Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Vocalist Sheila Jordan Dies at 96
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
Alfredo Rodríguez is among the 25 artists DownBeat thinks will help shape jazz in the decades to come.
(Photo: Anna Webber)On March 11, when the U.S. State Department advised Americans to “reconsider” international travel in response to the emergent COVID-19 crisis, Alfredo Rodríguez was in Istanbul for a concert, midway through an extensive tour with bassist Richard Bona and percussionist Pedrito Martinez. The trio canceled its remaining engagements and the musicians headed for their respective homes. For Havana-born Rodríguez, this entailed flying to Madrid to join his girlfriend and their infant daughter, Aria. In July, the family relocated to Miami.
Rodríguez—who moved from Cuba to the States in 2009 and landed a contract with Quincy Jones’ management company—has adjusted psychologically. “I feel we should try to adapt to situations and take advantage of the opportunities they offer,” he said. “I was scheduled to be on the road and missing a lot of Aria’s growth. So, despite the economics and not playing for people, being able to be with her is a blessing.”
In addition to teaching online for multiple universities, composing music for films and his various duos, Rodríguez also is focusing on two prospective recording projects. One involves the videos he’s recently posted on social media with his working trio, which plays on the 2018 release, The Little Dream (Mack Avenue). “We’re transforming covers, music that people know, into timba, the popular music of Cuba,” he said.
He developed intimacy with the Cuban canon during formative years. The son of an eminent singer who hosted a popular TV variety show, Rodríguez was a child prodigy who also focused on the Euroclassical canon.
During his teens, he heard Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert, spurring an ongoing passion for deploying abundant technique toward tabula rasa expression. Early on, he also developed studio discipline, playing piano and serving as music director for his father’s TV show, collaborating with numerous world-class Cuban stars.
Rodríguez is adamant that his admixture of high precision and intuition will continue to infuse his music. “I’ve looked to be global for a long time,” he explained. “I like music that is involved with all regions. Even though I can’t travel, technology gives me the tools to go online and listen to music from everywhere. You can observe culture, and incorporate so many good things into your life.” DB
This story originally was published in the November 2020 issue of DownBeat. Subscribe here.
Jordan was a dyed-in-the-wool bebopper whose formative musical experiences were with Charlie Parker.
Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
“I don’t guess I’m going to excite you; I know I’m going to excite you,” Palmieri said in an August 1994 DownBeat feature.
Aug 12, 2025 10:33 AM
Famed Latin jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri passed away in his New Jersey home on Aug. 6. He was…
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
