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Diego Urcola

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, three‑time Grammy nominee Diego Urcola has been a member of the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet since 1991. Additionally, the oft‑in‑demand trumpeter performs regularly with the legendary saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All‑Star Big Band.

Urcola's musical studies began at the age of 9, in the Music Department of the Colegio Ward where his father Ruben served as director. He continued his studies and in 1988 he received the title of Profesor Nacional de Música from the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica. Subsequently, having received a scholarship to study abroad, the trumpeter and flugelhorn player moved to Boston where he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music. In 1990 he received his diploma with an emphasis in Jazz Performance. Less than a year later, he made the jump to New York where he established himself as one of the truly gifted and versatile young artists. He has never looked back. As noted, his affiliation with D'Rivera's various projects began almost upon arrival. He also began working with a number of other well‑known artists. In the mid 1990s he toured with Slide Hampton, the great trombonist and arranger, in a group the bandleader referred to as “The Jazz Masters”. Urcola toured extensively with the United Nations Orchestra under the leadership of D’Rivera after Dizzy Gillespie’s death. He also spent a short time working with Wynton Marsalis, including performing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. By this time, Urcola received calls regularly, and he was starting to lead his own bands. Still, he decided to augment appearances with further music education. In 1997, he received his master's degree in Jazz Performance from Queens College, in New York, a school whose well‑respected jazz department was anchored by Jimmy Heath. That same year, Urcola earned second place honors at the 1997 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. Although already a seasoned performer, the honor broadened awareness of his work.

During the next few years Urcola received key assignments from players a generation or more older than him. The late saxophonist‑icon, Joe Henderson, invited him to join his band. So did trombonist Steve Turre who, at the time, was leading a project he called “Sanctified Shells”, an atypical ensemble centered on the use of conch shells. Other associations for Urcola at the time included work with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and with Wayne Shorter for a broadcast TV special titled, "The 2nd Annual Celebration of America's Music." The special broadcast, hosted by Bill Cosby, aired on ABC‑TV in 1998.

Urcola's exceptional technique served him well. In 1999 the late vibraphonist, Milt Jackson, formed an all‑star big band, asking him to participate. A year later, the ever‑adventurous Urcola became a member of the International Vamp Band, a group founded by iconoclastic bass player Avishai Cohen. During the following two years Urcola's star rose even higher. In 2001, as part of the D'Rivera quintet, he earned a Latin Grammy; the following year, Urcola, again working with D'Rivera, took part in the film Calle 54 the acclaimed music documentary. Tours of Europe, The United States and Latin America followed under the banner of the Calle 54 All‑Star Band.

Urcola, when he's not busy working with others, often leads his own ensembles. His first record as a leader, Libertango (Fresh Sound), was issued in 1999. In 2003 he released Soundances (Sunnyside), which received critical acclaim culminating in nominations for the 2004 Latin Grammys and the 2005 Grammy Awards. During this time he also worked regularly as a member of the Caribbean Jazz Project.

The trumpeter's third record Viva (Cam Jazz), released in 2006 and nominated for the 2007 Grammys, marks a key moment in his now full-blown career. The recording features a core band that would make anyone jealous. Edward Simon, leads a rhythm section that includes bassist Avishai Cohen and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Pernell Saturnino adds percussion. Meanwhile, D'Rivera is heard on some cuts as is Dave Samuels and Jimmy Heath. The final piece of the puzzle is master trombonist Conrad Herwig.

On Viva, it has been noted that there exists a sensibility of experimentation that is vibrant throughout. Meanwhile, Urcola has said that one of his goals is to integrate his homeland's voice into the jazz idiom. "I like to bring the tango flavor from my country into the mix," he said, adding, "But, foremost I'm a jazz musician."

2006 is marked by important events. For Funk Tango (the debut release of D’Rivera’s own record label) Urcola is asked by the master to play the valve trombone in a few tracks. This instrument used to be played by Claudio Roditti in the first groups that Paquito put together when he first arrived in New York City in the early 80’s. Since then the valve trombone has been an important addition to Urcola’s arsenal in his own projects, Paquito’s Quintet and also other groups like Guillermo Klein’s Los Guachos.

In 2010 Urcola records his second project for CAM JAZZ. "Appreciation" features a quartet with Luis Perdomo on piano, Hans Glawischnig on bass and Eric McPherson on drums. This setting allows Urcola to have plenty of space to stretch out his trumpet chops as well as nine original compositions dedicated to some of the most influential musicians in his life.
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Miguel Zenón: Golden City

Read "Golden City" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
November 5, 2024

La musica contenuta in questo album trae spunto da una commissione ricevuta da Miguel Zenón per la composizione di una suite basata sulla storia di San Francisco e della Bay Area, evidenziando in particolare i contributi offerti da parte delle comunità giapponese, cinese, messicana e, ovviamente, afroamericana. Ne è nata così questa Golden City, presentata in anteprima al San Francisco Jazz Center nel 2022 e incisa poi a fine novembre dell'anno seguente. Per l'occasione Zenón (portoricano, lo ricordiamo) ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Golden City

Read "Golden City" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 22, 2024

The alto saxophone rose to jazz prominence in the 1940s, under the influence of Charlie Parker and the birth of bebop. Important players such as Art Pepper, Lee Konitz and Ornette Coleman took the horn in their own directions, crafting distinctive alto saxophone voices. Moving ahead to the new millennium, no alto saxophonist has entered the tradition with more style and panache than Miguel Zenon. His Alma Aldentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook (Marsalis Music, 2011), Tipico (Miel Music, 2017) and ...

