Dino Saluzzi
Dino Saluzzi Group Introduction
L
ed by the prestigious Argentine composer and bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi (Salta, 1935), the Dino Saluzzi Group is made up of Dino (bandoneon), his brother Félix (saxophone and clarinet), his nephew Matías (bass) and his son, José María Saluzzi (guitars). This Argentine ensemble has toured the most demanding stages of Europe, Asia, America and Oceania, performing with a very high aesthetic and technical level. The music composed by the Saluzzi is distinguished by in-
novation, combining echoes from different sources –especially from north-western Argentina, also from tango and jazz– with sounds deeply connected with nature, producing a new sound space. As a result they create a new, completely original and free kind of music which, at times, integrates melodies understood and felt by a small group of people (native music) with a universal language, without leaving behind their own roots. All the artistic production of the Saluzzi, the hallmark of their work and of their legacy, reveals
their connection with Pachamama (Mother Earth), who guides the composer to create essential and universal sounds which, through music, connect us to our true selves.
For over 20 years this band of fathers and brothers has been giving concerts and doing tours. However, the origin of the Dino Saluzzi Group as a ensamble dates back to 1940 when Dino, together with his brothers Celso (bandoneon) and FĂŠlix (clarinet, in the beginning), urged by their father - the musician Cayetano Saluzzi - began with the tradition of playing together as family. For the Saluzzi, music is a language through which the mysteries of human spirit are conveyed, a way of meeting and, mainly, of knowledge transmission. Talking about a family of musicians turns music into a powerful
channel of human communication which, along with Dino Saluzzi´s north-western Argentine identity, invokes the universal language so as to transmit human values and offer us a spiritual experience of life, making us feel a part of the whole, a part of nature. Among the major works recorded by the family is Gabriel Kondor from Dino Saluzzi, a true masterpiece of Latin American music. The Dino Saluzzi Group recorded for ECM, one of the major companies in the world, the albums Mojotoro (1991), Juan Condori (2005) and El Valle de la Infancia (2014).
They have performed in such countries as China, Japan, Germany, Argentina, Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Turkey, Swiss, France, U.K., ex-Yugoslavia and Rumania, among others.
(...) “An album endowed with a sound that comes from the intensity of the wind and the powerful advance of sand, which preserves memories. ” Leopoldo “Teuco” Castilla At the release of the CD ‘Navidad de los Andes’ (ECM, 2011) by Dino Saluzzi
Dino Saluzzi Origin
Composer
Perfomer
Born in 1935 at Campo Santo, a small village of Salta in the north of Argentina, in a humble family.
His music is a sign of development and cultural innovation.
As a bandoneon player, he has a worldwide reputation, becoming one of the best musicians in the world.
His father, the musician Cayetano Saluzzi, gave him music as a profession, a way of living. This kept him and his brothers away from the sugar mill - an old American colonial hacienda where sugar cane is processed -, which was the destination for most of the local residents. At the age of 7 he began to play the bandoneon, establishing a close fraternal relationship with his instrument, his faithful friend. His technical development started in Buenos Aires, where he mastered his style and met the most important musicians of that moment. He has always felt a deep vocation for music and loyalty for his thoughts, which made him develop his artistic genius, facing great difficulties with effort and sacrifice accompanied by his wife and children.
The noticeable accent in his cultural origin – especially in the almost ritualistic relationship between man and the music of his region – with a universal projection, makes him unique and represents his main stylistic mark as a composer. The prolific work of Dino Saluzzi starts at the age of 17 and since then he has composed countless works of chamber music, symphonic music, for bands of tango, jazz, folk and other types of music, opening up a new horizon with sounds that innovate our way of listening and feeling music. His language has taken the sounds of northern Argentina and other Argentine music to the most prestigious stages in the world.
