Emilio Solla
Two-time Grammy nominee, Argentine-born and NY-based pianist and composer Emilio Solla's first band, Apertura, (1983-1989) was praised by Astor Piazzolla as one of the most interesting new sounds in the Buenos Aires scene in 1986.
Nowadays, with eleven CDs as band leader and more than forty as arranger/producer, he is regarded by peers and critics as one of the most outstanding and personal composers in the Tango-Jazz field, a musical language which blends Argentine tango and folk with jazz and other contemporary music styles. He has performed all around Europe, Japan, the US and Latin America to raving reviews in many of the most important Jazz houses and Festivals, such as Bim Huis, Lincoln Center, Marciac, Blue Note, Fasching and more.
Solla moved to Barcelona in 1996, and to New York in 2006, always in search of personal and artistic growth. Since in New York, he has composed for, arranged for and performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, Edmar Castañeda, Yo-Yo Ma, Cristina Pato and many others, besides performing with his quintet Bien Sur! in town at the Jazz Standard, Dizzy’s and Smalls, featuring saxophonist Chris Cheek. Former members of this band include Donny Mc Caslin and Jeff Ballard. This quintet released its first CD, Bien Sur! (Fresh Sound, 2010), with special guest Billy Hart, included in the Best of 2010 list by Downbeat Magazine.
He continues to tour Europe with Emilio Solla & Afines, his Barcelona’s based quintet, while working as a freelance arranger and pianist in different projects in NY. Since November 2010, he is leading a nine piece orchestra, La Inestable de Brooklyn, featuring some of the strongest jazz players in NYC (John Ellis, Ryan Keberle) whose first CD, Second Half (2015) was Nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Latin Jazz Album. In November 2014 Solla’s first symphonic work had its World Premiere at the Palau de la Musica, during the Barcelona Jazz Festival and its US Premier at the Chicago Symphony Hall by the Chicago Sinfonietta, to raving reviews.
2017 brought him back to Buenos Aires for the Premiere of the symphonic version of his Suite Piazzollana. In 2018, he started composing for his brand new project, the Tango Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece big band using a bandoneon, taking his blend of Latin American sounds and jazz to a whole new level of accomplishment. This orchestra has just released its first album, “Puertos: Music from International Waters” on August 28, 2019. One piece of the album went on to receive a Grammy nomination in 2020 for Best Instrumental Arrangement, sharing the nomination with John Williams, Jacob Collier and Vince Mendoza.