"A tight and engaging ensemble. Not a weak spot on the album."
Dave McElfresh
Jazz Now
Contact us at:
losmasvalientes@hotmail.com
Performer Bio’s
Jessica Valiente
flute/musical director
Jessica holds a BA in music from Barnard College in conjunction with Manhattan School of Music, an MA in music performance from Queens College and is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has performed in numerous theater, classical, jazz, experimental and Latin groups; the classic salsa conjunto of Orlando Marín, the Afro-Dominican folkloric group, Pa'lo Monte, the critically-acclaimed bilingual Puerto Rican repertory theater, Teatro Pregones, and is a member of The Blue Potatoes, performing folk, rock and world music for children. Ms. Valiente has also distinguished herself as a leader, both past and present; she has led various classical chamber groups and jazz combos, and continues to lead her flute, violin and cello trio, Non Sequitur, with which she has performed for over 25 years. Los Más Valientes’ three CD’s on the Laughing Buddha label have all received wide critical acclaim. Ms. Valiente has taught music at Brooklyn College, John Jay College, Baruch College, University of Bridgeport and New School University and has been a member of the music faculty of Mercy College since 1995 and of the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University since 2006.
Debra Kreisberg
alto saxophone/clarinet
Debra has performed in a wide range of genres, from jazz, Latin, klezmer and funk to classical and musical theater. A graduate of Eastman School of Music with an MM in Jazz Studies from Manhattan School of Music, she currently performs, composes, arranges, and records with the internationally renowned klezmer bands Isle of Klezbos and Metropolitan Klezmer. She has also performed with the avant-jazz group Joe Gallant and Illuminati, Canadian jazz/cabaret Yiddish star Theresa Tova, the Rochester Philharmonic featuring Natalie Cole, and the New York City funk band D'Tripp. In addition to her performing work, Debra is Managing Director of Educational Outreach at the 92nd Street Y's School of the Arts, which brings in-depth arts programming to underserved schools in New York City.
Rick Faulkner
trombone/euphonium/harmonica
Rick is originally from Charlottesville , VA but has lived in New York City since 1990. As a freelancer, he has worked with artists ranging from Max Roach to David Murray to Haitian stars Tabou Combo, and has played everything from salsa and Dixieland to the avant-garde. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the legendary ska band the Toasters, touring internationally and recording three CDs. In 1994, Rick and saxophonist Fred Reiter co-founded the critically-acclaimed New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, an innovative group mixing instrumental jazz with Jamaican ska and reggae rhythms. In addition to recording with NYSJE and the Toasters, Rick has appeared on the CDs of artists as diverse as folk singer Sloan Wainwright, Haitian band Skah-Shah #1, and Joe Gallant and Illuminati. His arrangements have been played by Michael Brecker and John Scofield, among others, and he has contributed many compositions to CDs by NYSJE, the Toasters, and Los Más Valientes. In addition, his compositions have been featured on the Lifetime television show The Place, and the soundtrack of the 1997 feature film Bang; he also writes original children’s music for the rock-folk-world group, The Blue Potatoes . In the Latin music realm, Rick has performed with Raulín Rosendo, Ramón Rodríguez, Orlando Marín, Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers, and 1999 Grammy Award nominee Juan Carlos Formell. Rick released his own solo CD, Waiting for the Rain, in 1999 on the Laughing Buddha label. He holds a degree in music education from Indiana University and a masters in jazz performance from the Manhattan School of Music. He has served on the music faculty of Hunter College and is director of jazz and instrumental studies at the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities in New York City.
Chiemi Nakai
piano
Chiemi began playing the piano at the age of 14 in her native city of Osaka, Japan. She studied classical piano in school and taught herself jazz piano by listening to the music of Bud Powell and playing along with recordings. After graduating college she enjoyed a successful career in Japan, performing jazz, Latin jazz and salsa, touring with such jazz greats as Al “Tootie” Heath. In 1998 she came to New York City and began attending salsa workshops and studying Latin percussion at the Barrio’s legendary school for Latin music studies, Boys’ Harbor. Here in the United States she has continued her career in Latin jazz and salsa, performing with Los Más Valientes, Dave Santiago and Latin Affair, Cuco Valoy, Junior Gonzalez, and Jimmy Bosch. Ms. Nakai holds an MA in Jazz Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, where she studied piano with jazz legend Roland Hanna and arranging and composition with Mike Mossman. Chiemi leads her own Latin jazz quartet, the Afro-Cuban Jazz Project, in conjunction with conguero Emmanuel Bizeau. Their debut CD, Bridges, was released in the spring of 2008.
