Biography
- Short biography
- About his music
- Biography
- Awards
- Media
- Festivals
- Collaborations
- Orchestral projects and artistic productions
Short biography Link to heading
- Graduate in classical guitar from the CPM of Ourense-Galicia (Spain).
- Certificate of recognition in jazz and modern music from the San Diego School of Performing Music – CA-USA under American trombonist Hal Crook.
- Founder of the Baio Ensamble School in Vigo.
- Award-winning artist at jazz festivals such as San Sebastián (Euskadi) and the Festival Interceltique de Lorient (France), praised by RNE critics, national television and press. His album Andaina was selected by the German magazine CD-Kritik as one of the top three piano albums of 2007, including pianists from all over the world. The RNE program Diálogos 3 dubbed him the forerunner of “Muiñeira Jazz”, that is, the fusion of Galician Traditional Music with Jazz. The Portuguese magazine jazz.pt considers him one of the most important figures in Spanish and Galician jazz.
- 13 albums recorded. The first produced by RNE and the remaining 12 self-produced under various national and international labels.
- 12 albums in collaboration with different artists and labels.
- Multiple concerts at prestigious international festivals.
- Teacher of jazz piano, composition and arranging at CSMus in A Coruña – Galicia.
About his music Link to heading
His creative style is characterized by the blending of diverse world music genres with jazz, including jota, bulería, rumba, pateado, giga, medieval cantigas, Venezuelan waltz, modinha waltz, Brazilian choros, Afro‑pandeirada, alalá‑blues, raga, etc., resulting in a sound framed within the Iberian World‑Jazz movement. His recorded works, marked by a strong programmatic line, roots in classical guitar, in‑depth jazz research and direct ties to traditional and popular music, make him a musician with a voice of his own, recognized by RNE’s specialist critics as the pioneer of “Muiñeira‑Jazz”.
Biography Link to heading
He began his musical studies at the Conservatorio de Ourense – Spain, where he graduated in classical guitar under the tutelage of maestro Tomás Camacho and soon performed in concerts organized by Asociación Guitarrística Galega de Vigo between 1978 and 1980.
He attended the historic Jazz Seminars in Banyoles – Girona (1980–81), organized by Taller de Músics, with renowned American masters such as Thad Jones, Chuck Israels, Hal Crook, Steve Brown, Jim McNeely, Ben Riley, Bill Dobbins, Sal Nistico and Claudio Roditi; musicians who introduced him to the world of jazz and taught him its true philosophy.
In 1981 he studied at Taller de Músics in Barcelona with Mario Lecaros and taught classical guitar at that school.
A few months later he moved to California – USA to study harmony, improvisation and arrangements with American trombonist and teacher Hal Crook, from whom he received the recognition and methodology to found in 1983 the Baio Ensamble in Vigo – Spain, acknowledged as the first jazz school in Galicia.
Hal Crook recommendation letter – 1982
Between 1982 and 1984 he formed a guitar duo with Elías Quiroga and the Baio Quartet with guitarist Cuchus Pimentel, performing at various festivals, notably those organized by Xuventudes Musicais de Vigo.
From 1985 onward, he devoted himself to studying piano, which became the instrument defining his future professional career. Between 1985 and 1986 he focused on activities linked to the Escuela Baio Ensamble. That same year he participated in the I Jazz Seminar of Galicia in Poio – Pontevedra, organized by Taller de Músics de Madrid and directed by American guitarist Steve Brown, attending classes with Bill Dobbins and Steve Brown.
From 1987 to 1990 he was employed to teach jazz at the Conservatorio de Santiago de Compostela, alternating teaching with performances and recordings with the group Noroeste, while acting as musical director and arranger of Orquesta Los Satélites de A Coruña.
In 1990 he resumed the Escuela Baio Ensamble, combining teaching with jazz performance, offering concerts, jam sessions and recordings.
In 1993 he resumed his studies in classical and Baroque harmony with maestro Pablo Beltrán, coinciding with a commission from Galician harpist and singer Emilio Cao, for whom he adapted music for the Orquesta Clásica de Madrid as part of the Xacobeo 93 program.
