Composer/Arranger/WriterProducer

Rafael also helmed the music trio that played for the short-lived KCRW (NPR) program, "Live from 72", as well as having been invited to play for several benefits for NPR. He has performed on the same bill as Linda Ronstadt, Crosby & Nash and ( the late ) Dudley Moore, to name a few.

Japan, Mexico, Australia...
Rafael spent two years in Tokyo, playing in jazz clubs in Roppongi. For several years thereafter, Nazario was based in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he wrote, arranged and produced the songs on his debut CD, Patria Añorada. He performed concerts at the famed Los Arcos Ampitheater as well as having been featured at the legendary Camino Real Hotel concert series. Coming soon: the release of his upcoming double instrumental jazz/classic/electronica CD, entitled "FortePiano." Following that he?ll begin recording his next vocal CD, ?Soñador.?

ABOUT PATRIA AÑORADA
Recorded in just a few days with a crack team of Mexico City's top session players, Patria Añorada stakes out new territory in multi-genre Latin music combining great songwriting with lyrics that possess narrative drive and often veer into poetry. This is dancing music you can listen to and listening music you can dance to.


Here's what a few people have had to say about Patria Añorada:

"...Fresh and inventive." -Larry Harlow


'Patria Añorada' (literally, "longed-for homeland") is a collection of 11 songs in a variety of styles, each very original and very personal. Nazario sings of his childhood, his friends and family; lost loves; Christopher Columbus; and of course 'la bella isla'.

"This is not [strictly speaking] salsa or plena or bomba, these are ballads, 'listening' music one can dance to, and 'dance' music one can sit back and enjoy -beyond that I dare not classify. The listener can hear salsa, bolero, samba, ranchera, jazz in the music, but it has traveled far to assume the shape that reaches your ears from this collection. Each song is different, each is thoughtfully composed, but it is the poetry of the lyrics that really stands out.

"...the soul that comes through, the heart that he brings to every phrase, more than makes up for any shortcoming. The band is excellent and well led by Nazario. He recorded this CD in a relatively few days of studio time in Los Angeles and Mexico. Patria Añorada is a beautiful album, unlike anything you've ever heard...

-Bruce Ishikawa-Picadillo.com (excerpt of review)
For full review please visit: www.picadillo.com or www.sodarecords.net
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