Listen to an excerpt from 'Sevilla' by Roland Vazquez

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After working as a drummer with R&B and rock bands in and around Los Angeles, where he grew up, Roland Vazquez began composing for his first jazz-fusion band in 1974, eventually forming the Urban Ensemble. His first release, Urban Ensemble: The Music of Roland Vazquez (1979, GRP) was called “a decade ahead of its time” (Billboard).

Vazquez continued to expand his “funky-salsa-bebop” style—developing compositions for various instrumentations (tentet, octet, quintet, solo piano and big band) and producing several albums and CDs. Further Dance, his latest, features the Roland Vazquez Quintet: (Walt Weiskopf / flute & tenor sax; Mark Soskin / piano; Anthony Jackson / contrabass guitar; Ricardo Candelaria / congas, bongo, percussion and Vazquez on drums and percussion.

Before joining the U-M faculty, Mr. Vazquez was a member of the jazz faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned his master's degree in music. He took his bachelor of music degree from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has received numerous awards, including Meet The Composer Award, ASCAP Special Awards, Arts International Award and the National Endowment for the Arts in Jazz Performance.

More about RV at http://www.rolandvazquez.com/

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