Primary Instrument: Sax, tenor
“Florencia Gonzalez performance (…) was again one of the most interesting and enjoyable acts, with the right balance between school and street, between north and south, between the past and future of music.” —LA DIARIA
“...tracks driven by Latin dance rhythms (tango, candombe, etc) but stretched into modern realms of harmony, rhythm and form that recall the best of Mingus, Monk and Gil Evans...”
“...an array of colors... as she marries modern jazz harmony and the occasional 12 tonish classical master to the deepest folkloric traditions of the south of South America.” —THE BOSTON PHOENIX
Florencia, composer, performer (multi woodwind player, singer), and session musician, leads bands that range from a duo of guitar and saxophone to a 20-piece Big Band. Her Big Band has been together since 2007; playing regularly in Boston until 2011, when it was selected one of the best 5 jazz bands in Boston right before moving to New York, where she established a new Big Band composed by the finest jazz musicians of the city.
Parallel to her large ensembles (Big Band and 11 Piece Band), she leads a Candombe Project, which includes horns, percussion, singing and a lot of beautiful tunes from Uruguay and Argentina. This project performs regularly in New York and has been part of a number of jazz and Latin music festivals.
Born and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay, her music career there encompassed a lot of different styles in a variety of groups (jazz, tango, bossa nova, rock, pop, funk, candombe, etc.).
She studied classical saxophone performance in Uruguay and as a classical musician was selected in 2003 as first saxophone of the National Symphonic Orchestra. In 2004 she moved to Boston, where she graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music with a dual Bachelor Degree in Jazz Composition and Performance. After graduating from Berklee College of Music she pursued her Master’s Degree in Jazz Composition at New England Conservatory, from where she also graduated with honors.
Florencia has studied with George Garzone, Joe Lovano, Jerry Bergonzy, Charlie Banacos, Hall Crook, Michael Gandolfi, Ken Schaphorst, Frank Calberg, Ed Tomassi, Ken Pullig and Greg Hopkins among others.
Currently she is also working as a music educator, teaching Music Theory, Ear Training, Jazz Ensemble and Woodwinds in various New York City music schools and conservatoires.
LA DIARIA
“…Florencia’s charts have an air you may call third Third-Stream, you may call world music. I’ d call it worth hearing.”
JAZZ INSIDE
“…Woman Dreaming is in most respects a showcase for Gonzalez’ ultra-modern compositions and arrangements, and she doesn’t disappoint. As another flag-bearer in the ranks of such avant-garde writers as Schneider Carla Bley, Hazel Leach, Christina Fuchs and others, Gonzalez has made the sort of remarkable beginning that presages a bright and productive future. ”
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“…Gonzalez has crafted a program of long-form works that are packed generously with arranging delights and happy surprises.”
JAZZIZ
“…tracks driven by Latin dance rhythms (tango, candombe, etc) but stretched into modern realms of harmony, rhythm and form that recall the best of Mingus, Monk and Gil Evans…”
“…an array of colors (…) as she marries modern jazz harmony and the occasional 12 tonish classical master to the deepest folkloric traditions of the south of South America.”
THE BOSTON PHOENIX
