Beledo

Beledo is a New York-based guitarist, pianist, and composer from Montevideo, Uruguay. Active since his teens, he is a living legend in his home country. His playing is informed by triste, milonga, chimarrita, and candombe rhythms from Uruguay, Spanish flamenco, progressive jazz, world fusion, and classical music. Jose Pedro Beledo began playing piano at age six. During the British Invasion, he became enamored with the guitar and gravitated toward it, discovering a natural gift for proficiency on the instrument. By the time he reached his teens, he was leading rock bands -- even playing with the Uruguayan supergroup Dias de Blues for a time. During the 1970s, he came under the sway of the jazz-rock fusion pioneers, and founded the bands Maytreya and, more importantly, Siddhartha, a Uruguayan prog and jazz-rock group of near mythical status. He studied classical and jazz guitar, piano, and composition at the University School of Music in Uruguay, and was a founding member of the University Conservatory Jazz Quartet. After graduation in the 1980s, he began working as a recording and touring musician for hire. He issued his first two albums, Escape and El Cefiro, in the middle of the decade. He worked with Pedro Aznar, Miguel Mateos, and Ruben Rada, and played on Jaime Roos' classic album Mediocampo. He also wrote string arrangements for albums by Miguel Cantilo and David Lebron. During the early '90s, Beledo relocated to New York, and in addition to recording, attended the UCLA Certified Program for Film Scoring. After completing the program, he co-produced the soundtrack for the Warner Bros. film Nothing But Trouble with Peter Kater. His touring résumé landed him a spot as guitarist with the Tropical Tribute to the Beatles that featured Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, and Tito Nieves in 1996. In the 21st century, Beledo has played on recordings by Jorge Alfano's Akonagua, Alma y Vida, Manolo Badrena, and many others. He also released important genre-blurring recordings including the world fusion set Lejanas Serranías and the Latin jazz/classical hybrid Desde la Torre. The inventive Montevideo Jazz Dreams (featuring Randy Brecker and Stefon Harris in its lineup) was released in 2007. In addition to leading Stratosphere, his own band in New York, Beledo is a founding member of the Avengers, the adventurous progressive fusion quartet whose roster includes Adam Holzman, Lincoln Goines, and Kim Plainfield. Their debut offering, the acclaimed On a Mission, was released in 2012 and landed on various jazz charts across Europe and South America. The group toured Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. In 2013, Beledo signed with New York's MoonJune Records. He also worked with Indonesian world jazz fusion band simakDialog, and performed in duo with Indonesian uber guitarist Dewa Budjana during the latter's American tour. Beledo's MoonJune debut, Dreamland Mechanism, was released in the spring of 2016. He played not only guitars and keyboards, but violin and bass as well. His trio for the date (which also hosted several all-star guests) included Goines and drummer Gary Husband.
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