Elena Pinderhughes

Last updated

Elena Pinderhughes
Elena Pinderhughes.png
Pinderhughes performing with Braxton Cook at the National Black Theatre in Harlem, 2014
Background information
Birth nameElena Pinderhughes
Born1995 (age 28–29)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Flutist
  • singer
  • composer
Instruments
Years active2005-present
LabelsSRP Music Group [3]
Website www.thisiselena.org

Elena Pinderhughes (born 1995) is an American jazz flutist, singer, and composer. She has toured extensively with jazz trumpeter Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah and has also performed with Herbie Hancock, Common, Esperanza Spalding, Vijay Iyer, Lionel Loueke, Carlos Santana, and Josh Groban. [1] [4]

Contents

A former child prodigy, [1] [5] Pinderhughes was described by The Guardian in 2014 as "the most exciting jazz flautist to have emerged in years." [6]

Early life

Elena Pinderhughes was born in 1995 in Berkeley, California. [1] [7] Raised by professor and activist parents, she grew up in Berkeley with her older brother Samora, a pianist. [2] [4] She is biracial. [2]

Inspired by her brother to pursue music, she was first drawn to the flute after attending a Venezuelan concert at age four, and she began singing and playing flute at age seven. [3] [8] From ages 8 to 18, she attended the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra academy in the East Bay, where she studied flute and voice with a focus in jazz and classical music. [5] After being named a Presidential Scholar, she moved to New York to attend the Manhattan School of Music. [8] [9]

Career

When Elena and Samora Pinderhughes were 9 and 13 years old respectively, they professionally recorded their first album together, entitled Catch 22. [2] [3] At age 10, Elena Pinderhughes was featured in the HBO special The Music in Me, in which she played Latin jazz flute alongside other young musicians. [10]

Upon moving to New York for college, Pinderhughes was propelled into the city's jazz scene, where she met and began collaborating with musicians such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, and Terri Lyne Carrington. [8] In 2015, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (then performing as Christian Scott) released an album featuring Pinderhughes titled Stretch Music , which he subtitled (Introducing Elena Pinderhughes). [11] In 2016, Pinderhughes was named the number one "Rising Star" flutist in DownBeat magazine. [8]

In October 2016, Pinderhughes performed in Common's NPR Tiny Desk Concert at the White House, alongside Robert Glasper, Bilal, Karriem Riggins, Derrick Hodge, and Keyon Harrold. [12] She has also appeared in Tiny Desk Concerts by Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah in 2015, [13] Zaytoven in 2019, [14] and her brother Samora Pinderhughes in a virtual concert in 2022. [15]

In September 2023, Pinderhughes performed a five-part suite titled "A Diaspora Journey" alongside Beninese guitarist Lionel Loueke at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Pinderhughes and Loueke also both performed with Herbie Hancock for his headlining set at the festival. [16]

Discography

As leader

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Lovano</span> American jazz flautist, saxophonist, clarinettist

Joseph Salvatore Lovano is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist. Though best known as a tenor saxophonist, Lovano has also recorded on alto clarinet, flute and drums, amongst other instruments. He has earned a Grammy Award and several mentions in Down Beat magazine's critics' & readers' polls. His wife is singer Judi Silvano, with whom he records and performs. Lovano was a longtime member of the late drummer Paul Motian‘s trio alongside guitarist Bill Frisell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Harrison</span> American jazz saxophonist

Donald Harrison Jr. is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.

Hal Crook is a jazz trombonist. He has a degree from the Berklee College of Music and is considered to be a leading teacher and author in the field of jazz improvisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah</span> American jazz composer and trumpeter

Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah is an American jazz trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Loueke</span> Beninese guitarist and vocalist

Lionel Loueke is a guitarist and vocalist born in Benin. He moved to Ivory Coast in 1990 to study at the National Institute of Art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretchen Parlato</span> American jazz singer

Gretchen Parlato is an American jazz singer. She has performed and recorded with musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller and Lionel Loueke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambrose Akinmusire</span> American jazz trumpeter

Ambrose Akinmusire is an American avant-garde jazz composer and trumpeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esperanza Spalding</span> American jazz bassist and singer

Esperanza Emily Spalding is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two honorary doctorates: one from her alma mater Berklee College of Music and one from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Smith III</span> American jazz saxophonist and composer (born 1980)

Walter Smith III is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the Chair of the Woodwind Department at the Berklee College of Music.