Juan Carlos Acosta
acoustic and electric basses
Juan was born and raised in Puerto Rico, moved to New York City in March 2007 to persue graduate studies in Jazz Performance and Composition in the New York University. Juan has a bachelor’s degree in music from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico Juan played with a variety of bands and artists, including Zakandela, Angel Matos, Michael Stuart, Carlis Muos, Charlie Sepulveda and Ricardo Pons. In New York, in addition to his work with Los Mas Valientes, he also performs with Mike Freeman, Desmar Guevara and Teatro Pregones, La Tribu, and Antony Carrillo. Juan is the Music Director of Jehova Shammah Ministry.
Yasuyo Kimura
congas/vibraphone/percussion
Yasuyo holds a Bachelor of Music from Mukogawa Women's University in Osaka, Japan. Originally a dancer, Yasuyo moved from her native Japan to New York City to study the Jennifer Muller and José Limón modern dance technique. It was in these classes that she became attracted to the sounds of percussion. This led to studies at the renowned Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Spanish Harlem. Her instructors included Greg Askew, Johnny Almendra, and Victor Rendón. She also studied with Bobby Sanabria and Duduka Da Fonseca at Drummer’s Collective in NYC. Since then, Yasuyo has performed and recorded with various groups, which include: El Shabazz Djembe Orchestra, Los Más Valientes, Pasión, Grupo Latin Vibes, Adela Dalto’s “Mujeres Latinas”, Andrea Brachfeld, CocoMama, Nick Marthis, the Lehman College Latin Jazz Ensemble, the Lehman Concert Band, Henry Brun and the Latin Playerz, the Rodríguez/Rendón Latin Jazz Orchestra and Blue Mambo among others. As an instructor, Yasuyo has also been involved in workshop/presentations at PASIC(Percussive Arts Society International Convention)2000/2005 and the Eddie Ming Drum School in Bermuda. In addition to Los Mas Valientes, Yasuyo performs with her husband, Victor Rendón in the Latin jazz septet, Blue Mambo.
Victor Rendón
timbales/drum set/percussion
Victor is formerly co-leader of the Rodríguez/Rendón Latin Jazz Orchestra and currently co-leads Blue Mambo Latin jazz ensemble with guitarist/tresero Charlie Aletto. He has worked as a side musician with Mongo Santamaria, Chico O’Farrill, Carlos “Patato” Valdés, Ray Santos Orchestra, Grupo Caribe, Latin Jazz Coalition, The “New” Xavier Cugat Orchestra, and many others. He currently performs with the internationally acclaimed salsa supergroup, Grupo Latin Vibes. Victor performs on all of Grupo Latin Vibes CD releases, produced and performed on two CDs with the Rodríguez/Rendón Latin Jazz Orchestra, both of which received broad critical acclaim, and released the debut CD of Blue Mambo in the spring of 2008. As an author/transcriber, his work has appeared in Modern Drummer, Percussive Notes, Music in Motion Films, DCI Music Video, Drum! Magazine, and Warner Bros. Publications. He is author of The Art of Timbales published by Music in Motion Films. Victor also publishes his own semi-annual magazine, Latin Percussionist. Rendón, who holds a Bachelor of Music from the Unversity of North Texas, teaches Latin percussion in the New York City Public School and at Lehman College in the Bronx, and tours the world giving workshops in Latin percussion styles.
Renato Thoms
percussion
Renato was born in Colón, Panamá, and began his musical training at the conservatory of the National University of Heredia in Costa Rica. Renato holds a masters degree in jazz studies from Boston Conservatory, studied in the professional studies program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and was a finalist in the Thelonius Monk Latin Jazz Hand Drum Competition in 2000. A much sought-after percussionist, Renato has played with an auspicious list of virtually every major figure in Latin music— Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Danilo Pérez, Brian Lynch, Ray Vega, Sol y Canto, Paquito D’Rivera, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, Hilton Ruiz, and many more. He has also played with such great straight-ahead jazz artists as Antonio Hart and Dee Dee Bridgewater, and American contemporary and popular artists such as Ricky Martin and Lou Reed. Renato is an active music educator and has lectured and taught master classes at Holy Cross University, Rutgers University, LaGuardia Community College, Swarthmore College, The Crane School of Music and Conservatorio Superior de Música in Spain. He conducts the Latin Jazz Workshop, a project of the Brooklyn Conservatory, and directs the after school Afro-Caribbean percussion programs at Wingspan Arts and PS87 in New York City.