Raúl Midón

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Raul Midón

Raul Midon.jpg

Raul Midón at TED2007 in 2007
Background information
Born (1966-03-14) March 14, 1966 (age 52)
Embudo, New Mexico, U.S.
Genres Pop, rock, Latin pop
Occupation(s) Singer, musician
Instruments Guitar, vocals, mouth trumpet
Years active 1993–present
Labels Artistry
Website www.raulmidon.com

Raúl Midón (born March 14, 1966) is a Grammy Nominated American singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Mexico.

Singer-songwriter musician who writes, composes and sings

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies.

Guitarist person who plays the guitar

A guitarist is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar by singing or playing the harmonica.

Biography

Early life

Midón was born prematurely in a rural hospital in Embudo, New Mexico, to parents of Argentine and African American descent. His father was a folkloric dancer from Argentina. Midon and his twin brother Marco were blind as infants after spending time in an incubator without adequate eye protection. The sound of music became integral to Midon's life at age four when his father introduced him to the drum. Midon learned how to play guitar while performing in educational programs at a school for the blind, then at an academy in Santa Fe while completing his last two years of high school. Midon then attended the University of Miami, which he selected for its jazz curriculum. He graduated from the University of Miami in 1990.

Embudo, New Mexico human settlement in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States of America

Embudo is an unincorporated community in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. It is on NM State Road 68. The Embudo Station is located 2.9 miles south of the intersection of NM State Road 75, near where the Embudo River flows into the Rio Grande.

University of Miami private university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States

The University of Miami is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. As of 2018, the university enrolls 17,331 students in 12 separate colleges/schools, including the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in Miami's Health District, a law school on the main campus, and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science focused on the study of oceanography and atmospheric sciences on Virginia Key, with research facilities at the Richmond Facility in southern Miami-Dade County.

Career

The Raul Midon Trio live @Leverkusener Jazztage 2017 The Raul Midon Trio - Leverkusener Jazztage 2017-1537.jpg
The Raul Midón Trio live @Leverkusener Jazztage 2017

Midon began his career as a session singer for Latin recording artists, including Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, Julio Iglesias, and Jose Feliciano. After touring with Shakira, he moved to New York City to pursue a solo career. In New York City he worked with producer and DJ Little Louie Vega. He wrote and recorded several songs, including "Cerca De Mi" with Vega and his production team under the band name Elements of Life. The band was led by Vega and toured Europe, Japan, and Australia during 2003 and 2004.

Shakira Colombian singer

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is a Colombian singer, songwriter, dancer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Born and raised in Barranquilla, her first studio albums, Magia and Peligro, failed to attain commercial success in the 1990s; however, she rose to prominence in Latin America with her major-label debut, Pies Descalzos (1996), and her fourth album, Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998). According to Billboard, she has sold over 10 million albums in Latin America alone by 2001.

Julio Iglesias Spanish singer-songwriter

Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer.

Little Louie Vega American musician

Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr., better known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production team.

Midón was signed by Arif Mardin to Manhattan Records. In Mardin's long career, Midon was his first signing of an artist. Mardin and his son Joe produced Midon's debut album, State of Mind (2005). [1] The album featured a guest performance by Stevie Wonder, one of his idols, another one with Jason Mraz, and a song written in tribute to Donny Hathaway entitled "Sittin' in the Middle." Midon is an avid amateur radio enthusiast, [2] who used his call sign (KB5ZOT) using Morse code. Midon released the album A World Within a World on September 25, 2007.

Arif Mardin Turkish-American music producer

Arif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for over 30 years, as producer, arranger, studio manager, and vice president, before moving to EMI and serving as vice president and general manager of Manhattan Records. His collaborations include working with Queen, the Bee Gees, Hall & Oates, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, Chaka Khan, Laura Nyro, Phil Collins, Daniel Rodriguez, and Norah Jones. Mardin was awarded eleven Grammy Awards.

Manhattan Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group and operates as a branch of Capitol Music Group.

Joe Mardin is a music producer, arranger and engineer from New York City. He is a Berklee College of Music graduate and is the son of producer Arif Mardin. Joe is also a conductor, songwriter and drummer.

In 2008 he built a home studio with the help of Cakewalk and the company Dancing Dots, which designs technology for the blind. The studio allowed him to produce music from home without the need of an engineer. His song "Everyone Deserves a Second Chance", which appeared on Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca's album Akokan, was recorded at his home. He recorded two songs for the Generosity Water project at his home studio, which he calls The Basement Studio.

Cakewalk, Inc. was a music production software company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company's best known product was their professional-level digital audio workstation (DAW) software, SONAR. SONAR integrated multi-track recording and editing of digital audio and MIDI. The company also offered a full range of music software products, including Pyro Audio Creator—a digital music management program, and Dimension Pro—a virtual instrument.

Roberto Fonseca Cuban musician

Roberto Fonseca is a Cuban jazz pianist. From an early age, Fonseca was surrounded by music: his father was drum player Roberto Fonseca, Sr, his mother, Mercedes Cortes Alfaro, a professional singer, and his two older half-brothers from his mother's previous marriage to the pianist and musician Jesús "Chucho" Valdés are Emilio Valdés (drums) and Jesús "Chuchito" Valdés Jr. (piano).

<i>Akokan</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Roberto Fonseca

Akokan is the sixth studio album by Cuban jazz pianist Roberto Fonseca. It was released in 2009 by Enja Records. The album's title means "from the heart" in the Yoruba language. Recorded in 2008 in the EGREM studio in Havana, it is a tribute to Rubén González and Ibrahim Ferrer. The album was well received by critics.

Midon worked with Grammy Award-winning producer Larry Klein on the album Synthesis (Decca, 2010). He moved to Santa Monica, California, while recording the album, which featured Vinnie Colaiuta, Dean Parks, Jamie Muhoberac, Larry Goldings, Paulinho Da Costa, and Klein on bass. Two years later a live album and DVD followed. The album Don't Hesitate (Mack Avenue/Artistry, 2014) was recorded at his home studio. The album featured appearances by Lizz Wright, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Miller, and Richard Bona. He wrote the song "Mi Amigo Cubano" with Bill Withers and it led to the film Still Bill (2014).

In 2015, Midon joined the 14th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel. He was also a judge for the 12th and 13th Independent Music Awards. Midon sang the song at the credits for Spike Lee's 2004 LGBT film, She Hate Me , titled "Adam n' Eve n' Eve". His song "Everybody" was featured in the soundtrack of the movie The Peaceful Warrior starring Nick Nolte. Midon's national television debut was on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 28, 2005. Herbie Hancock featured Midon on the album Possibilities (2006), performing Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You".

2017 marks the release of Raul's album "Bad Ass And Blind," which was nominated for a Grammy Best Vocal Jazz Album. He continues to explore music in and outside of the genre of jazz. in 2016 he toured the United States under the Monterey Jazz Festival moniker with Gerald Clayton, Nicholas Payton, Gregory Hutchinson, and Joe Sanders. Several of the tunes on this album feature these musicians as well as Lionel Cordew on drums and Richard Hammond on Bass.

Discography

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References