Aldemar Valentín, the Boricua with a soul of Jarocho

Called by many musicians as the ´Puerto Rican with the soul of a jarocho (person from Veracruz)´ and considered by emerging generations as a reference and a exceptional Jazz expert. Aldemar Valentín, musician and bassist placed in Xalapa since eight years ago.

Born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, the also composer grew up listening to Rhythm and Blues (R&B) Funk and Salsa that inherited from his father who lived in the Bronx of New York during his youth. He studied at the Conservatory of Music and at the honored Berklee College of Music in Boston, United Stated.
After touring several cities, he found his place of residence in Xalapa where he has worked as educator at the Jazz Institute of the Universidad Veracruzana- JazzUv- in which he came to cover only one semester and that in the end he would dedicate a large part of his profesional experience.

Along with his career as a teacher, Aldemar Valentín has developed his musical project that is reflected in five record productions, (´Finding My Path´ from 2009, ´Ficciones´ from 2011, ´Nueva Visión’ from 2014, his self-titled album from 2020 and the most recent title ´Arrebol´ from 2022) and a single (´El Mundo´ from 2021).

Throughout his career, he has collaborated with great musicians and performers ranging from Osmany Paredes, Magos Herrera and Chico Pinheiro to Paquito Cruz, Tonatiuh Vázquez, Danilo Pérez, Roberto Sánchez Picasso, Alex Lozano, among many others.

He comments in an interview that his influences have been kind of ecletic, since his style has been fed by the Progressive Rock of Rush and other eighties bands, by funk and R&B, to the notes of Latin Jazz- or Afro-Caribbean Jazz by Tito Puente, Edward Simon and his countyman David Sánchez; as well as fusion styles of American bands like Yellowjackets or Weather Report, even groups from the called World Music genre.

Arrebol, Recently released material that is available on all digital platforms, is a kind of musical summary that includes the reinterpretation of some previously recorded songs but with new arrangements. This is how the expert Aldemar Valentín defines this production of seven cuts that denote a certain longing for his Caribbean roots.

The Puerto Rican musician bets on the new generations as an engine of exchange and professional growth, at the time of recommending patience and respect for the natural processes within music.

Aldemar Valentín is our musical recommendation of the week. Listen to his proposal through the frencuencies and digital platforms of Radio Más.