Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ivan Renta began playing Alto sax at age 13 in his hometown Coamo. By age 15 , Ivan was already performing with local bands in the southern part of Puerto Rico. As a teenager he studied with local saxman Jose "Cheguito" Encarnación who introduced him to Jazz harmony and improvisation. In 1998, Ivan moved to New York to attend the prestigious "New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program". While in college, he began performing with top artists such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, William Cepeda, Bobby Sanabria, among others. In February 2000 he contributed on the album "Masterpiece" winner of multiple Grammy awards, and also Tito Puente's last recording. During the past years, Ivan Renta has kept quite busy performing with everybody in the New York jazz scene. His collaborations with top artist such as Willie Colon, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Barreto, Paquito D' Rivera, Dave Valentin, Joe Lovano, Arturo Sandoval, The Temptations, Bebo Valdez, Arturo O'Farill, Ralph Irizarry, Mario Rivera, John Benitez, Luis Bonilla, Oscar Hernandez, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, just to name a few, has taken him all over the world's biggest venues.
Now in his mid twenties, Ivan is currently working on his debut solo album as well Jazz at Lincoln Center's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. His career has just began, and lots of sounds will be heard from "The New Caribbean phenom"...... Eddie Palmieri
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