Barcelona-born Alexis Cuadrado is one of New York’s most sought-after musicians.
In addition to performing as a sideman with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo, Youssou N’Dour, Dianne Reeves, Omara Portuondo, Steve Wilson and Seamus Blake, Alexis maintains a thriving career as a composer and educator.
I had the chance to see Alexis at the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention, and it was great to catch up with him for this deep dive into his craft.
This episode is divided into three parts:
- Part 1 – discovering François Rabbath
- starting to play upright in Barcelona and developing severe tendinitis
- trying to “start the house from the roof instead of the foundation”
- meeting Barry Green – the link to Francois
- the benefits of “starting from the beginning” with Rabbath
- Part 2 – the language of jazz
- improvisation
- composition
- approaches with students
- work habits
- Part 3 – 21st-century careers
- multiple income streams
multiple skills sets
how you present yourself to the world – what’s your outlook? - moving to New York
- multiple income streams
Links to check out:
- alexiscuadrado.com
- Alexis on Sunnyside records
- Alexis on Spotify
- Albums:
- All About Jazz article on Alexis
- Recording session for Noneto Ibérico
- Alexis Cuadrado’s ‘A Lorca Soundscape’: Live At 92Y Tribeca
- Alexis on The Third Story
Check out all jazz-related episodes at contrabassconversations.com/jazz