Yanko Valdes

Yanko Valdes was born in Mendoza, Argentina and raised in Santiago de Chile. At the age of seven, he begins to play his Grandfather’s guitars for pure curiosity and learn Kung Fu because of his Grandmother’s decision that the kid should learn how to defend himself (having much better success in the latter, by achieving third place in Tsung Chiao style fighting in the Chilean National). When he was twelve, his mother won a poetry prize and moved the family to Brooklyn, N.Y. As soon as he arrived, he convinced his mother to buy him a bass guitar, thinking it would be easier than guitar (he also had to convince her to buy him a keyboard, due to an accident where he broke Cristian Moraga’s first Roland D5, but that’s another story... ). By fourteen, he had already performed all over the tri-state area. In the subways of N.Y. he ran into the Chilean composer Hugo Moraga and began his first formal musical studies (he has also performed and recorded with him both in N.Y. and Chile). His first double bass lessons were with Kiyoto Fujiwara (MG4, Horace Silver, Thomas Chapin, etc.). Other teachers include Santi Debriano, Carlos Franzetti, Maria Schneider and Dennis Moorman. He is a former recipient of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Scholarship, granted by Manny Albam and Jim McNelly. He has performed with artists such as Dina Fanai (TRS Orchestra), Dave Eggar (Flux Quartet), Elayne Joyce-Simon (wife of Neil Simon), Willy Crook (Patricio Rey y sus redonditos de ricota), Alex Skolnick (formerly of Testament), Attack Theater, William Luna, Autocontrol, A-HA, Edible Red, Life on Mars and Four on the Floor (Meet The Artist program at Lincoln Center), among many others. In 1997, He was a special guest with Los Tetas (EMI Latin) and accompanied them on their South American tour. After he returned from South America, he decided to go back to school. He received a scholarship from Hunter College to study with Professor John A. Schaffer, retired principal bassist from the New York Philharmonic. He is currently a member of the Jason Green Labour of Love, Agua Clara and the Ian Kane Boogie-Stride quartet. As a solo artist, he has composed and produced two albums, Zekondz (2001) and Ideas de Camara (2003). As an Educator, he is a faculty member of the International Studio of Music/American Institute of Guitar and a former member of the Department of Education of NYC