Some guys just seem to have the Midas touch. John Hammond, the guy who gave us Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen had it. So does Quincy Jones, who’s had his finger on our pulses to get us in touch with Dizzy Gillespie’s orchestra, Sinatra at the Sands with Basie, Roots, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, We Are The World and even the first rap recordings. So if someone like Jones gives an artist a blessing, it’s best to pay attention to that musician.
Such a bestowment has come upon Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, who’s debut album Sounds of Space was produced by Quincy Jones after being impressed by the young performer. Recently performing solo at Santa Monica’s Edye theatre, Rodriguez was introduced by Q himself, giving some insight as to the nascent talent he sees in this extraordinary newcomer. We caught up with Alfredo Rodriguez before and after the embracing performance to let you see how a mixture of hard work and Providence works to create an ascending career.
Rodriguez initially had no exposure to American jazz music, as he states, “I grew listening to classical music, and I started playing classical music at three years of age at the Conservatory of Music in Havana.” Things began to change as he reached his teen years, as he recalls the initiation. “ It was a Keith Jarrett cd, the Koln Concert. My uncle gave me that cd when I was 15 years old. At that time I was just playing classical music; I didn’t know how to improvise. When I heard that kind of music from Keith, you know it has a LOT of improvisation, I fell in love with that kind of music making. I was inspired by that cd, and I knew that that was what I wanted to do. From then on, I forever wanted to be sitting at the piano and playing whatever would come into my mind.”
While he has become a devoted fan of Jarrett, Rodriguez admits, “I haven’t met him, but I saw him perform. Keith is one of my favorite musicians. Not just because I like his music, but I also can see his passion when he plays. It’s beautiful and deep to see him play. I really love that. I don’t care about if you don’t hit the note perfectly, but Keith shows that you should just go for it every time. That’s what I’ve learned from him, and Keith is one of those people that is trying to keep that kind of music alive, and keep it adventurous.”
As far as keeping something adventurous, Rodriguez’s journey to America via a concert in Switzerland is one for the Michelin Guide. Rodriguez remembers the date very well, “The situation was that in 2006 I was chosen to play at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland. Claude Nobs, the president of the festival invited me to his house, and he told me that Quincy Jones was coming to his house and if I wanted to play one song for him. So, that was the situation. I played one song for Quincy, and he liked it. After that, we exchanged cards and information. Sometimes, you just play for a lot of people, and some people tell you that they are going to do this and that for you. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t happen. So, I just took it as a great experience to play for Quincy Jones once in my life, and I will have something special to tell everybody.”
“I went back to Cuba, because I was living in Cuba and I knew that the situation between the United States and Cuba was very difficult at that time. Right now it is also not too good, but it is step by step getting better. At that time, it was impossible. So, after one month of trying, my manager told me that Mr. Jones was very interested in doing something, like a tour, with me. From that moment, I knew I had to do something with him. After thinking for a long time, I decided that the only way to make it happen was to come into the United States, so I defected from Cuba in January of 2009. And, because of that, I’m here.”
The journey to America is something like a scene from a movie, as Rodriquez dictates, “I was in Merida, Yucatan Mexico performing with my father, and I took a plane from Merida to Nuevo Laredo. It is the Mexican part of the border. I don’t know if you know, but there is a law between Mexico and Cuba that says if you catch a Cuban trying to cross the border they can be arrested and deported. Unfortunately, I was one of those people they caught at the airport. They arrested me there. But, sometimes, what they really want when they stop you is just some money. People just go there, and if you as a Cuban have some money, you can give it to them and they will let you go. That was not my situation because I didn’t have any money, so it was a difficult situation. I told them the truth; I told them I was going to try through every day, and if they held me back I would try again the next day, the next day and the next day. I had this special permission from the Mexican people; they couldn’t deport me at that time because I had the permission for 15 more days because I was legally in Mexico. So, if they didn’t let me in that day, I’d try again.I explained to them what my situation was and why I wanted to do it. My music and everything. After four hours of speaking with them, they finally understood and let me go. Once I came into the United States, I contacted my manager who is also Quincy Jones’ manager. They bought me an airplane ticket from Laredo, which is a border part in Texas, and to Los Angeles.”
After living in a country like Cuba, moving into a cosmopolitan city like Los Angeles was like going from a local market to a Costco, as Rodriguez observes, it was all “very different from Cuba! But, almost every country is different from Cuba, which is very nice, because every country has something beautiful to offer. But I am coming from a different culture, a different people, a different movement, a different way to talk…everything. But, for me, it’s been really interesting, because that was what I was trying to find; a different culture and people, and to learn a lot. I’m doing that now, so I’m very happy. “
One of the main advantages to living in a place like Los Angeles is the ability to take in the sounds, languages, cuisines and peoples from cultures all over the world. There are actually more languages spoken in LA than in the United Nations! Alfredo reveled in the new environment as he exudes, “I’m meeting all types of people here. This was one of my main interests when I came here; to meet different people and to learn from them. That is something that isn’t easy in Cuba, because there we have difficulties with the confrontations of the transculturation and so, when I came here I wanted to meet many different people, to see how they act, and to learn from them in order to make my music.”
