About Me
Profile courtesy of MySpace Layouts Gabriel Riesco (Spain), guitarist-composer-arranger, began playing guitar at the age of fourteen in Kensington School Music Program (Pozuelo, Madrid) when his music teacher, Peter Sykes, discovered his innate musical talent. He soon joined several local bands, including the Kensington School Young Orchestra with which he toured around Europe. He studied classical guitar up to 6th grade with the Royal Academy of London passing with honors and touring Spain with the Royal Academy of London examiners as an example of excellence in performance. Shortly after, Gabriel started performing music for a theatre company called Thyasos touring Greece, Italy, Crete and Turkey, playing the bouzouki and other string folk instruments. Meanwhile, his musical interests focused on jazz, listening to Pat Metheny, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis recordings among others.Upon receiving a full music scholarship at Miami-Dade College, Gabriel moved to Miami, Florida to continue his studies under the tutelage of some of the best musicians and educators in the jazz and Latin-jazz fields. While in Miami, he performed in various clubs having had the pleasure of working with great musicians such as Rey Rivera, Adrián Gonzalez, Randall Tommassello, Greg Diaz and Jorge Lopez among others. Subsequently, Gabriel joined the Miami Dade Big Band, touring the States, recording a CD and participating in the International Association for Jazz Education in New Orleans.Two years later, Gabriel moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. He graduated Magna Cum Laude as a Professional Music major in performance and composition-arranging. His experience in Boston includes performing with great international artists such as: Mili Bermejo, Leo Genovese, Bob Sands, Nir Naaman, Michel Reis and Natalia Bernal among others.Gabriel joined the international jazz-fusion band, Global Grooves, touring Europe and South America. He joined Bobby Martinez’ Latin Big Band and Bob Sands Big Band. While in Boston, Gabriel eventually formed his own band, HighGroovin, and has completed three European tours performing in big venues, theaters and international jazz festivals. His first CD, Ging Gong, was released under his own label. His second CD, Chillida, is in production. Gabriel currently resides in New York City.
