Victor Prieto is a native of Galicia, Spain born in the town of Orense in 1975. At the age of nine Victor was encouraged by his mother to study the accordion-an instrument deeply ingrained in Galician folklore. While studying classical accordion at the Orense Conservatory Victor understood the immense musical potential of his instrument and branched out from the classical education by concurrently taking harmony, arrangement and improvisation classes at Estudio Escola de Musica (Santiago de Compostela, Spain). In 1998 Victor received a scholarship from Berklee College of Music where he majored in performance under the direction of Joanne Brackeen. Berklee, where Victor was the only one to date to specialize in accordion, did not offer any classes focusing on accordion. Uninhibited by these circumstances Victor created his own study program applying the expertise offered by educators at Berklee to the accordion.

Today Victor Prieto is revolutionizing the way that the accordion is played by creating new sounds and techniques for this instrument. His music embraces Jazz, Tango, Classical and Celtic Roots enriched with new rhythms and colors. He is the creator of a new technique for the accordion called “chord approach on both hands”, which creates rich and elaborate harmonies.

In 2002 Victor moved to New York where he quickly established himself as one of the most prolific and versatile accordionists on the music and Jazz scenes. As a leader Victor has performed at many prestigious venues and events such as Berklee Performance Center, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Blue Note NY, New Jersey Performance Art Center, Three Rivers Musical Festival, Williamsburg Jazz Festival, Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center.

Victor has performed and recorded with Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace, Sony BMG Masterworks. "2010 Grammy Winning Album"), Jeff Ballard, Chris Cheek, Paquito D’Rivera, Matt Wilson, Donny McCaslin, Lionel Louke among others and is involved in projects such as Pablo Aslan’s Avantango, Emilio Solla’s NY Jazz Tango Project, Tessa Souter and Beat Kaestli. 

He teaches Master Classes in Spain, Italy, Portugal, USA and has headed the jazz accordion studies at the Brooklyn Conservatory (2003 – 2004). He is a recipient of numerous awards and prizes for excellence in accordion performance and composition, among them are: the Creative Performer award from the Spanish Association of Artists and Performers, and the first prize at CMZK’s Concourse of Composition (Argentina).

Victor now lives in New York City dividing his time between performing, teaching and recording. He has recently introduced his third recording, "Chris Cheek and V. Prieto. Rollo-Coaster.", Cheekus Music.

New York, 2009.

Projects:

Chris Cheek and Victor Prieto

C. Cheek, sax

V. Prieto, acc

"Every composition reveals the duo’s detailed articulation, covering modes of jazz, classical, tango, Brazilian and Celtic music. Through this assortment of influences runs a strong thread of contemporary thinking and energy"....All about Jazz New York.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Chris Cheek, the son of a junior high school band director, began playing the alto sax at the age of 12.  Chris  played in a variety of local Jazz and Blues bands in the St. Louis area while attending Webster University. In 1988, on scholarship, he went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he studied with Joe Viola and Hal Crook, eventually receiving a bachelors degree in performance.

Chris moved to New York in 1992 and since then has played and recorded with a number of different groups including: Paul Motian's "Electric Bebop Band", "The Bloomdaddies", Charlie Haden's "Liberation Music Orchestra", The Brian Blade Fellowship,  Wolfgang Muthspiel, Luciana Souza, David Berkman, and Guillermo Klein's "Los Guachos". Chris has played in Japan, China, Russia, Canada, throughout much of Europe and the United States, with these and other bands.

In addition to appearing on over 60 albums as a sideman, Chris has recorded 4 albums as a leader on Fresh Sound Records, "I Wish I Knew", "A Girl Named Joe", "Vine", and most recently "Blues Cruise", featuring Brad Mehldau.  While he continues to be actively involved in a number of different musical projects, Chris plays regularly with his own band at various clubs in the U.S. and abroad.

 Victor Prieto Trio

V. Prieto, acc, bagpipe (Gaita)

Jorge Roeder, bass

Ferenc Nemeth, drums

Jorge Roeder is a native of Lima, Peru. He has been recently awarded 1st price at the 2007 of the International Society Of Bassists Jazz Competition. At the age of 14, he began to study the cello and two years later was invited to pursue his classical studies at the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. After taking up the double bass, Jorge was appointed assistant principal bassist of the Lima Philharmonic and Opera orchestras for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Jorge was also part of the New Music Youth Orchestra, which is dedicated to the development of jazz in Peru.

Moving to Boston in 2002, Jorge received a scholarship from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied jazz performance with John Lockwood and Danilo Perez, among others. 

Jorge is a founding member and artistic director of the Sofia Koutsovitis Group, which performs traditional South American music as well as original jazz-influenced compositions. A musician with diverse interests and a wide range of abilities, Jorge is a member of the Kenny Werner Trio, the Julian Lage Group, the Dan Tepfer Trio, the Jarrett Cherner Trio, the Peruvian music group Avantrio, the world music group Sol y Canto, as well as numerous other ensembles. Jorge has performed with such jazz greats as Roy Haynes, Alex Acuna, Geoffrey Keezer, Steve Lacy, Maria Schneider, Kenny Werner and Matt Wilson.

Victor Prieto Trio Plus One

V. Prieto, acc

Chris Cheek, sax

Jorge Roeder, bass

Otis Brown III, drums