Polo Orti

Bio:

After graduating from the Valencia, Madrid and Tenerife Classical Music Conservatory in 1990 (Degree with a Major in Classical Piano), Ortí travelled to the USA with a scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music (Boston). It was in this city where he also received composition lessons from the renowned Lyle Mays, keyboardist of the Pat Metheny Group. In the States, Ortí played countless shows in jazz clubs. He also toured the Nordic countries with his band "COCO”. Throughout his musical career, Ortí has received several awards both for his compositions and his performances. In 1991, vibraphonist Gary Burton, together with guitarist Pat Metheny, Mitchel Forman, Will Lee and Peter Eskine, include three compositions by Ortí (Quick and Running, Autumn and Tiempos Felices) in their album "Reunion" (GRP 1990), which reached the top of the U.S. Billboard list. Ortí has continued recording. His first live recording from 1993, “Improvisaciones sobre Piano” was warmly welcomed by critics. In 1998 introduced his album “Polo” produced by Gabino Diego (Actor & Oscar winner for best foreigner movie) In 2000, he also released “Polo Ortí Group Live”, recorded at the International Canary Islands Heineken Jazz Festival. His most recent album is “Suite de la Amistad”, composed by Ortí. A double CD and DVD recorded live in July 2006 at the Tenerife Auditorium with Polo Ortí Quartet, Gary Burton, Tenerife Symphony Orchestra (OST) conducted by Joan Albert Amargos, and Jorge Pardo, world famous Flamenco flute musician (has toured with Chick Corea and Paco de Lucía among others). Orti has done countless performances in cities around the world (Boston, New York, LA, Mexico City, Quito, Berlin, Oslo, Milan, Manchester, etc. ..) and all over Spain, whether at International Jazz Festivals, local venues, theaters and public spaces with different formations: Polo Ortí Jazz Piano, Polo Ortí & Symphony Orchestra, Polo Ortí Trio or Polo Ortí Group. POLO ORTI has shared stage with international artists such as Herbie Hancock, the Yellow Jackets, Tete Montoliú, the New York Voices, Eric Marienthal Band, Michel Camilo Trio, to name a few. He has also worked together with world - acclaimed musicians like Gary Burton, Antonio Sánchez, Scott Colley or Julian Lage.

Member Since:

January 14, 2008

Members:

"Gary Burton meets Polo Ortí". The relationship between Ortí and Burton dates back to 1990 when Ortí gave to Burton a cassette with some of his compositions. Three of those compositions were included in Burton's 1991 album Reunion, featuring Pat Metheny, Mitchel Forman, Willy Lee, and Peter Erskine. Some of Ortí's tunes topped the U.S. Jazz Billboard charts that year. After that, Ortí was granted with a scholarship by the Canary Islands government to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he spent three years. The next collaboration between Ortí and Burton took place in 2006 with a series of concerts at the Tenerife Auditorium and the Alfredo Krauss Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). They performed Polo's piece "Suite de la Amistad" (Friendship Suite) with saxophone/flute player Jorge Pardo (Paco de Lucía, Chick Corea) and the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joan Albert Amargós. The record label Sello Autor released a CD and a DVD of those performances. The Next meeting with Gary Burton was in Valencia in October 2008, where the two musicians performed together with Antonio Sánchez in the event for the placement of the first stone of Berklee Valencia's building. It was there where Ortí proposed to Burton to work together again sometime. A few months later, (November 2009,) Burton and Polo formed a quintet with guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez. The quintet did a successful tour named “Estrejazz” (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Madrid and Milano).

Influences:

Polo creates music that in many cases is difficult to restrict to just one certain style. Undoubtedly the personal and unique character Ortí gives to many of his compositions has earned him numerous accolades from foremost jazz musicians (Gary Burton, Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancok, Keith Jarret, etc). Together with these talented musicians of solid musical education, Polo Ortí offers a repertoire of new compositions and jazz standards that the group performs with great freshness and which, above all, conveys his personal vision of jazz.

Sounds Like:

Entrevista para el programa Plan7 de la Televisión Canaria Gary Burton con Polo Orti, Antonio Sanchez y Victor Merlo 2008 Berklee Valencia Polo Ortí Trío concierto en Teatro Guimerá año 2000 Polo Ortí: piano, Agustín Carló: bajo, Juanjo Ortí: batería. Suite de la amistad by Polo Ortí, Auditorio de Tenerife 2006 * Preludio Polo Ortí: piano, Gary Burton: vibrafono, Víctor Merlo: contrabajo, Juanjo Ortí: batería, Jose Pedro Pérez: percusión, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Director: Joan Albert Amargós. ..>..>..>..> Polo Orti Group con Jorge Pardo, Auditorio de Tenerife 2006 * Song for Chick ..>..> Polo Ortí: piano ..> Jorge Pardo: flauta ..> Víctor Merlo: contrabajo ..> Juanjo Ortí: batería ..> Jose Pedro Pérez: percusión ..>..>

Record Label:

Jazzporti, SL