Claudio Roditi integrates post-bop elements and Brazilian rhythmic concepts with ease and plays with power and lyricism: Video

28.05. – Happy Birthday !!! This Brazilian composer/arranger and trumpet artist has fourteen critically acclaimed albums, a Grammy nomination, and a busy international touring schedule that includes the most prestigious jazz festivals in the world.

Claudio Roditi was born 1946 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He began his musical studies when he was just five years old. His native Brazilian music upbringing almost took a back seat as he became enamoured with jazz and heard recordings of Louis Armstrong, Harry James and other American trumpeters. By the time he was 13, thanks to an American uncle’s record collection; he became familiar with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. At the age of twenty, he was named a finalist in the International Jazz Competition in Vienna, and the following year, moved to Mexico City where he was active on the contemporary music scene. He relocated to Boston in 1970 and studied at the Berklee School of Music in 1970 and 71. Later he joined the faculty of the School of Contemporary Music and rounded out his schedule with club and concert performances.

In 1976 Roditi moved to New York from Boston and began the arduous process of establishing himself in the highly competitive atmosphere of the world’s jazz capital. He quickly broke into the local circuit, performing and recording with Joe Henderson, Charlie Rouse, Herbie Mann, Tito Puente, McCoy Tyner, and Paquito D’Rivera.

Subsequent albums under his own name have been in the Jazz idiom but his Brazilian musical roots often emerge. A selection of favorite albums by Claudio must include: Gemini Man, (1988) Slow Fire, (1989) Two Of Swords, (1991) Milestones, (1992) On The Run, (1993) Free Wheelin’, Samba-Manhattan Style, (1995) Claudio Roditi with the Metropole Orchestra, Jazz Turns Samba, (1996), Double Standards, Mind Games Live, Claudio, Rio & Friends. (1997) His solo work Symphonic Bossa Nova, with Ettore Stratta and the Royal Philharmonic earned Roditi a Grammy nomination in 1995.

He has recorded exclusively for the German Nagel Heyer label since 2004 and has produced some very fine albums as; Light in the Dark, (2004) Three for One, (2004) Reflections, (2005) and Smile, in 2006.

A strikingly proficient technician, Roditi brings enormous zest and fire to his playing. Claudio integrates post-bop elements and Brazilian rhythmic concepts with ease and plays with power and lyricism. This versatility keeps him in demand as a leader, a studio musician and a sideman. His eclecticism was put to good use during his work with the United Nations Orchestra, a band originating through Dizzy Gillespie. He has also worked with Slide Hampton’s Jazz Masters. Roditi will continue to blend the two musical forms he loves. As he describes himself; “I am a Gemini. I was born in one country and live in another but I love them both – and both kinds of music, too.”