Manuel Valera Trio

“He leaves no doubt that he’s destined to play a role in the future of jazz. Valera shows a keen jazz vocabulary, a gift for creating grooves that invite stellar solo flights from his collaborators and the nerve to romance a melody when it suits him.”

&Philip van Vleck, Billboard

Manuel Valera Piano

Hamish Smith Bass

Jimmy Macbride Drums

Born​ ​and​ ​raised​ ​in​ ​Havana, Cuba, ​Grammy​ ​nominated​ ​pianist​ ​and​ ​composer​ ​Manuel​ ​Valera​ is a Guggenheim Fellow who has​ ​recorded​ ​13​ ​CDs ​as​ a​ ​​bandleader​ ​with​ ​touring​ ​projects ranging​ ​from​ ​his​ ​Grammy​ ​nominated​ ​group​ ​New​ ​Cuban​ ​Express​ ​to​ ​​modern​ ​contemporary jazz trio​ ​to​ ​solo​ ​piano. Jazz critic Howard Mandel claims that “it’s an unalloyed pleasure to discover a young man so accomplished that his potential seems boundless. Pianist-composer, Manuel Valera is indeed, prime mover of this Forma Nueva.”