Album Review

Pablo Ablanedo: Christreza

Read "Christreza" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
March 26, 2021

This LP clocks in at around 38-minutes and is a bit of a tease since it progresses rather quickly and may leave many listeners wanting more. Here, Argentine-reared pianist/composer/educator Pablo Ablanedo's compositional gifts often take on cinematic film scoring intonations and developments, executed with jazz luminaries who the artist met while attending the Berklee College of Music in 1999. Owing to his heritage, the leader infuses subtle Latin jazz foreground grooves into several movements, whereas the opener “La ...

Album Review

Diego Urcola Quartet: El Duelo

Read "El Duelo" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
November 2, 2020

The cover of this album shows Diego Urcola (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Paquito D'Rivera (alto saxophone, clarinet) back-to-back, as if about to engage in the titular duel. But the sound is that of two veteran players jointly taking a leap into the unknown. A quartet without piano is an unusual setting for both of them. D'Rivera's liner notes mention Gerry Mulligan's quartet with Chet Baker (represented by “ I Know, Don't Know How"), but Ornette Coleman's quartet is another, more surprising ...

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Interview

Diego Urcola: Musical Ecstasy

by R.J. DeLuke
April 5, 2011

Jazz music, its freedom and emphasis on self-expression through improvisation, has always had a strong pull on its practitioners, its artists. As fans and listeners, those qualities are also treasured. The infectious nature of those qualities is why jazz fans are passionate and loyal. It's music, born and bred in the United States, that has a fan base that stretches across the globe. In the case of a certain young musician in Buenos Aires, just a few decades ...

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Album Review

Diego Urcola Quartet: Appreciation

Read "Appreciation" reviewed by Charles Walker

by Charles Walker
March 1, 2011

Subtlety seldom brings rewards in the life of a journeyman jazz musician. In a field overcrowded with competent colleagues, plagued by spotty media coverage and half-starved by the problems facing the music industry more generally, a gimmick is often required to garner even scant attention. Argentinian-born, New York-based trumpeter Diego Urcola--a long-time member of Paquito D'Rivera's quintet and a stalwart of the late-night NYC scene--avoids the gimmicks on Appreciation, his fourth outing as a leader. Instead, he pushes his Sisyphean ...

285

Album Review

Diego Urcola Quartet: Appreciation

Read "Appreciation" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
February 26, 2011

Trumpeter Diego Urcola's is a voice that has remained somewhat hidden--certainly tucked away--for two decades in Paquito D'Rivera's quintet. And then there is the subdued role he has played in Guillermo Klein's fabulous larger ensemble, Los Guachos. However, the graceful candor of his voice is irrepressible, and it was only a matter of time before he would be heard for what he really is and plays. Urcola is distinct and a singular artist in the manner of his more famous ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diego Urcola

Source: Michael Ricci
November 5, 2009

All About Jazz is celebrating Diego Urcola's birthday today!

JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Diego Urcola

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, three time Grammy nominee Diego Urcola has been a member of the Paquito D\'Rivera Quintet since 1991 as well as working regularly with the Caribbean Jazz Project since 2004. Additionally... more

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Recording

Diego Urcola releases "Viva" on Cam Jazz

Source: All About Jazz
April 26, 2006

Diego Urcola's new record Viva, features the Grammy-nominated trumpeter leading an all-star lineup. The core group of Edward Simon, Avishai Cohen, Antonio Sanchez, and Pernel Saturnino are joined by guests Paquito D'Rivera, Jimmy Heath, Dave Samuels and Conrad Herwig.

Viva features four Urcola originals, two from fellow Argentine composer/big bandleader Guillermo Klein, a pair from another Argentine composer and one of Urcola's best friends, Juan Raffo, a piece by Heath, and the Astor Piazzola classic, “Adios Nonino," a sublime melody ...
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Festival

Festival of New Trumpet Music Continues with Diego Urcola, Leron Thomas, Nabate Isles

Source: All About Jazz
August 17, 2005

The 3rd Festival of New Trumpet Music Continues with: New Bands, at Spark-August 16-20 161 W. 22nd Street August 17 8:00 PM LeRon Thomas 9:00 PM Diego Urcola Quartet – www.diegourcola.com. The Grammy nominated trumpeter will be performing music from his newest recording “Soundances.” 10:00 PM Nabate Isles – A mix of diverse musical styles with melodic clarity and rhythmic intensity. August 19 8:00 PM Jesse Neuman and the Bruce Lee Band – www.bruceleeband.com. Jesse Neuman-acoustic and processed trumpet/laptop, Oscar ...
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