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Music
Saxofonist, composer, professor. Pioneer of the Spanish jazz.
Jazz-works
- Balada
- Elegie
- Old Friends
- Ongi etorri
- Whole-Tone 12
Classical-works
- Memorias (Fantasia for piano)
- Pequeña Czarda (2 versions, one for saxofon and orchestra, the second for piano and quartet of saxofons)
- Suite Helénica (for quartet of saxofons)
- Jazz Suite (for sextet of saxofons)
- Miniaturas
Short-Film Soundtrack
- Cualquier mañana
- Preparación automóvil
- Ellas son
- La edad de Prueba
Film Soundtracks
- El viaje a ninguna parte
- Mayores con reparaciones
- Nuevas amistades
- Operación Secretaria
Scholar books on Music
- 324 Escalas para la improvisación de Jazz, Madrid, Mundo Musical.
- Escalas, arpegios y ejercicios diatónicos, Madrid, QU.
- Los armónicos del saxofón, Madrid, QU.
Records
He has recorded more than 30 LPs. Among others the following:
- Madison, Philips, 1963
- Bossa Nova, Philips, 1964
- FlamencoJazz, MPS, 1967
- Jazz Flamenco. Vol. I, with Paco de Lucía (Paco de Antequera), Hispavox, 1967
- Jazz Flamenco. Vol. II, with Paco de Lucía, Hispavox, 1968
- Flamenco Studio, with Paco Cepero, CBS, 1976
- Fabuloso, Hispavox, 1982
- Los ojos de Eva, Hispavox, 1982
- Pedro Iturralde Quartet, Featuring Hampton Hawes, Hispavox Sound, 1986
- The Modern Sax Quartet play Pedro Iturralde, 1989
- Una noche en el Central, Nueva Década, 1994
- Flamenco Twist, Philips
- Manny Kelly; Navarra Swing, Philips
- Pedro Iturralde Quartet, Etnofonías
Life
Pedro Iturralde was born in 1929, July 3rd, in Falces (Navarra-Spain). He took his first music lessons from his father, as a young child, starting his career as saxofonist and clarinettist at the early age of 9 playing with the "Banda Municipal de Falces".
He continued his studies of saxofon, clarinet, guitar, violin, piano and harmony in the "Conservatorio Superior de Música" of Madrid.
At the age of 18 Pedro Iturralde completes his first tour around Europe. He returns to Spain and obtains the superior degree in Saxofon in the "Conservatorio Superior de Música" of Madrid.
Thereafter he starts an eight-year-tour across Europe and some other Mediterranean countries: Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Algeria, Lebanon, Turkey,...
In the beginning of the 60’s he comes back to Spain, settling down in Madrid. He starts playing in the "Whisky Jazz Club" with such guests jazz artists as Don Byas, Lee Konitz and Gerry Mulligan. He also played with Tete Monoliú and was member of the "All Star Big Band" (a selection of european musicians) in the "Play - House Theatre" in London, and in the "Palau de la Música" of Barcelona. In 1965 he plays with Donald Byrd and in 1968 with Hampton Hawes.
In the 60’s, he plays jazz following the new trend opened by Miles Davies and Gil Evans ("Flamenco Sketches" included in the LP "Kind of Blue" [1956], "Blues for Pablo" in LP "Miles Ahead" [1957] and "Sketches of Spain" [1960]), the so-called "Jazz-Flamenco" or "Flamenco-Jazz".
His life-concerts and a series of records for RNE ("Radio Nacional de España") broadcast by the EBU ("European Broadcast Union") spread his name throughout Europe.
In 1967 Joachim E. Berendt invited him to play in the Jazz Festival of Berlin with his quintet (Paul Grassl-piano, Peer Wyboris-drums, Eric Peter-counterbass and Dino Piani-trombon) and with the guitarist Paco de Lucía, beside the groups of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Baden Powell and Sara Vaughan.
In November 1967 he records for the german record company MPS "Flamenco-Jazz" (1967) with his jazz-quintet and with Paco de Lucía (named here as Paco de Algeciras), though this LP was not published in Spain until 1974.
After having been praised in some jazz-reviews and in "Down Beat" as one of the outstanding, European jazz musicians, the "Berklee College of Music" ("Berklee Perfomance Center") of Boston gives him a grant, during which he studies "Arranging" with Herb Pomeroy, plays with Gary Burton, with the "Faculty Quintet" and with the "All Star Faculty Big Band" in the concerts of the festival "200 Years of Jazz History in America".
Iturralde recorded in 1976 "Flamenco Estudio" with Paco Cepero, recorded by CBS.
"Like Coltrane" (1972) and "Toy" (1978), two of his compositions, are awarded with the jazz composer’s prize in Monaco.
In 1978 Pedro Iturralde gathers, conducts and plays with a Big Band accompanying the jazz singer Donna Hightower in the series of concerts organized in the "Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid". He records with this orchestra "El Jazz y Donna Hightower", in which he completes the musical arrangements and conduct the orchestra.
In 1988 the first musician to ever perform a Jazz-Concert in the "Teatro Nacional" de Madrid.
As a classical saxofonist he is one of the few one to play the complete orchestral repertoire for saxofon. Iturralde has often been soloist with in the "Orquesta Nacional de España" and the "Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE (Radio Televisión Española)", conducted by Frühbeck de Burgos, Sergiu Celibidache, Igor Markevitch, Jesús López Cobos, Odón Alonso, Enrique García Asensio y Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez. He has completed extensive tours with the "Orquesta Nacional de España" to Italy, Japan, Belgium, Finland, USA,...
He has also played with other minor orchestras like the "Orquesta de Cámara" of Victor Martín as soloist and concertist, and as duet with the pianist Agustín Serrano, with the "Orquesta Sinfónica de Asturias", the "Orquesta Bética" of Sevilla, or the "Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife", directed by Matthias Aeschbacher.
In 1990 he is prized with the "Ministerio de Cultura’s award to the outstanding music edition contributing to the Pedagogie of the Music" for his book "Libro no 324 de escalas en la improvisación de Jazz".
In June of 1992, during the summit of the European Community in Maastricht, his work "Old Friends" was selected by the "Big Band" of Maastricht in its repertoire, which included pieces of European authors. This year he is also awarded with the "Premio de la Comunidad de Madrid a la Creación Musical".
He was Professor of saxofon in the "Real Conservatorio Superior de Música" of Madrid until his retirement in 1994, receiving a warm homage in the "Auditorio Nacional". This year he records "Una noche en el Central", by NUEVA DECADA, which is a record of a life-concert in life in the "Café Central".
In the summer of 1995 Iturralde played with the "Big Band" of the NDR in Hamburg, and in 1996 he played in the "Museum of Contemporary Art" in Tel-Aviv and in the "Museum of Israel" in Jerusalem, along with a selection of musicians from Tel-Aviv.
Pedro Iturralde has performed many concerts all over Spain this years since he retired as professor. He has played in many Jazz Festivals: in Lugo (1997, November 14th), Granada (1998, 13-28th November), Alicante (1999, 20-24th July), Sevilla (2001, 19-27th May),...
Since November, 2001 he is member of the board of the "Music Academy", part of the SGAE ("Sociedad General de Autores de España"), born to promote the music and to defend the rights of all the professional musicians in Spain.
He also teaches courses on saxofon, jazz,...: University of Murcia (2000, 18-21th October),...
His dream now is to build up the "Orquesta Nacional de Jazz de España".