Bass player, composer and arranger, XAVIER PADILLA was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where from early as 18 started a career as a sideman for well known local artists. Early experiences in Venezuela include award wining group AUTANA, salsa queen CELIA CRUZ, composer-conductor ALDEMARO ROMERO and GUACO's leader & arranger RICARDO HERNÁNDEZ. At age 25 he moved over to Europe. He spent five years in Germany, then four in Greece and ultimately established in France, where he lives since 1997. His varied experience makes him a versatile musician, equally confortable as a bassist, composer and arranger in a number of different styles, from jazz to salsa, from rock to pop —or anything in between—. His own musical creations as a player-composer approaches
many genres with an eclectic yet distinctive artistic signature, as can be hear in his
first solo record Tools for Tales. XAVIER PADILLA takes part in the varied Parisian scene, he has either played, arranged or composed for the GIPSY KINGS, BERNARD LAVILLIERS, JEFF GARDNER, DANY BRILLANT, MARIO REYES, JULIEN LOURAU, ALFREDO RODRÍGUEZ, as well as for ORLANDO POLEO, ALFREDO "CUTUFLÁ" FRANCHESKI, JAVIER PLAZA, and French progressive rock group TAÏ PHONG. His international background includes recording and touring with artists such as DUNKEL ZIFFER, CONEXIÓN LATINA, SENTA BERGER (Germany); POLIKANDRIOTIS, PIX-LAX, PANDELIS BENETATOS, MANOS XIDOUS, IANNIS STAVROPOULOS (Greece); JULIA MIGENES, TITO ALLEN, CELIA CRUZ (USA); GAROU (Canada). From 2001 to 2006 he composed lyrics for and toured worldwide as a bassist with GIPSY KINGS.
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BASS DESIGN:======== Xavier Padilla is also interested in bass design, check out his twisted-neck bass at www.littleguitarworks.com, a result of his own research in ergonomics and the revolutionary Torzal principle invented by Austin based luthier Jerome Little, with the collaboration of two other innovators, Chuck Burge from Kalamazo (recently passed) and Harris Thor, from Binghamton, NY.
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DISCOGRAPHY:======= Roots , Gipsy Kings - lyrics Como Siento Yo - (Sony Music UK)
- Live at Kenwood House, London, Gipsy Kings DVD live (Warner)
- Arret sur Image, Bernard Lavilliers (Universal)
- Romeo Machado, Bernard Lavilliers (PolyGram-Barclay)
- Eso es el Amor, musique film "Un cri d'amour", Tito Puentes (Delabel)
- Lo Bueno de la Vida, Orlando Poleo (Sony Music France)
- El Buen Camino, Orlando Poleo (Sony Music France)
- Mein Kind, Senta Berger (EMI Deutschland)
- Monica y su mecanica, Monicalipso (Fantastica)
- Mi musica, Javier Plaza, (-I-C-U-B4-T)
- La Harpa Vagabunda, Pascal Coulon (PASLLCD05)
- Un Paso Alante, Kent Biswell (KENBIS78778)
- Romeo Machado, Bernard Lavilliers (PolyGram-Barclay)
- Espirituamente, Alfredo Cutufla (Estela)
- Songs for Everyone, Dunkelziffer (Funf und Vierzig)
- Atacama, Rodrigo Alvarado (Musik Welt)
- Valpurgis, Georg Pommer (Atlantic)
- Valparaiso, Ramon Gorigoitia (Musik Welt)
- El Maestro, Ricardo Hernandez (Sonografica)
- Tropic Jazz, Brunin Von Alten (BVAlten Musik)
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FESTIVALS:========= Festival Jazz im Zemtrum, Alemania, 30/04/1990
-- Drum Jazz Festival, Holanda, 09/08/1990
-- Wissen International Jazz Festival, Alemania, 1990
-- Crete Jazz festival, Grecia, 1995
-- Saint-Louis Jazz Festival, Senegal, 10/05/1997
-- Festival Vic-Fezensac Tempo Latino, 27/07/1997
-- Festival Jazz Chatellerault, Francia, 15/05/1998
-- Festival Internationale di Musica, Roma, Italia, 26/06/1998
-- Festival de Thau/Màze, Francia, 18/07/1998
-- Dunhill International Jazz Festival, Costa de Marfil, 18/03/1999
-- Casa Latina Festival at Jazz Cafe, Londres, Inglaterra, 11/07/2000
-- Megève 12me Jazz Festival, Francia, 13/08/1999
-- Jazz in Marciac, Francia, 1998/ 1999/ 2001
-- Muzillac 98, Francia, 22/08/1998
-- Jazz sur Son 31, Francia, 17/10/1998
-- Jazz en Touraine 98, Francia, 17/09/1998
-- La Villette Rythmes Caraibes, Paris, Francia, 31/05/1998
-- Festival Latino Americano di Milano, Italia, 26/06/1998
-- Festival Chalons-en Champagne, Francia, 20/07/2001
-- Tahiti Festival Jazz, Polynesia francesa, 15/04/2000
-- Nice Jazz Festival, Francia, 22/07/2001
-- Royal Festival Hall, Londres, Inglaterra, 26/09/1999
-- Musiks à Manosque, Francia, 24/07/1998
-- Midem 99, Mónaco, 24/01/1999
-- Jazz à Colombes, Francia, 13/05/2000
-- Teatro de la Opera de Hong Kong, China, 2003
