Who is Jorge Pardo
Jorge Pardo (Madrid, December 1, 1956) is a Spanish jazz and flamenco musician, tenor and soprano saxophonist, and flautist. He uses a musical language that blends root jazz and flamenco, and his style with the flute and saxophone is considered a benchmark of innovation.
- Flamenco Flute: he is considered the one who introduced the flute to Flamenco.
- Jazz Fusion: he enjoys international prestige in the jazz world.
He began his musical studies at the age of 14 at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid. From the beginning, he was drawn to jazz, which was reflected in his first performances with university groups.
“To learn flamenco you have to get out there and get your hands dirty; a YouTube tutorial isn’t enough”
Awards
France
Best European Jazz Musician, French Académie du Jazz (2013)
Spain
National Prize for Contemporary Music awarded by the MEC (2015)
Jazz
Gold Medal of the Jazz en la Costa Festival in Almuñécar (2016)
Latin Grammy
Grammy Awards for the album "Antidote" with Chick Corea (2019)
Early career
After starting to play with professional musicians such as pianist Jean-Luc Vallet, drummer Peer Wyboris, Tete Montoliu, organist Lou Bennett (1926–1997), Slide Hampton, saxophonist Pony Poindexter (1926–1998), bassist David Thomas, Pedro Iturralde, and drummer Al Levitt (1932–1994), among others, he formed the group Dolores with Pedro Ruy Blas, which immediately became a benchmark on the Spanish scene.
“When I started playing the flute, I learned them (the notes). When my flute became flamenco, I felt I could express them in a different way. When I broke free from my ties, that’s how I felt them.”
Flamenco Flute
A few years later, he was introduced to the professional world of flamenco by Diego Carrasco and, most notably, Paco de Lucía, whom he would accompany on several world tours, sharing the stage with the biggest international jazz figures and collaborating on the guitarist’s albums.
In 1982, he emerged as one of the most talented musicians in the field of jazz fusion and recorded his first LP under his own name in Mallorca: Jorge Pardo, featuring guest musicians like Joan Bibiloni and Carles Benavent, with whom he would collaborate over the years.
Professional Collaborations
During the following years, he recorded several albums under his own name: Las cigarras son quizá sordas (1991), Veloz hacia su sino (1993), 2332 (1997), and Mira (2001), showing an evolution in his artistic career. Others included El concierto de Sevilla (1995) with Carles Benavent and Tino di Geraldo—forming a trio where the fusion of Latin, flamenco, and jazz took on its own dimension in the music scene—or, with Chano Domínguez, Diez de Paco, an LP considered a definitive reference for Flamenco-Jazz. A born collaborator, Pardo continues to play with other musicians and has recorded with Gil Goldstein, Ketama, La Barbería del Sur, Tomás San Miguel…
Chick Corea and others
From 2004, he was part of Chick Corea’s international tour: the Touchstone Tour.
In 2005, he recorded Vientos Flamencos, with the second part following in 2009. His subsequent albums were “Huellas” in 2012 and “Historias de Radha y Krishna” in 2014.
Metaflamencojazz
In 2016, he premiered Metaflamenco. Djinn, a sound journey he defined as “interdimensional metaflamencojazz” where groove, electronics, voice, electricity, and flamenco join hands. Djinn—the musician explains—is a name that refers to the genie or spirit of various ancestral mythologies with the capacity to influence the human mind and spirit. That same year, he also collaborated on the album “Grandmaster Jazz vol. 1” by DJ Toner (who also participates in some live performances presenting the Djinn album), a work that fuses jazz and hip hop.
“It’s a lie that flamenco and jazz are only for experts”
In 2022, he released Trance Sketches on Spotify, his new work mixing Flamenco, Jazz, and electronic music.