Nacho is an Uruguayan musician, composer and social entrepreneur. After almost a decade dedicated to poverty reduction in Latin America, working at techo.org and socialab.com, he decided to pursuit his live long passion of music, and got a scholarship at Berklee College Music to study Jazz Composition.
“Illegal Grooves” is the reflection of a long journey devoted to music, the appreciation of diverse Latin American treasures like candombe, tango, samba, and the mix from all these styles with the jazz language. It´s also a gift that symbolizes what immigrants bring when they leave their country. This illegality is actually what makes a system richer, brighter, and stronger. This illegality is what makes us different, and at the same time is what makes us recognize each other.
All songs were written, arranged and produced by Nacho González, except from “Como dos extraños”.
Nacho won the prestigious Wayne Shorter Award for Jazz Composition at Berklee College of Music, and the Jazz Education Award for Young Composers, and has been recognized as one of the emerging stars of modern Jazz composition.
Artists featured:
Illegal Grooves (feat. Josh Shpak / Aníbal Cruz / Joaquina Mertz)
Speeding Turtle (feat. Ruben Rada / George Garzone / Nando Michelin)
Beating Oranges (feat. John Patitucci / Hugo Fattoruso / George Garzone)
BO, Mr. Bob (studio) (feat. George Garzone / Nando Michelin)
Nueva Música (feat. George Garzone/ Nando Michelin/ Takafumi Nikaido)
Candombe Juno (feat. Yesseh Furaha-Ali / Nando Michelin / Takafumi Nikaido)
Como dos extraños (feat. Jorge Trasante)
BO, Mr. Bob (live) (feat. Terence Blanchard / George Garzone)
Artists who participated in the album:
Illegal Grooves: Flute, Anggie Obin; Soprano, Alto, Bb Clarinet, Juan Ruiz; Trumpet, Josh Shpak and Yuta Yamaguchi; Bone, Suzuko Hori; Bari, Bass Cl, Luis García; Vox: Joaquina Mertz; Guitar, Nacho González; Piano, Aníbal Cruz; DJ, Joaco Pérez; Bass, Lucy Clifford; Percussion, Takafumi Nikaido; Drums, Juan Chiavassa; Recording Enegineer, Mark Wessel; Mix, Aurelio Estebanez; Master, Alex Psaroudakis
Speeding Turtle: Voice: Ruben Rada; Flute: Anggie Obin; Soprano: George Garzone
Alto: Juan Ruiz; Tenor: Alex Madeline; Baritone: Grace-Mary Burega; Trumpets: Neal Rosenthal, Mao Sone; Trombones: Yoshie Nakayama, Rob Krahn; Guitar: Nacho González; Piano: Nando Michelin; Maschine: Isaac Matus-Rodríguez; Bass: Flavio Lira; Percussion: Takafumi Nikaido; Drums: Orlando Retana; Recording Engineer: Mark Wessel
Assistant Engineers: Alex Csak, Shuwen Guo, Paula Park, Erick Jaimes, Nadav Shapira, Tim Schwerdt, Dragi Ivanov; Guitar Overdubs Engineer: Ken Jin; Voice Recording: Gustavo Montemurro (Estudio Las Manzanas); Editing: Garry Purohit; Mix: Aurelio Estebanez, Casa Limón Madrid, Spain; Master: Alex Psaroudakis, Sterlin Sound Studios NY, USA.
Beating Oranges: Flute: Margot Mayette; Soprano: George Garzone; Alto/Clarinet: Juan Ruiz; Bari/Bs.Clarinet: Luis García; Trumpet: Josh Shpak, Neal Rosenthal; Bone: Yoshie Nakayama; Violin: Tania Mesa; Cello: Naseem Alatrash; Guitar & Composition: Nacho González; Cavaco: Flavio Lira; Piano: Nando Michelin; Synth: Hugo Fattoruso; Vibes: Julián Velasco; Bass: John Patitucci; Perc: Negah Santos, Taka Nikaido; Drums: Juan Chiavassa; Engineer: Ross Hogarth; Overdubs: David Cardona, Juan Álvarez, Ken Jin; Mix: Alberto Menezes; Master: Alex Psaroudakis (Sterling Sound New York)
BO, Mr. Bob (session): Flute: Anggie Obin; Trumpet: Paul Sánchez; Alto Sax: Alex Ramírez; Tenor Sax: George Garzone & Andrew Denicola; Trombone: Michael Wang & Max Acree; Bari Sax: Luis García; Piano: Nando Michelin; Guitar: Nacho González; Bass: Flavio Lira; Percussion: Takafumi Nikaido, Julio Santos, & Gilbert Mansour; Candombe Drums: Darío Terán, Jhonny Neves, Diego Paredes; Drums: Juan Chiavassa; Recorded by Mark Wessel; Mixing Engineer: Aurelio Estebanez; Mastered at Sterling Sound: Alex Psaroudakis
Nueva Música: Gustavo D´Amico (soprano); Neal Rosenthal (tpt); Gaia Petrelli (alto); George Garzone (tenor); Michael Wang (bone); Luis García (bari); Nando Michelin (piano)
Nacho González (gt, composition, arr); Óscar Stagnaro (bass); Takafumi Nikaido (perc); Juan Chiavassa (dr); Mark Wessel (Recording Engineer); Pablo San Martín (Mix); Alex Psaroudakis (Master); Special thanks to SangRok Park, Alberto Menezes and Nico Farias
Candombe Juno: Trumpet: Neal Rosenthal; Tenor Sax: Yesseh Furaha-ali; Trombone: Max Acree Piano: Nando Michelín; Bass: Tomás Latorre; Percussion: Takafumi Nikaido
Drums: Juan Chiavassa; Recording Engineer: Marco Echeverría; Mixing Engineer: Pablo San Martín; Mastering Engineer: Alex Psaroudakis
Como dos extraños: Perc: Jorge Trasante; Guitar Nacho González; Engineer: Eddie Corbo
BO, Mr. Bob (live): Flute: Anggie Obin; Trumpet: Terence Blanchard & Paul Sánchez; Alto Sax: Alex Ramírez; Tenor Sax: George Garzone & Yesseh Furaha-Ali; Trombone: Bob Pilkington & Max Acree; Bari Sax: Luis García; Piano: Nando Michelin; Bass: Flavio Lira
Percussion: Takafumi Nikaido, Julio Santos, & Gilbert Mansour; Drums: Juan Chiavassa; Mixing Engineer: Pablo San Martín; Mastered by: Alex Psaroudakis Sterling Sound
