Pianist and composer Elio Villafranca’s musical excellence was first
widely recognized in 2003 by Jazz Times Magazine who selected his
debut album Incantations/Encantaciones (Universal Latin/Pimienta) as
one of the top 50 best jazz albums of the year. More recently,
Wynton Marsalis featured Mr. Villafranca, in a performance at the
Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Additionally,
Mr. Villafranca will soon be featured on Marian McPartland's Piano
Jazz Radio Broadcast on National Public Radio as a guest artist of
pianist and guest host, Geri Allen.
The Elio Villafranca Quartet has featured an array of accomplished
musicians including Pat Martino, Jane Bunnett, Terell Stafford, and
Eric Alexander, with whom he recorded his latest album entitled The
Source In Between. The Elio Villafranca Quartet has toured
nationally and internationally, performing at Jazz á Beaune Festival
in France and the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.
Mr. Villafranca has also gained the recognition of Latin and jazz
music elite as a sideman: He has collaborated with Jon Faddis, Sonny
Fortune, Dave Valentin, Lenny White, Horacio "El Negro" Hernández,
Ralph Peterson, Giovanni Hidalgo, Eddie Henderson, Babatunde Lea,
Miguel Zenón,
Cándido Camero, and
Johnny Pacheco among others. Mr.
Villafranca toured Europe with Grammy Nominated Blue Note recording
artists Jane
Bunnett (as part of The Spirits of Havana) and Pat
Martino (as part of the Pat Martino Quintet) with each of whom he
performed at various world-renowned venues including the Blue Note
Jazz Festival in Ghent, Belgium, the Blue Note Jazz Club in Milan,
Italy, the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, and the North Sea
Jazz Festival at The Hague, Holland.
Elio Villafranca was born in the Pinar del Río province of Western
Cuba and was classically trained in percussion and composition at
the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. Since his arrival in
the U.S., Villafranca has been involved in East and West coast jazz
and Latin jazz scenes. Inspired by jazz and other musical genres
from the African Diaspora, Villafranca creates unique cultural and
musical fusions with spirited, groundbreaking innovations. Mr.
Villafranca has composed and arranged original soundtracks for PBS
documentaries and a variety of independent films. Currently Elio
Villafranca resides in New York City and is represented by
CeibaTreeMusic.