Orquestra de Cambra del Teatre Lliure. Since late 1995 he leads his own band, with which he recorded two albums. He can also be heard in over fifty jazz recordings alongside Tete Montoliu, David Liebman, Mark Feldman, Horacio Fumero, Sean Levitt and David Mengual, among others. He had the honour of performing with such prestigious artists as John Abercrombie, Vince Mendoza, Dave Liebman, Fred Hersch, Mark Feldman, Norma Winstone, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Monder, Guillermo Klein, Art Farmer, Charles Tolliver, Dave Schnitter and Mulgrew Miller.

www.carmecanela.com • www.myspace.com/carmecanela

www.gorkabenitez.com • www.davidxirgu.com • www.myspace.com/davidxirgu