<i>The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint</i> 2014 studio album by Ambrose Akinmusire

The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint is the third studio album by American jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. The album was released on March 10, 2014 by Blue Note, Capitol, and Universal labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Gilmore</span> American jazz drummer (born 1986)

Marcus Gilmore is an American jazz drummer. In 2009, New York Times critic Ben Ratliff included Gilmore in his list of drummers who are "finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself", saying, "he created that pleasant citywide buzz when someone new and special blows through New York clubs and jam sessions".

<i>August Greene</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Common, Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper (August Greene)

August Greene is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Common and record producers Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins, recording as a supergroup of the same name, self-released on March 9, 2018. Recording sessions took place at Electric Lady Studios, Red Bull Studios and Brooklyn Recording in New York, and at Henson Recording Studios and NRG Studios in Los Angeles. It features contributions from Samora Pinderhughes, Brandy, Bilal, Estelle, Jeremiah Abiah and James Hall Worship & Praise Choir on vocals, Burniss Travis on bass, Patrick Warren on keyboards and strings, Elena Pinderhughes on flute and Roy Hargrove on trumpet.

<i>The Emancipation Procrastination</i> 2017 studio album by Christian Scott

The Emancipation Procrastination is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on October 20, 2017, by Ropeadope Records. The album is the third and final installment of The Centennial Trilogy, with Ruler Rebel and Diaspora being the first and the second respectively. The Emancipation Procrastination was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 61st Grammy ceremony.

<i>Diaspora</i> (Christian Scott album) 2017 studio album by Christian Scott

Diaspora is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on June 23, 2017 by Ropeadope Records. The album is the second installment of The Centennial Trilogy, with Ruler Rebel and The Emancipation Procrastination being the first and the third ones respectively.

<i>Ruler Rebel</i> 2017 studio album by Christian Scott

Ruler Rebel is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on March 31, 2017 by Ropeadope Records. The album is the first installment of The Centennial Trilogy, with Diaspora and The Emancipation Procrastination being the second and the third ones respectively.

<i>Stretch Music</i> 2015 studio album by Christian Scott

Stretch Music (Introducing Elena Pinderhughes) is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on September 18, 2015 by Ropeadope Records. This is his fifth full-length studio album as a leader.

<i>Ancestral Recall</i> (album) 2019 studio album by Christian Scott

Ancestral Recall is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on March 22, 2019 by Ropeadope Records label. The album also features poet and songwriter Saul Williams.

<i>Axiom</i> (Christian Scott album) 2020 live album by Christian Scott

Axiom is a live album by American jazz musician Christian Scott released on August 28, 2020 by Ropeadope Records label. The album is also available in a special deluxe edition and as a vinyl release.

<i>When the Poems Do What They Do</i> 2023 studio album by Aja Monet

When the Poems Do What They Do is the debut studio album by American poet Aja Monet, released by drink sum wtr on June 9, 2023. The album has received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning</i> 2023 studio album by Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah

Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning is a 2023 album by American jazz musician Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah released by Ropeadope Records.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Greenstein, Colette (September 14, 2023). "Signature Series Presents the Elena Pinderhughes Berklee Septet | Berklee". Berklee. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dinkelspiel, Frances (December 14, 2011). "Berkeley's Pinderhughes siblings make music magic". Berkeleyside. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Elena Pinderhughes". New York Philharmonic. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Roos, Brandon (September 14, 2016). "After a Decade, 21-Year-Old Elena Pinderhughes Starts at the Beginning". KQED. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Post Staff (September 12, 2023). "Elena Pinderhughes Comes Home for RADIUM Runway". Alameda Post. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  6. ↑ Fordham, John (July 30, 2014). "Christian Scott review – African-American roots, vividly contemporary". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Elena Pinderhughes". Jazz Empowers. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Effinger, Shannon J. (November 17, 2016). "Samora & Elena Pinderhughes on Composing Transformations". DownBeat. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  9. ↑ ABC7 (June 18, 2013). "Multi-talented Berkeley teenager becomes Presidential Scholar recipient | ABC7 Los Angeles | abc7.com". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved October 8, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Shattuck, Kathryn (October 7, 2006). "Big Sounds, All but Bursting Out of Small Packages". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  11. ↑ Stevens, Nathan (November 19, 2015). "Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: Stretch Music (Introducing Elena Pinderhughes)". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  12. ↑ Boilen, Bob (October 4, 2016). "Tiny Desk Performance With Common At The White House". NPR Music. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ Jarenwattananon, Patrick (October 9, 2015). "Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR Music. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ Carmichael, Rodney (February 28, 2019). "Zaytoven: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR Music. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  15. ↑ Birch, Nikki (April 15, 2022). "Samora Pinderhughes: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert". NPR Music. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  16. ↑ Gilbert, Andrew (September 20, 2023). "5 can't-miss acts at Monterey Jazz Festival 2023". Datebook | San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.