Between 1996 and 2000 he recorded two pioneering albums blending Galician popular music, jazz and symphonic music, from which the term “Muiñeira Jazz” was coined by Ramón Trecet, director of RNE’s Diálogos 3.
This project preluded the creation of the Alberto Conde Trio with bassist Baldo Martínez and percussionist Nirankhar Khalsa, with whom he worked for the next seven years, producing and recording two new albums for Nuba – Karonte Records and participating in the internationally successful album Flamenco Jazz.
In 2002 he premiered his opera‑prima Sonidos de Bitácora.
In 2007 he won the position of jazz piano professor at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de A Coruña, in which he currently practices this specialty.
In 2009 the American guitarist Steve Brown invited him to collaborate on the production and recording of a new sextet album titled Atlantic Bridge, recorded in New York and released by Karonte (Spain) and Brown Cats (USA). Simultaneously, under Steve Brown’s direction, he taught master classes and workshops at Ithaca College and Cornell University in New York.
In 2012 he produced and recorded a new album titled Villa‑Lobos a new way with soprano Carmen Durán and the Atlantic Trio (the core of Atlantic Bridge: bassist Kin García, drummer Miguel Cabana and Alberto Conde), using texts by poet‑musicologist JR Bustamante, adapting Villa‑Lobos to jazz from a classical aesthetic. The album was released in 2013 by Karonte Records, sponsored by Xunta de Galicia.
In 2014 he produced, recorded and premiered at the X Festival Imaxina Sons in Vigo a new project titled Human Evolution Music Project, a concept album exploring human evolution through a fusion of Iberian jazz and Indian classical music, pioneering interactive dialogue between piano and sitar. The album was released by Jazz Records in Coimbra – Portugal.
In December 2015 he initiated a new artistic collaboration with the Cuban singer Diana Tarín, presented at the XXXI Festival Internacional Jazz Plaza in Havana, which later became the audiovisual project Corriente del Golfo.
In 2017 he performed a series of concerts in Lisbon with the Iberian Roots trio to record a tribute album to Portuguese pianist Bernardo Sassetti. The album was released in 2019 by Clean Feed under the title The Wake of an Artist – Tribute to Bernardo Sassetti, presented at the Hot Clube de Lisboa, Encontros Internacionais de Jazz de Coimbra 2019, and Fundação Camões in Vigo.
In 2018 he recorded the second Atlantic Bridge album at Teatro Noela in Noia, presenting the new project at the Festival de la Villa de Noia that same year.
In 2019, together with the Galician historian and writer Luís Cuntín, and with the collaboration of the academic of the Royal Galician Academy Afonso Vázquez Monxardín, he developed the project “Jazzliza – A nossa voz de sempre nas nosas voces de hoxe: From Alfonso X to Xela Arias”; a composition work for orchestra featuring pieces based on the history of Galician poetry, with classical themes from the Galician repertoire, and others composed by students from the jazz department of the Higher Conservatory of Music of A Coruña under the direction of Alberto Conde, with the collaboration of composer Pablo Beltrán. The work was premiered under the direction of Alberto Conde himself on 6/6/2021 at the Teatro Colón in A Coruña, sponsored by the City Council and the Provincial Council of A Coruña, and with the collaboration of the Department of Linguistic Normalization of the Xunta of Galicia.
In 2020, he premiered the commissioned work titled “Federico García Lorca, a journey of the soul, a current”, from the García Lorca Foundation, based on texts by the universal poet from Granada. The work was performed and broadcast live from the Federico García Lorca Park in Alfacar – Granada on 18/8/2020 to commemorate the 84th tribute to the poet and all the victims of the Spanish Civil War.
In 2021 he produced with bassist/composer Kin García the album Portus Apostoli by the Atlantic Bridge Jazz Project, sponsored by Concello de Noia and Xunta de Galicia, presenting it at the 44th Jazz Festival of Vitoria‑Gasteiz.
In 2022 he presented Portus Apostoli with the Atlantic Bridge Jazz Project at the II Festival Jazz‑Class de Vigo, organized and sponsored by Vitruvia Café and Concello de Vigo.
In 2023, the Nuba/Karonte label released the double album Corriente del Golfo, which was performed live with a 10-piece band at the Praza da Quintana in Santiago de Compostela. The performance was recorded by Casa de Tolos for RTVG and is available to the public on their agalega.gal channel in the “Palco” section.
