Joan Torres

Even at a young age, Joan Torres was drawn to music. As a little boy he had a small guitar and then a small keyboard with which he spent a lot of time making “interesting” sounds. It wasn't until he was 10 years old that he seriously considered starting playing an instrument with a group. He chose the bass and when he turned 11 he finally got one and his life was changed forever.

He began studying the instrument with a private instructor then individually when the instructor moved away. He formed a Rock band with a couple of friends from school when he was in 8th grade (2001) and they basically covered songs to perform in talent shows and class parties.

In the year 2003, he joined his school's new choir directed by Orlando Collado, a Berklee alumnus who quickly became a mentor and a friend, as a bass singer. He also decided to start working on original material and enrolled in the after-school Stevan Micheo Music Academy. There he met drummer Fernando Garcia, who has joined him in many endeavors throughout the years. Furthermore, during his time there, he acquired the core for most of his musical knowledge today. He studied the electric bass, reading and performing in Jazz under bassist Joel Marrero. In addition, he learned the basics of Jazz harmony and theory under one of his mentors, guitarist Antonio Caraballo. At this time he began to explore composition.

In 2004 he auditioned for the Berklee in Puerto Rico workshops and was chosen to attend that year in May. During this time he met another one of his mentors, Oscar Stagnaro. He once again attended the Berklee in Puerto Rico program the following year, this time meeting a lot of people who got him playing his first jazz gigs at local restaurants. Later that summer he attended the Berklee Summer Performance Program in Boston. There he studied with many world-renowned musicians including private instructor Matthew Garrison. He was also asked by Victor Mendoza to join his “Salsa Ensemble”. In this ensemble he met Gabriel Lugo and Marcos Lopez both talented puertorican percussionists. At the end of the Berklee program he was awarded with a scholarship to attend Berklee as a full-time student.

He was also invited to join many other different projects. He joined plena orchestra “Plena Juventud” with fellow musician Gabriel Lugo. He also joined jazz group “Indaka Jazz Quartet” where he met guitarist Gabriel Vicens with whom he's been friends ever since. Later he joined a new reggae group who was looking for a bassist that eventually became the local indie group “Raices Rusticas”.

Through many steady gigs, and jam sessions he played with many people including Mario Castro, Jeremy de Jesus and Enrique Trinidad. He once again attended the Berklee in Puerto Rico workshops and his ensemble was chosen to play at the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest on June 4th, 2006. That summer he began to study the upright bass with local legend Tony Batista who became a friend and a big influence on developing his skills. Later, Raices Rusticas opened for Black Guayaba at the Arena Pier Ten September 9, 2006, their first big show performing original music.

After he graduated high school and moved to the town of Mayaguez to study engineering, he joined the University's Choir “Coral Universitaria”. After one semester there, the director asked him to move to the university's more exclusive choir “Corium Canticus” in which he stayed for the next 4 years. During that time the choir was chosen to participate in a competition in Argentina in 2008 where they performed very well and for their score were awarded a gold medal.

In May 2007 he attended the Berklee in Puerto Rico workshops for the last time where he was awarded another scholarship to attend the college and was again part of the ensemble chosen to play at the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest on June 3rd.

In summer of 2009 Raices Rusticas began to reorganize and work more on their original material. That year they recorded new original songs, got the chance to film a Music Video for their single “Free Taste” and were chosen as one of the 13 reggae bands to represent Puerto Rico's reggae movement in the first of Sembrando Semillas compilation albums. Their single in that album “Suerte” got them new fans and greater exposition. Afterwards in 2010, they had the chance to play throughout the island of Puerto Rico in the Reggae Road Trip, Sembrando Semillas's Summer tour. Their song was also featured in the Rip Curl Pro Search 2010 radio promo. The event was held in Isabela, Puerto Rico where they also performed on October 30th.

After the success of the Sembrando Semillas movement, he was able to launch the website www.CulturaJazz.com, dedicated to promoting the Jazz scene in Puerto Rico. In 2011 they were recognized as press in local events including the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest.

In Summer 2011, his long-time friend, guitarist Gabriel Vicens started his own project, a Modern-Jazz Quintet playing original compositions. His first choice for an upright bassist was Joan Torres.

Joan Torres decided after his experience with the Gabriel Vicens Quintet to revisit some of the compositions he had made over the years along with some new ideas. He began working on those ideas, got a repertoire of original music together and recruited a new group to perform these Modern Jazz Fusion tunes. It can be said that these tunes synthesize a lot of his musical experiences and influences over the years. As of January 11th, 2012 the group has recorded the first album and Joan was able to perform his music with the group for the first time at the local Nuyorican Cafe on December 21st, 2011. The album was recorded on January 10 and 11 at Playbach Studio; it features Sergio Gonzalez, David Ojeda, Fernando Garcia, Jonathan Suazo and Gabriel Vicens. It was released May 21, 2012.

Source: Joan Torres