Home » Jazz Musicians » Octavio Hernandez

Octavio Hernandez

Octavio D. Hernández is musician that happends to play guitar from the Canary Islands, so to say Islander, nowadays rooted in Barcelona.

His relationship with music begins at an early age from two very different ways of influence: on one side the Canary Islands folklore and on the other, jazz, blues and rock.

Beign self-taught in 2001 he moved to Barcelona where he receive hands-on classes from musicians as relevant in the Catalan and Spanish music scene as Jordi Bonell, Viçens Solsona or Dani Pérez and begins his studies in the Taller de Musics where he completes part of his jazz studies.

In addition to his studies at the Taller de Musics he participated in seminars and master classes with Chris Higgins, Seamus Blake, Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Friesen, Perico Sambeat, Javier Colina, Iñaki Salvador, Lage Lund, Peter Bernstein among others.

In 2005 he moved to New York City where he studied with Johnathan Kreisberg and Peter Bernstein.

In 2012 he finishes his complementary studies of music in the Superior School of Music of Catalonia, ESMuC, obtaining the superior title of Jazz and Modern Music (JiMM) with his degree project on the figure of Frank Zappa.

In the professional field he has participated in many projects from his own jazz quartet, "Now Quartet", with which he has shared the stage with musicians such as Santi de La Rubia, Mariano Steimberg, Tom Warburton, Joan Terol, César Joaniquet or Miguel Serna, hiphop with IFS-Crew, funk and Cuban music with Mel Semé, "mestizaje" with Radio Malanga or afrobeat with Alma Afrobeat Ensemble among others.

He has had the opportunity to share the stage at the Canarian Jazz Festival with the Charlie Moreno Group, at the Canarias Jazz Showroom with Aldo Caviglia and Paco Perera at the Canarias Jazz Showroom in 2013 presenting his latest solo work on the figure of Thelonious Monk with a great reception, in 2015 with Takeo Takahashi Quintet at the Festival Noorpas de Finalndia, Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, and many clubs throughout Spain.

In 2015 he participates as professor in the seminar of Jazz and Modern Music of Tenerife together with Abe Rábade, Chris Cheek or Joe Magnarelli among others.

He leads his own quartet, OH4t, with Kike Perdomo on sax, Audun Waage on trumpet, Giampaolo Laurentaci on bass and Juan Luís Castaño on drums and in the Haziram Trio trio with Aldo Caviglia and Giampaolo Laurentaci.

As sideman he plays regularly with Kike Perdomo with whom he recorded his last work, Roots and with the Big Band of the Canary Islands, with which they participate in his last album, Hangin'Out, with the arrangements of the Danish pianist Soren Möller. Also with Takeo Takahashi with whom he has recorded Eight Songs for Nine Years. He is a stable member of the band Simbeque, in which the Canarian folklore is revisited from a modern point of view. His first work, Simbeque Vo.I, has received very good reviews. He takes part in the last album by Aridane Martín, an islander vibraphonist based in Barcelona, called Tiebelé.

Read more

Tags

"Octavio has long been one of Spain's best kept secrets. He has an extremely fluid technique and a time feel that makes him one of the best of those born in the motherland of the guitar, but he is also writing interesting music that combines world music with jazz ideas in a unique way. Check out Tuna Happiness, for the full experience!" - Jonathan Kreisberg

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

FROM

96Kmusic
2019

buy

Tiébélé: Felo...

Auto-produced
2018

buy

Tuna Happiness

Self Produced
2017

buy

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.