''Gifted Spanish pianist artist Alex Conde, has his way with the high priest of bop in an adventurous all-Monk program.'' - Jazz Critic BILL MILKOWSKI

''... [Alex's] Thelonious Monk is rock solid. Its rhapsodic elegance is informed by all of the mystery and majesty of Monkish-ness. The elemental irreverence of Monk-music has been mastered by the young Spaniard. He worships at the altar of originality, as Thelonious Monk did, pouring his twisting duende into molten chords. His phrases make for lines that erupt with volcanic brilliance and a viscosity that is unlike anything that has been sung of Thelonious Monk in a very long time." - RAUL DA GAMA, LATIN JAZZ NETWORK

Conde is an excellent pianist who would command attention playing anything, and I look forward to hearing him play his own compositions. But for any lover of Monk or Latin music this is an irresistible combination, with the added spice of a unique Flamenco flavor. MARK SULLIVAN, @ALLABOUTJAZZ

"Alex reinvents Monk's music with his remarkably flexible, highly interactive rhythm tandem of Chambers and Arkin while showcasing his impeccable technique, remarkable chops and fertile imagination along the way... " - JAZZTIME

09 Pannonica

08 Ruby my Dear

07 Evidence

06 Monks Dream

05 Round Midnight

04 Ugly Beauty

03 Think of One

02 Thelonious

01 Played Twice

Alex Conde, Spanish flamenco-jazz pianist is launching his fourth flamenco jazz album “ORIGINS”, a fusion album from the roots and elements of flamenco (bulerías, soleáres), Afro-Cuban (guaguancó and rumba) and American jazz form. “ORIGINS” will be introduced for Pre-sales on April 13th and will be released to the market on May 11th, 2018. 
‘This work is an exploration of the musical origins of this international pianist who has traveled the world and explored the roots of Afro-Cuban music and jazz from a flamenco perspective’, says Alex Conde. ‘With ORIGINS, I wanted to explore the mystery of the clave, which can be found in Spanish flamenco palos like seguiriya, bulería or soleá. These rhythms are unique and specific expressions from different region in Spain, where a unique melting pot of sounds and cultures (Jewish, Moorish, and Gypsy) co-existed for centuries’. 
Alex Conde blends all these ingredients in compositions like “Bulerijazz”, a piece that combines the sounds, rhythms and flavors of a bulería de Jerez with a touch of the Jazz Messengers three-horns sounds in Caravan, bridging Jerez and New York City in one go. He also shows his colors on “Upper West Side”, a Tango flamenco (not to be confused with the Argentinian tango) that is not too fast, not too slow, and that merges the flavor of Latin-jazz trumpet solo improvisation with a traditional compás reminiscent of Granada. 
For this adventure, Alex Conde had the fortune to team up with world-class artists from New York City, the Latin-jazz and Jazz “mecca” of the world - Conrad Herwig, Marcus Gilmore, Dayna Stephens, Brian Lynch, Luques Curtis, John Benítez, Camilo Molina and Guillermo Barrón. Alex also counted with the contribution of special guests like the renown Spaniard copla singer Alejandro Conde Sr. - his father, who lends his voice for a dramatic rendition of the Spanish classic “El Emigrante”, Ismael Fernandez, who leads the charge in “Soleá de Ismael”, and the up-and-coming jazz guitarist from New York City Andres Abenante. 
The release of “ORIGINS” is done under the Uprising Music, a new record label dedicated to produce music that bridges communities from diverse backgrounds; transmitting traditions through generations and focusing on multi- cultural artists, primarily in or from the NYC-area, deeply rooted in the musical traditions of the Afro-Caribbean. 
‘On his exuberant Uprising Music debut. Alex Conde showcases his diverse musical talents that glorifies his flamenco roots. His creativity and pianistic virtuosity will capture and satisfy a new generation of music lovers’, says Eddie Palmieri II, son and manager of Afro-Caribbean and Latin-jazz legendary pianist Eddie Palmieri, and one of the founding partners of Uprising Music. 
‘From the moment I met Alex as my Flamenco-jazz teacher, I knew we will end up do something together. His pianistic style and profound knowledge of the flamenco genre made working with him an irresistible project’, says Frank Abenante, Executive Producer of ORIGINS, founder of FA BrandTuning and one of the founding partners of Uprising Music. 
For this project, Uprising Music teams up Ropeadope as distribution and marketing partner. Ropeadope is an independent record label known for unique recordings that cross genres. Founded in 1999, the label has released over 400 recordings, and has been at the forefront of the new music business, tailoring a new model of artist support and unique social media strategies. 
‘The transmission of human emotion that emanates from Alex Conde is sublime and powerful. Origins allows us to get lost in history and find our way back home to the present moment with ease. We are honored to present this music to the world’, says Louis Marks, President of Ropeadope 
ORIGINS will be available in iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and all other digital stores on Friday, May 11th, 2018. Friday, April 13th, 2018 - New York City.

