NESTOR TORRES - radio vinilemania web-radio Latin - Jazz

NESTOR TORRES (JAZZ FLAUTIST)

Flautist and Latin Grammy Award winner Nestor Torres has been captivating audiences with his distinctive mix of Latin, Jazz and Pop sounds for more than two decades. By transforming the flute’s role in the contemporary musical landscape, this remarkable virtuoso has earned a devoted following, and has practically established a new genre of popular music.

Torres was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. He took flute lessons at age 12 and began formal studies at the Escuela Libre de M�sica, eventually attending Puerto Rico’s Inter-American University. At 18, he moved to New York, where he studied jazz and classical at the Mannes School of Music, and later at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. During this time he was able to develop his musical chops playing in Latin dance clubs, a scene in which he mingled with the likes of Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Hector Lavoe and Tito Puente. During this early period, the young Nestor recorded 3 Solo albums: Charanga En Colombia, Afro Charanga Volume ll, and No Me Provoques.

He moved to Miami in 1981, and spent the next several years developing a grass roots following via his electrifying live performances in the South Florida club scene. The local demand for a recording eventually led to a record deal with PolyGram and the 1989release of his debut album, Morning Ride.

The album climbed quickly to the top of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts, but his career was abruptly halted by a boating accident in 1990. Despite serious injuries, along with other setbacks related to the incident, Torres refused to accept defeat. In fact, during his stretch of misfortune, he learned that, “no matter how difficult and hopeless my situation seemed, my life was fine,” he says. “Rather than ask why, I decided to face the obstacles head-on and overcome them.”

So Torres started over. Still in what would be a lengthy recovery period, he recorded Dance of the Phoenix, released in 1991. Four years later, he released Burning Whispers, followed by Talk To Me in 1996, and Treasures Of The Heart in 1999. Included in this CD was his Latin-jazz composition “ Luna Latina”, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award (in 2000). Throughout this time he also performed and recorded with variety of Latin Pop & Jazz luminaries, including Gloria Estefan, Jon Secada, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter.

In addition to his achievements in the studio and on the stage during the ‘90s, Torres also received two honorary doctorate degrees; one in 1994 from Barry University, and the other in 2000 from Carlos Albizu University, for his commitment to youth education and cultural exchanges.

In 2001, Nestor Torres won a Latin Grammy for his CD This Side of Paradise. It was a bittersweet victory, given the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington at the time. “It was a great honor and privilege to win the Grammy,” Torres reflects. “But the fact that I was to receive it on 9/11 gave my work and my music a stronger sense of mission and purpose. Terrorism and violence come from ignorance, anger, arrogance and hopelessness. Music and Culture inspire and empower. They soothe the human heart and enlighten the spirit. I have made it my prime point to create music and live my life as an artist and a human being in a way that does just that.”

Nestor followed up his Latin Grammy win with My Alma Latina (My Latin Soul), which was nominated for the Grammy as well.

But it is in his most recent CD, Dances, Prayers & Meditations for Peace, that Torres chose to transcend his role as a musician and entertainer and take on the role of artist as an agent for change. Moved by the tragic events of 9/11, the war in Iraq and other instances of global unrest in the new century, Torres appeals to all of humanity to rise above the negative tendencies that separate us; by layering numerous shades of Classical, Jazz and World Music with Hip-Hop and Reggaeton grooves, he shows by musical example how we can embrace the universal elements that unites us.

“Everything that I am as an artist and human being is expressed through the music in this recording. That is why Dances, Prayers & Meditations for Peace will always be a part of everything I do.”

VIDEOS

NESTOR TORRES LIVE IN HAWAII

NESTOR TORRES - DANCES, PRAYERS & MEDITADIONS FOR PEACE (2006)

The 13 tracks on this CD represent a bold departure from Nestor's previously recorded work. While continuing to develop his music beyond the pop instrumental and Latin jazz genres for which he is known, Nestor has chosen to combine hip hop, Latin and reggaeton flavors with string orchestral, world and classical arrangements. Nestor has held nothing back in this recording and everything he is as an artist and a human being is expressed through his music.

Nestor Torres (flutes)

Ed Calle (alto saxophone)

Carlo Pennisi (nylon string guitar)

Guest artists

Human Revolution Media Player Preview
Let There Be Light Media Player Preview
Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law Media Player Preview
Peace With Myself Media Player Preview
David's Grace Media Player Preview
Creole Dreams Media Player Preview
A Widow's Lamentation (Lamentoso) Media Player Preview
Dance Because You Can Media Player Preview
Medicine Man Media Player Preview
House Call Media Player Preview
St. Peter's Prayer Media Player Preview
Till Forever Media Player Preview
Rhumboso Media Player Preview

more tracks can be heard on Vinilemania's Radio Channels

NESTOR TORRES - SIN PALABRAS (2004)

Album features Guest Musicians James Lloyd (Pieces of a Dream), Carlos Pennisi, Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets), Daniel Sembello, Baby Boy, Richie Gojate Garcia, Richard Bravo, Mark Garden, Chuck Willis and Wayne DeLano.