Alí Bello

Soloist Winner of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra

Sydney, Australia

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Biography

Venezuelan born Alí Bello has become one of the most dazzling and sought after violinists, distinguishing himself for his versatility among different music styles in addition to his well-found classical training and multidimensional improvisational skills, which have made him a top violinist of the Latin jazz arena.

Alí initiated his music training in “El Sistema” (The National System on Youth Orchestras of Venezuela) in his native country. His classical music education was godfathered by great figures of the Venezuelan music stage including José Antonio Abreu, creator and founder of “El Sistema”. In the mid 90’s Alí traveled to New York for his college education receiving Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Music Arts and benefitting from some of the great teachers of violin in New York - Margaret Pardee, Sally Thomas, and Masao Kawasaki.

It was during his years in college that Alí began contact with the jazz and Latin jazz scene of the city and he ventured into new explorations of improvisational music and other styles. Thanks to a combination of his training and Latin background, Alí very quickly became a regular performer among big names of the New York music spotlight, stretching his credits and talents beyond the realm of classical music, including jazz, pop, R&B, Middle Eastern, flamenco, and especially the many styles of South American music – erasing the boundaries between classical, jazz, and folkloric genres.

He has collaborated and performed with such figures as Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri’s Big Band. He is a regular member of Johnny Pacheco’s Charanga and Conjunto as well as a member of Rudy Calzado’s Cubarama. Alí has recorded and collaborated with bands of great tradition such as Orquesta Broadway and Africando as well as modern fusion bands like Alfredo Naranjo y El Guajeo, La Clave Secreta, and Los Jóvenes del Barrio.

It is much beyond the amazing Afro Latin rhythms that Alí’s strings reach. He has become a sultry sound in tango, regularly performing with Grammy winner bandoneonist Raul Jaurena and regularly collaborates scores with flamenco guitarist Pedro Cortés. His repertoire stretches even more to include gypsy swing and American folk music, as a member of the touring band of Doc Severinsen & El Ritmo de la Vida. He also infuses the violin into the popular rhythms of R&B, performing live with The Roots, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z at the rapper’s 10th anniversary concert. Alí can be heard arranging and collaborating dance beats with Grammy winner producer Louie Vega and artists Anané and Luisito Quintero, as well as recording with bachata award winners group Aventura. His violin has backed up amazing singers of the stature of Mercedes Sosa, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Alejandro Fernández, and Cheo Feliciano among others.

He could be heard regularly with his Latin Jazz Sextet, The Latin Jazz Liaisons, and is currently working on the production of his new musical concept, The Sweet Wire Band – a blend of acoustic string instruments, which include all his multicultural collaborations as well as expose his Afro-Latin roots and Venezuelan heritage.

From international performances to New York City local events, from tropical Afro-Caribbean beats to swing and jazz, from arrangements in salsa to collaborations in Middle Eastern music, from Carnegie Hall performances to innovative recording sessions, and from guajiro folkloric phrases to electric funk grooves, Alí Bello has proven himself as a musician with a skillful repertoire to be reckoned with and much more to come.

Alí Bello

& The Sweet Wire Band

Afro-Venezuelan Jazz @

Mondo

426 Springfield Ave.

Summit, NJ 07901

Feb. 23rd, 2019

http://www.mondosummit.com

8:00 & 9:00 pm set / $20 adv. - $25 door