Bio: Relocated to Portland from NYC in 2000 after living in Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Arcata, Oakland and Boston. Studied arranging and harmony with Ray Brown at Cabrillo College '84-'86, Jazz performance major at Berklee College of Music '86-'89. Studied saxophone with Joseph Viola, Jimmy Mosher, George Garzone, Bob Mover and Paul Contos. __________ "Since moving to town from New York City, David Valdez has shown himself to be a rigorously adaptable player and a jazz gent who can make things happen. With his broad shouldered alto tone he builds his solos architecturally like very few players in town. His Latin Quartet explores some rhythmically challenging turf and may be one of the tightest new additions on our jazz bulletin board.'' Bill Smith, Willamette Week______ Saxophonist David "Carlos" Valdez is a full-throttle player with a rich knowledge of both bebop and latin jazz. Lately he's served as the quiet linchpin in a scene that has encompassed local and not-so-local greats as Nancy King, Robert Moore, Bob Mover, Lawrence Williams, Dred Scott, and many more. You can hear in the warmth of his tone and the urgency of his wail, time-well spent in the jazz salt mines of NYC, the Bay Area, and beyond.Tim DuRoce- Strong Week____________ "Alto saxophonist David Valdez is one of the blazing lights of PDX's vastly underrated Latin music scene (alongside Al Criado, Ramsey Embick, and Reinhardt Melz, among others). Having worked with players both young (Danilo Perez, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Charlie Hunter, John Medeski) and older (Clark Terry, Dave Holland, Slide Hampton, Pharoah Saunders, Mal Waldron, Bob Moses), he's equally at home in bop, blues, and utter free blowing and muscles subtly into tunes with a Sonny Criss energy."- Willamette Week -------------------------Festival and concert appearances: Monterey Jazz festival (7 years, CA) , North Sea Jazz festival(Holland) , Telluride Jazz festival , '86 World Expo at Tskuba(Japan) , Boston Globe Jazz festival , Tanglewood Music festival , Yamano Jazz festival , Bradford Jazz festival , San Jose Jazz festival , Santa Fe Jazz festival , Jazz under the Stars, Be-Bop and Brew, Cathedral Park Jazz festival (4 years,OR) -----------------------Clubs performed at (1996-2005): The Knitting Factory, Smalls, Blue Note, Cleopatras Needle, Savoy Lounge, Dharma, The C Note, Birdland, The Up and Down, Pearls, Enricos, Yoshis, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Ryles, The Willow, Tritone, Jazz D'Opus, Jimmy Maks, Blue Monk, LVs Uptown, Alladin,
