Trumpeter, vocalist, percussionist and composer, Pete Rodriguez began his musical career at the age of 11, studying at the renowned Escuela Libre de Musica in Puerto Rico.
Following high school graduation, Pete was offered full scholarships to both Rice University and the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. Rutgers University awarded him the prestigious Ralph J. Bunche Fellowship to pursue his graduate studies and he is now finishing his DMA in jazz performance at the University of Texas at Austin.
More important than Petes formal education is his musical experience playing with some of the best musicians in the world. Pete has performed with many of Latin musics luminaries, such as Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, La India and Tito Puente, including singing on Puentes Grammy and Latin Grammy winning album, Mambo Birdland. Pete is the son of Pete El Conde Rodriguez, a music legend in the Latin music world who gave Lil Pete the responsibility of directing El Condes 12-piece orchestra while also playing the trumpet and singing. While excelling in the Latin field, Pete was also following his love for jazz, leading him down a path that allowed him to perform with such high profile bandleaders as Eddie Palmieri, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Chico OFarrell, and Carlos Patato Valdez. In 2004, he toured internationally with the legendary, Grammy-winning, Afro-Cuban jazz bandleader Bebo Valdez.
In 2006, Pete released his debut CD, Mind Trip. Although Pete has been on many recordings as a sideman, this is his first recording with his own jazz group, where he enjoys the opportunity to play his original compositions. Mind Trip has received excellent reviews, garnering the attention of, among others, jazz great Kenny Barron, who says the following about Petes playing and compositions on Mind Trip:
He possesses a full rich sound on both trumpet and flugelhorn and his technique is incredible. [But] it is as a composer that his development is even more amazing. The melodies he writes are full of complex and quirky rhythms, making unusual dips and turns. Each of the original compositions, of which there are eight, on this CD is a unique entity unto itself, full of surprises and strange twists and turns. However, one can be assured that Mr. Rodriguez does have a full grasp of the history of the jazz tradition. One need only listen to his reading of Mal Waldrons beautiful ballad Soul Eyes, or Herbie Hancocks tone poem, Dolphin Dance, to hear his respect and love for tradition. I, for one, look forward to many more musical statements from this evolving young artist.
