The Betancourt Trio has been characterized as a mix of "Afro-Latin-Jazz-Fusion-Avant-Garde-Salsa-Folk rhythms from West Africa to the Caribbean." Indeed, you’d need to travel 6,000 miles to both sides of the Atlantic to hear something like the Betancourt Trio. Building from these extended musical roots, these three virtuosi from Venezuela and Guinea mix it all up to create exciting, unusual and out-of-the-box textures and rhythms from familiar sounds.
Rodolfo Betancourt is an award-winning Venezuelan guitarist and composer with a musical breadth that makes him feel comfortable within the symphony orchestra, an improv ensemble, a jazz quartet, a string swing band and everything in between. Rodolfo has performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, including the premiere recording of Michael Daugherty’s Philadelphia Stories. He is a meticulous composer and arranger, generally blending jazz, Latin rhythms, minimalism and folk styles in his work. His compositions and arrangements have been performed locally by the Playground Ensemble (artist-in-residence at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music). Master percussionist Fara Tolno brings the autochthonous rhythms of West Africa and fearlessly and tastefully blends them with any musical style. Born in the former French colony of Guinea, he has spent most of his life dedicated to preserving his homeland’s rich heritage, touring the world as both a teacher and a living embodiment of West African performance arts. Jorge Lopez’s fretless bass sounds reflect the influence of both New York Salsa and jazz-rock. He has performed as the bass player of choice for an endless list of bands in his native Venezuela and since 2005, Denver.
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Betancourt Trio at Swallow Hill - Feb 15, 2008
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