Rodriguez also appreciates the religious freedom that we Americans have, as there has been persecution of evangelical Christians in his homeland. Rodriguez observes, “It’s difficult there; it’s a different point of view. But in every country we have problems. The problem in Cuba is that we’ve had the same problems for more than 50 years! But every country problem has problem; every country I go to has people protesting that everything is no good. The problem we have in Cuba is that they’ve been the same ones for these 50 years, and so it is time to change our current problems for some new ones!”
Coming from Cuba to the welcoming arms of Quincy Jones opened up a whole new world to Alfredo. What musician wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to sit at the feet and imbibe the teachings of arguably the most important figure in the music business. What would any of us ask Q in terms of advice? What has Rodriguez learned from Quincy’s School of Music? “The most important thing he’s told me is that it’s important that I should be myself, and that I should do whatever I like. That was his first and most important, because, coming from Quincy, the big producer and musician who knows everything, it’s important for me with my potential to just be myself and do what I love. That is the only way to make this life happen. “
“Quincy also knows a lot about classical music, and of course about the music business, so I’m learning a lot from him that way. We have a great relationship; it’s not just the music business, we have a great friendship.”
Since coming to the US, Rodriguez has had the benefit of being exposed to all kinds of music and musicians, for his debut release, he points out, “all of my musician friends that I play with are from New York. We usually go places together. We fly from New York to wherever. Musicians from all countries are different, but music speaks better than any language. We can go into any country and not know each other, but when the people are on the same page you are musically, and the people are checking out the same people that you’re checking, the people have same point of view, philosophy and way to think, you can be with anyone. You can be with musicians from your own country, but if you’re not on the same page philosophically, you’re not going to connect. For me, it was kind of easy which were the kind of musicians I wanted to play with, and get on the same page with them to play music. “
He’s trying to do whatever it takes to promote his album as well, as he mentions, “We are doing small tours. In early May, we are touring the United States. We sold out at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. I am also going to be playing at the Playboy Jazz festival with Richard Bona on bass, Lionel Loueke on guitar and Francisco Mela on drums. So, we are going to be over there, and I just came from South Africa from the Capetown Jazz Festival and from Indonesia from the Jakarta Jazz Festival, so we’re keeping busy, and I’m happy.”
The concept of grace is a peculiar thing. Getting something out of the blue that we seemingly don’t deserve. Hymns have been written about it. Lives have been transformed by it. Alfredo himself is grateful for the rare gift of Providence to be able to have his career helped in such a way from one like Jones, but as the baseball legend Branch Ricky once said, luck is the residue of hard work. In light of all of the benefits he’s received, Rodriguez is quite philosophical about the entire process. “You know, “ he points out, “I am a natural person, I’m very happy, and not really surprised. I am just doing what I love to do and am happy to be in my place, with Quincy helping me. But, I’ve got to say that a lot of people see my playing and like to help me. I am thankful for all of that, but I’m not surprised, because this is what I’ve been doing all of my life, and I always said that if Quincy was not with me, I’d meet other people. The only way for me to make my life is to make music, which is what I love to do. I’m very happy for what and where I am. I believe I should try to make life as happy as possible, because there are a lot of problems in the world.”
For Rodriguez, music is not only his career, but his inspiration, which he hopes to convey to his liseners. “For me, music is not just for notes and melody. Those are the tools, but for me, music is coming from everything; it relates to people. How the people act, I try to make music from that. How they speak, how they move, everything I see relates to music. For example, just the other day I was speaking with somebody, and I was seeing cars moving by, and I was trying to make music from the cars! For me, it is really the whole world that is musical.”
“Music is to get a message to people There are a lot of people that play really well. They know a lot of harmony, they can play fast or slow or whatever. But, if you don’t have a message, I think that you are missing something very important. For me, my music is like that. On my cd you can find different kinds of messages, like “Transculturation” which is very important to me. The song that is called “Crossing The Border” is exactly what I was thinking about the time. My stress at the moment of physically leaving my family behind, and leaving my country and coming to the United States to experience things; this is what I wanted to express in that song. It’s not just about happiness and sadness; it’s about breathing, movement and speaking.”
As Rodriguez observes, all of us take part in telling a story and improvising as we speak and go about our daily activities. Our lives ebb and flow, and like Rodriguez, we learn to adapt to whatever new trial or opportunity comes our way. Some of us do it in a cubical at work, some at a construction site, and others, like Alfredo Rodriguez, do it at a piano or at an airport. This is a part of life that is the verb “jazz” we ad lib and adapt to whatever is fed to us, whether it is a piano player or a boss. “I’ve learned that since I’ve started to learn to improvise,” claims Rodriguez. “When you sit at the piano, and you try to make music from everything that is in your mind, that is what is called ‘improvisation.’ That is what we are doing when we talk. Improvisation is what we do all of the time. It’s not easy to express things this way with every tool, such as with my piano, but we all are improvisers. We are improvising right now as we speak. Unfortunately, my improvisation is not very good in English yet!”
Whether the learning curve is concerning a language, a piano, a religion, a marriage or a job, we all adapt, grow and hopefully benefit those we come into contact with in the process. As Rodriguez has been blessed on his path, so he works on passing that on to others. Check out the latest Jones discovery, it’s a Thriller!