Harvey Valdes is a guitar player with a passionate interest in expanding the musical and compositional capacity of the guitar and related instruments. Fluent in Western music styles from jazz and classical to metal and dub, Harvey also plays the oud and Turkish cumbus. He studied at The New School under Vic Juris (Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughn) and Dave Fiuczynski (Branford Marsalis, John Zorn), and Palestinian music giants Simon and Najeeb Shaheen.
From there he began his eclectic journey as a side man on projects ranging from free jazz with Daniel Carter, funk/jazz/soul with members of Soul Live, electronic world music with producer Dub Gabriel, and Rhys Chatham’s A Crimson Grail for 200 Electric Guitars, which premiered at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival.
More extensive collaborations include his work with Middle Eastern/Balkan jazz orchestra Anistar , punky reggae touring group The Cool and Deadly; and avant rock group K.Page and Sleepwalker’s Parade, who recently performed at BAM Café during the Next Wave Festival. In addition, he is an Associate Artist with experimental theater company The Wooster Group and worked over a three year period playing electric guitar for Francesco Cavalli’s 1641 baroque opera, La Didone. This production toured Europe and had extended runs at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn and Redcat Theater in Los Angeles.
Compositionally Harvey is deeply interested in expanding the musical capacity of the guitar through the sensitive use of pedals and loops. He sees pedals as an extension of the instrument, as opposed to a mechanism for supplying familiar effects. His compositional process includes unearthing the musical color in effect pedal sound and highlighting texture as a distinct compositional element. Overtones from East and West blend with rhythmic structures generated from tactile contact with the instrument, loops, and texturally generated sound. This experimentation results in sensitively layered sonic canvases one of which, “Listenâ€, was recently chosen as Editor’s Pick by Guitar Player Magazine.
Harvey teaches Eastern and Western music theory, guitar, and oud both privately and at various music schools in the tri-sate area.