08 Descarga por Bulerías

07 Jungle Street

Alex Conde (AlexConde.com) is a vibrant, Flamenco and Jazz pianist, improviser, composer and music educator living in New York City. A Spaniard, 
Alex is a graduate in Classical Music from the Jose Iturbi Conservatory of Music in Valencia and in Jazz piano from el Liceu de Barcelona in Spain. He won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he received the Jazz Revelation Award and earned a degree in Jazz Performance in 2009 as well as a Master’s Degree in Piano Jazz Performance at the Aaron Copland Conservatory in New York City. 
Alex has studied with contemporary jazz luminaries including George Garzone, Danilo Pérez, Dave Santoro, or Grammy Award-winners Joe Lovano, Maria Schneider. 
He has appeared with renowned flamenco companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the country, including Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco, with whom he was nominated for an Izzie (Isadora Duncan Dance) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Text in 2011. In summer 2014 Alex performed with Juan Siddi Flamenco Santa Fe Aspen Ballet, in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Aspen, Colorado. 
Alex has performed in international jazz and world music festivals, along with top artists such as Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon), John Patitucci, Melissa Aldana, Chucho Valdés, The Bad Plus, Vicente Amigo, Dave Samuels and many others. Some of the festivals include: Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, Eurojazz Festival in Mexico, Yoshi’s San Francisco JazzFest, Cowell Theatre in San Francisco, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Panama Jazz Festival, Beantown Jazz Festival in Boston, and in Canada the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, Halifax Jazz Festival, and Flamenco Festival Maria Osende and was honored to perform at the 2009 opening concert of the Berklee College of Music — Valencia Campus (Spain), 
Alex’s albums to date include: Jazz and Claps, recorded with international artists from Greece (Magda Giannikov), Japan (Keita Ogawa), Spain and the U.S.; Barrio del Carmen, a fusion of flamenco, jazz and classical Spanish music blended with a string quartet and “cante jondo” (flamenco deep song); and Monk, a tribute album to the great Thelonious Monk with multi Grammy artist John Santos and legendary bassist Jeff Chambers, which received accolades 
from Downbeat Magazine, All About Jazz, Latin Jazz Network among other magazines, bringing him to stages like Portland Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s and the SF Jazz Center. 
Alex has composed two symphonic works, several string quintets as well as new piano music based on original flamenco compositions that were performed by the Oakland Youth Orchestra and the Awesome Orchestra in 2016 at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. 
Alex has also been featured in the movie “Twelve Pianos’’ a documentary about Mauro Fortissimo and Dean Mermell, featured in the San Francisco Film Festival 2017. 
Alex is currently enrolled at the Aaron Copland School of Music where he is finishing his masters in Jazz piano and arranging with composer Michael P. Mossman, Jeb Patton and Antonio Hart. 
His latest album ‘’Origins’’ 2018 (Uprising x Ropeadope) is a fusion album merging the roots and elements of Flamenco (bulerias, soleares), Afro-Cuban (guaguanco and rumba) and American Jazz forms. The mystery of the clave is found in flamenco palos like seguiriya or soleá. The album is an exploration into the musical roots of an international pianist who has traveled the world and explored the roots of Afro-Cuban music and Jazz from a Flamenco perspective. 
For this adventure, he has teamed up with world class artists such as Conrad Herwig, Marcus Gilmore, Dayna Stephens, Brian Lynch, Luques Curtis, Ismael Fernandez and Guillermo Barron among others. 
Music from the album will be debuted in NYC on June 28, 2018 at the Symphony Space.

Alex Conde - Piano Flamenco & Jazz

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