-- Jazz à Vannes, France, 25/07/1998
-- Jazz à Montreux 2004
-- Summer Nights at the Pier, Seattle, Washington, USA, 2004
-- Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, California, USA , 2004
-- Teatro Oficial, Palacio del Kremlin, Plaza Roja de Moscú, Rusia, 2003
-- Teatro de la Opera de San Petersburgo, Rusia, 2003
-- Mizner Park, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 2003, 2005
-- Radio City Music Hall, New York, USA, 2003, 2004, 2005
-- Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Canadá, 2002
-- Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
-- Westbury Music Fair, Westbury, New York, USA, 2002, 2003
-- Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 2004
-- Wolf Trap, Vienna, Virgina, Washington D.C., USA, 2002, 2004, 2005
-- Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, CT, USA, 2005
-- Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, Woodinville, Washington, USA, 2002, 2005
-- Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver, Colorado, USA, 2003, 2004
-- Midtown Music Festival, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2003
-- Chicago Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2002, 2003, 2004
-- Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, Pen., USA, 2004, 2005
-- Greek Theatre, Berkeley, California, USA, 2002, 2003, 2004
-- Fleet Boston Pavilion, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 2003, 2004
-- Kenwood House, London, England, UK, 2004
-- NTELOS Pavillion, Harbor Center, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA, 2003
-- Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, USA, 2003
-- Santa Barbara County Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 2002, 2004
-- Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta, USA, 2002, 2005
-- Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California, USA, 2002, 2003, 2005
-- Journal Pavillion, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 2002
-- Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 2002, 2003
-- Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Ft. Myers, Florida, USA, 2003
-- The Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey, USA, 2003
-- Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, 2003
-- Orlando House of Blues, Orlando, Florida, USA, 2003
-- Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 2003
-- Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 2003, 2005
-- The Backyard, Austin, Texas, USA, 2003
-- Grove Theatre, Anaheim, California, USA, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
-- The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 2003
-- Casino del Sol Anselmo Val. Tori Amph., Tucson, AZ, USA, 2003, 2005
-- Nissan Pavillion, Bristow, Virginia, USA, 2003
-- United Islands of Prague, Czec Replublik, USA, 2004
-- North Fork Theatre, Westbury, NY, USA, 2005
-- Teatro de la Opera de Budapest, Hungría, 2004
-- Bank of America Pavillion, Boston, MA, USA, 2005
-- Pier Six Concert Pavillion, Baltimore, MD, USA, 2005
-- House of Blues, Toronto, ON, Canadá, USA, 2005
-- Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canadá, USA, 2005
-- Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa, FL, USA, 2005
-- Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, TX, USA, 2005
-- Bass Performance Hall, Ft. Worth, TX, USA, 2005
-- Performing Arts Center, Austin, TX, USA, 2005
-- Jones Hall for Performing Arts, Houston, TX, 2005
-- Hampton Court Festival, East Molesey, Surrey, UK, 2005
-- Princess Diana' s Family Chateau, Northampton, UK, 2005
-- Roots Festival Concert Building, Amsterdam, Holanda, 2005
-- Dyrham Park, Nr. Bath, UK, 2005
-- The Point, Dublin, Irlanda, 2005
-- Charlecote Park, Nr. Stratford, UK, 2005
-- Oregon Zoo Amphitheater, Portland, OR, USA, 2005
-- Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, CA, USA, 2005
-- Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, CA, USA, 2005
-- The Showgrounds, Cork, Irlanda, 2005
-- Sandia Casino Amphitheatre, Albuquerque, NM, USA, 2004, 2005
-- Viejas Casino, Alpine, CA (San Diego), USA, 2004, 2005,
-- Green Valley Ranch, Henderson, NV (Las Vegas), USA, 2005
-- The Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe, NM, USA, 2005
-- Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, CO, USA, 2005
-- Ravinia Pavilion, Chicago, IL, USA, 2005
-- Niagara Fallsview Casino, Niagra Falls, Canadá, 2005
- - State Theater, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 2005
