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Alberto Conde | |
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| Born | April 1, 1960 |
| Origin | Galicia, Spain |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations | Pianist, composer, arranger |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Alberto Conde (born 1 April 1960) is a Galician jazz pianist, composer, arranger, educator and bandleader. [1] He is known for integrating elements of Galician traditional music into post-bop and contemporary jazz styles. [2]
Conde was born in Caracas in 1960 and raised in Ourense, Galicia, Spain. He initially studied classical guitar at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Ourense before moving towards jazz piano. In the early 1980s he attended jazz seminars in Banyoles (Girona), where he connected with American jazz musicians working in Spain at the time. [1]
During the 1980s Conde founded the Escuela Baio in Vigo, one of the earliest jazz and modern music training initiatives in Galicia. [1] In the 1990s he developed a fusion between muiñeira rhythms and jazz language, working with folk musicians and releasing albums such as A lagoa dos atlantes (1997) and Celtrópolis (1999). [3]
His album projects continued to evolve through trio formats and new fusion concepts, including influences from Latin jazz, Afro-Atlantic forms and contemporary European improvisation. [4] His double album Corriente del Golfo (2023) focuses on links between Iberian and Cuban jazz traditions. [5]
The Atlantic Bridge Jazz Project, founded with American guitarist Steve Brown, is one of Conde’s long-term international collaborations. The first Atlantic Bridge album was recorded in New York City in 2009 and featured musicians from Spain and the United States. [6] [7] Later recordings and performances extended the project into Portugal and Spain, including releases such as Portus Apostoli (2021). [8] [9]
Conde is known for blending jazz improvisation with Galician traditional structures, especially muiñeira forms. [10] Critics describe his work as thematic and programmatic, rather than based on individual unrelated compositions. [1] His projects have been linked with what some Spanish critics refer to as a kind of “muiñeira jazz”. [11]
Conde’s recordings have been positively reviewed in Spanish jazz media, with works such as A lagoa dos atlantes (1997), Entremares (2002) and Andaina (2006) recognised as notable contributions to Galician jazz. [12] Recent reviews of Corriente del Golfo highlight the album’s combination of Cuban and Galician elements. [13] His trio album The Wake of an Artist – Tribute to Bernardo Sassetti (2019) has been noted for its mature pianism and European jazz sensibility. [14]
Since 2007, Conde has taught jazz piano, composition and arranging at the Conservatorio Superior de Música da Coruña. [15]
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