He has been invited to perform his music in the five continents. He consolidated the bandoneon as a symphonic instrument in the world and starred in important historical moments with artists such as AnĂbal Troilo, Astor Piazzolla, Alfredo Gobbi, Mario Francini and Gato Barbieri among others. Internationally, Dino Saluzzi has shared the stage with several well-known artists, including George Gruntz, Charlie Hadem, Marc Johnson, Pale Danielson, and Anja Lechner.
hancing the expression and the sound of the two instruments. Initially, he played the bandoneon as his brothers Celso and Dino, but later, being very young, he began to play the clarinet and then the saxophone. When he decided to live in his home province, he founded the Music School of the Province of Salta, where a lot of famous artists got their education, and which he is still directing. At the same time, he was one of the founders of the Orquesta Municipal de Cámara of Salta. He has shared stages with important musicians from all over the world. He goes on tours around Europe with his brother Dino Saluzzi and the cellist Anja Lechner, a trio which seduces the European audience. Among the most important records of this trio is Navidad de los Andes (ECM, 2012), considered by experts a masterpiece of Latin American music.
Félix “Cuchara” Saluzzi His brother and great stage mate, Felix Saluzzi (Campo Santo, 1942) provides a perfect and captivating sound with a deep understanding of Dino’s musical language, en-
Matías Saluzzi Since he was a little boy, Matías Saluzzi (Salta, 1978) has shown great talent for music. When he was only 6 years old, he took part in family musical events. Introduced to music by his father Félix Saluzzi, Matías was also influenced by Dino in his way of understanding and interpreting music.
He started playing in a tango group with his father and his uncle Celso Saluzzi and, since he was 16 years old, he has taken part in the international tours of the Saluzzi Family. His first record with the family ensemble is the album Juan Condori (ECM, 2005). He has an amazing intuition for music, which allows him to adapt to different kinds of music like jazz, blues, soul and tango. In the band of the Saluzzi Family, he plays the electric bass and also the double bass, which offers a range of sounds for the requirements of each piece of music. He has shared stages with Luis Salinas, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Steve Swallow, Ray Brown, among other famous musicians in the world.
José María Saluzzi Dino Saluzzi’s youngest son (Buenos Aires, 1975) follows his father´s steps as to the conception of musical interpretation and creation. When he was a little boy, he began as drummer and percussionist accompanying Dino on tours, recordings and in concerts. His
first record was Mojotoro (ECM, 1991), at the age of 16. When he was 18, he made a professional change and decided to play the guitar. He studied with the masters Walter Malosetti and Aníbal Arias in Buenos Aires and with Stanley Jordan and Ralph Towner abroad. He studied composition at Universidad Católica Argentina and Universität für Musik und Kunst Wien, Austria, where he lived for more than 10 years, having a special connection of cultural identity. At the age of only 20, he recorded as a guitarist together with his father the album Cité de la Musique (ECM, 1996), a delicate and intense work which creates an atmosphere of intimate beauty made by the trio of guitar, bass and bandoneon.
Dino Saluzzi’s Discography As leading musician
Soy Buenos Aires - Pedro Orillas (RCA Camden, 1970) De Vuelta a Salta (RCA Camden, 1972) Bandoneón Tierra Adentro (RCA Camden, 1973) Bandoneón Tierra Adentro Vol.2 (RCA Camden, 1975) Dedicatoria (Melopea, 1977) Bermejo (Microfón, 1980) Kultrum (ECM, 1982) Vivencias (BMG, 1984) Vivencias II (BMG, 1984 – Editado en 1987) Once Upon a Time - Far Away in the South (ECM, 1985) Volver, con Enrico Rava (ECM, 1986) Andina (ECM, 1988) One Night in 88, con Charlie Mariano y Wolfgang Dauner (Mood Records, 1988) Live in Concert (Mood Records, 1990) Pas de Trois (Mood Records, 1990) Mojotoro (ECM, 1991) Live at the Deutsche Theater, 1984 (West Wind, 1991) Rios, con Anthony Cox y David Friedman (Intuition, 1995) Cité de la Musique (ECM, 1996) Kultrum: Music for bandoneón and String Quartet, con el Rosamunde Quartett (ECM, 1998) Ajó, with Enzo Favata, (Dunya, 2000) Responsorium (ECM, 2001) Senderos, with Jon Christensen (ECM, 2002) Juan Condori (ECM, 2005) Ojos Negros, with Anja Lechner (ECM, 2006) El Encuentro (ECM, 2009) Navidad de Los Andes, with Anja Lechner y Félix Saluzzi (ECM, 2011) El Valle de la Infancia (ECM 2014)