That same year, the project was presented at the Estrella de Galicia Festival in A Coruña with a nonet, and also at the Casa de Galicia in Madrid and to national and Madrid-based media outlets, in a duo format with singer Diana Tarín.
In 2024, the work was performed again with a 10-piece band in the city of Vigo as part of the Musicav Festival, organized by Vitruvia Café with sponsorship from the Xunta de Galicia.
That same year, a new album was released with American guitarist John Stowell and the Atlantic Bridge Trio, featuring bassist Kin Garcia, drummer Miguel Cabana, and Alberto Conde himself on piano.
All albums are produced and co-produced by Alberto Conde, except for Paisajes, produced by Paco Montes for RTVE; “Celtrópolis” with artistic production by Alberto Conde and executive production by Punteiro/Clave Records; “Andaina”, with artistic production by Alberto Conde and executive production by Fernando Rosado for Nuba Records / Karonte; and “Human Evolution Music Project”, with artistic production by Alberto Conde and executive co-production by Ze Miguel for Jacc Records along with Human Evolution Music Project.
Awards Link to heading
- 1986 – 2nd prize at the XXI San Sebastián Jazz Festival, within the First International Contest held at Plaza de la Trinidad with the Baio Ensemble.
- 1986 – Finalist at the first National Jazz Showcase for young performers held in Mallorca and organized by INJUVE with the Baio Ensemble.
- 1987 – Finalist in the First International Composition Competition for Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Fundación Plató -SGAE held in Madrid.
- 1990 – First critics’ prize from RNE as musical director, composer and arranger of the album (LP) 50 Aniversario by the Los Satélites Orchestra of A Coruña, released by Fonomusic.
- 1997 – Revelation group award at the Interceltic Festival of Lorient – France with the Alberto Conde group, coinciding with the presentation of the album A Lagoa dos Atlantes.
- 1997 – New Music Award on the TVG program Luar and best avant-garde Galician album for A Lagoa dos Atlantes in the newspapers Faro de Vigo and Ideal Gallego.
Media Link to heading
Has recorded on TVE programs such as “Jazz entre amigos”, La Buena Música “Solo Jazz”, RTP2 “Esectv”, various RNE programs, RTVG, Radio Nacional de Portugal, France, Italy, India, EEUU, etc.
Festivals Link to heading
Throughout his career, he has participated in different Jazz and new music Festivals such as:
- Murcia Jazz Festival 1984
- San Sebastián Jazz Festival 1986 (2nd prize in the first international contest with Baio Ensemble)
- Mallorca National Jazz Showcase 1986
- Interceltic Festival of Lorient, 1997
- Granada Music and Dance Festival 2002
- Pontevedra International Jazz and Blues Festival 2003
- Salamanca National Jazz Showcase 2004
- Jazz ao Centro Coimbra 2005 (Portugal)
- Ressons jazz 2005 (Espai de Barcelona)
- San Javier International Jazz Festival 2005
- Imaxina Sons Festival 2006 (Vigo)
- II 1906 Cycle (Estrella de Galicia) 2009
- Imaxina Sons Festival 2010 (Vigo)
- Universijazz Alcalá de Henares, Guadalajara and Torrejón 2010
- Odio L’Estate, Villa Carpegna Festival (Rome) 2010
- XVI BARRIÉ DE LA MAZA JAZZ CYCLE 2011
- X Imaxina Sons Festival 2014 (Vigo), among others.
- XI Imaxina Sons Festival 2015 with the Galicia Jazz Orchestra.
- XXIV Jazz no Parque – Serralves 2015 – Porto.
- III IKFEM Festival 2015 – Tui – Valença.
- XXXI International Jazz Plaza Festival – 2015 Havana.
- Piano City Festival of Naples 2019 – Main Concert – Antisala of Maschio Angioino
- International Jazz Meetings of Coimbra – Portugal 2019
- 84 Tribute to Federico García Lorca and all victims of the Spanish civil war, Alfacar – Granada 2020
- 44 Vitoria Jazz Festival – Gasteiz 2021
- 2nd Jazz – Class Festival of Vigo 2022
- II Musicav Festival of Classical Music and Jazz in Vigo 2024.