As an accompanist
- Los Chalchaleros. La Cerrillana (RCA, 1972). Quiero Nombrar A Mi Amigo (RCA, 1972) - Leon Gieco IV LP, (Music Hall, 1978) - Nestor Astarita y otros Buenos Aires Jazz Fusión, Volúmen 1 (1981) - Al Di Meola Di Meola Plays Piazzolla (Atlantic, 1996) - George Grüntz. Theatre (ECM, 1983) - Maria João Fábula (Universal, 1996) - Rickie Lee Jones Pop Pop (Warner Bros., 1991) - Tomasz Stańko From the Green Hill (ECM, 1998)
Discography
Dino Saluzzi and ECM For his first tour of Europe he was invited by George Gr端ntz to Norway, but who really supported the development of the genius of this Argentine musician all over the world, was the musician and producer Manfred Eicher, founder of the prestigious ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music, 1969) recording company. ECM is a superb recording company distinguished by the high quality of edition of its records, created as an artistic unit of contents and presentation. Important musicians such as Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, Paul Bley, Mal Waldron, Egberto Gismonti, Ralph Towner, Jack DeJohnette, Terje Rypdal, Bob Stenson, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen, Kenny Wheeler, Don Cherry and Dino Saluzzi (the only leading Argentine musician of ECM), among others, have made their contribution to the success of this internationally well-known recording company.
Navidad de los Andes The album, with original compositions by Dino Saluzzi, is ethereal and magic. The LP of the brothers Dino and Félix Saluzzi and the German Anja Lencher was released in August of 2011 by ECM Records. Leopoldo Castilla describes it as “an album endowed with a sound that comes from the intensity of the wind and the powerful advance of sand, which preserves memories. Among these forces, the melody creates spaces which rise and fall slowly, like empty skies. Suddenly, the tango, a strange element to all this, appears on the scene, with a hat and a black moon. A long shadow, excited by a river of music.” For the Ecuadorian art reviewer Rafael Barriga, Navidad de los Andes is a masterpiece of contemporary Latin American music. It is the climax of a career based on a multiplicity of elements and sounds from the south of the world, which come together with a proper and unique style.
El encuentro - Film “El Encuentro” follows Dino Saluzzi and the cellist Anja Lechner around Argentina, Germany, Armenia, Italy, the Netherlands and Swiss. From totally different origins, these two musicians have been working together since 1990, beginning with Kultrum (ECM 1251), an alliance between Dino Saluzzi and Rosamunde Quartett. The camara is included in the trip and shares the process of musical creation of these well-known artists in very different situations: concerts, rehearsals, recordings, and informal situations, accompanied by a cast that includes the composer Tigran Mansurian, the arranger Levon Eskenian, the pianist George Gruntz and the saxophonist/ clarinettist Félix Saluzzi, Saluzzi’s brother. See the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lehfb5_axeU
Directors: Norbert Wiedmer/Enrique Ros Total time: 52 min Subtitles: German, English, Spanish Format: DVD NTSC, 16:9 (anamorph)
News European Tour in request In April and May 2015, Dino Saluzzi Group will be presenting El Valle de la Infancia in several cities in Europe. In July 2013, the Dino Saluzzi Group finished their new album, El Valle de la Infancia. This is the first work recorded completely in Buenos Aires at Estudio SaluzziMusic. The material was mastered and produced in Europe by ECM. This album is an unpredictable deployment of Argentinian musicals genres (candombe , milonga, zamba and carnavalito), that transport us to a place full of culture and tradition with an especial appointment with the Rio de la Plata from the particular and ever renewing Dino Saluzzi’s look. El Valle de la Infancia embodies tradition and transformed into eternal resonances of origin that respects and venerates the essence of the human spirit. For more information about the tour: http://www.arcoyflecha.es/webapp/proximamenteByArtist;js essionid=7e6ajx34v8gw Contact tour: s.merino@arcoyflecha.es
Dino Saluzzi Group
Produced by SaluzziMusic Contact: saluzzimusic@gmail.com
Booking Arco y flecha www.arcoyflecha.es Edition
Jorge Baudino Ediciones Content/Texts
Lujรกn Baudino Photographs
Juan Hitters ECM www.ecmrecords.com
Saluzzi Music