Collaborations Link to heading
He has played with musicians of the stature of Kenny Wheleer, Roy Hargroove, Hal Crook, Steve Brown, John Stowell, Jorge Pardo, Scott Hamilton, Walter White, Rosario Giuliani, Carlos Barretto, Alexandre Frazão, Baldo Martínez, Nirankar Khalsa, Cuchus Pimentel, Shakir Khan, Vikas Triphati, Kin García, Giovanni Amato, Giulio Martino, Pietro Iodice, Giampiero Virtuoso, Miguel Cabana, Yissy García, Rodolfo Argudín “Peruchín”, Roberto Somoza, Diana Tarín, José Valente among many others.
In the field of teaching, musicians of the stature of Miguel Ogando, Carlos Barruso, Kin García, Carlos Rodgarman, Carlos Calviño, Paco Charlín, Santi Quintans, Guillerme Fernández, Xosé Miguelez, Lucía Martínez, Jacobo de Miguel, Gabriel Peso, Iago Mouriño, Alfredo Susavila, Martín Otero, among many others have passed through his classrooms.
Orchestral projects and artistic productions Link to heading
- In 2002, premiered Sonidos de Bitácora (symphonic concert for guitar and orchestra), performed by guitarist Tomás Camacho and the Nova Orquesta Sinfónica of Viana do Castelo (Portugal) under the direction of Miguel del Castillo. The premiere included three concerts sponsored by the Xunta de Galicia, which, recognizing its success, granted four more concerts.
- In 2005, premiered Entremares y Orquesta (concert for jazz trio and big band), presented at the First Contest of the Iberojazz Festival by the Alberto Conde Trio and the Big Band of the Diputación de Ourense under the direction of Pablo Beltrán, co-arranger along with Alberto of the orchestral score. Part of the concert was performed again in 2010 at the Odio L’Estate Festival in Rome, with the Sant Louis Big Band of that city under the direction of Antonio Solimene.
- Created and directed the Iberojazz Festival between 2005 and 2011, organized and sponsored by the Concello de A Coruña, proposing a philosophy on presenting new jazz talents from the Iberian Peninsula with special attention to Galicia. Showcasing the most notable new projects made in Spain and Portugal, and an exchange program with various National and International Conservatories and Higher Music Schools.
- Directed the musical production of the cd Jazz Volume III – Superior Conservatory of Music of A Coruña – Jazz Department, recorded at CSM Coruña on 4/17/2009 by the Radio Galega Production Service, with Pablo Barreiro acting as recording and mixing technician.
- In 2011, produced and directed, with sponsorship from the Consellería de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria of the Xunta de Galicia, the DVD corresponding to the Galitalia Jazz Meeting show framed within the Iberojazz 2011 program, showcasing new big band creations by musicians from the First Jazz Graduates Promotion of Galicia, alongside works by renowned Italian composers and arrangers, featuring Italian saxophonist Rosario Giuliani as soloist and directing the CSM A Coruña Big Band as principal conductor Kin García and guest conductor Antonio Solimene.
- In 2014, took part in the production and original idea of the show Diálogos Sinfónicos con el Jazz, for symphony orchestra and jazz trio, recreating a new interpretation of famous classical-romantic orchestral repertoire pieces with jazz trio, framed within the activities annually organized by the CSM of A Coruña.
- In 2015, collaborated as guest pianist with the Galicia Jazz Orchestra in the recording of the album FAME and its presentation during the XI Imaxina Sons Festival of Vigo.
- In the same year participated as guest in the XI International Jazz Colloquium dedicated to the Network in Defense of Humanity, held at Salón Mayo – Pabellón de Cuba on December 17 and 18, 2015, within the Havana International Jazz Plaza Festival.
- Directed the CSM – Coruña Big Band between 2018 and 2021, highlighting among other achievements the live recording on May 6, 2021, at the Teatro Colón in A Coruña and the production in 2022 of the live DVD of the show “Jazzliza de Alfonso X a Xela Arias,” with the collaboration of the Xunta de Galicia, the Concello de A Coruña and the CSMus of A Coruña.
Program of the XI International Jazz Colloquium 17-12-15 Havana