Negroni's Trio

Negroni's Trio is a Latin Grammy-nominated jazz piano trio founded by composer, pianist, instructor, and arranger José Negroni. His sidemen include his son Nomar Negroni (a Berklee College of Music graduate) on drums, and American bassist Josh Allen (graduate of the Frost School of Music, University of Miami). Their sound is a fusion of Caribbean rhythms, modern creative, and Latin jazz. Negroni the elder is also proficient and respected in classical symphonic and world music, and has played on stages all over the globe. His diversity is a key to the group's sound. Negroni directed the publishing department at Sony Music in the United States for more than a decade. A disciple of the salsa legend Papo Lucca, Negroni spent 16 years as an instructor in the Music Conservatory in Puerto Rico. During the '80s, he established a successful career as one of Latin America’s best musical directors, producers, and pop music arrangers, and was also almost always on tour as pianist and musical director of the biggest international Latin stars. Since founding Negroni's Trio in the late '90s, the band has played jazz festivals the world over; they are a regular performer at New York’s notable Blue Note club. The band's first recorded date was 2003's Naturaleza/Nature for Universal Music Latino; it combined progressive jazz elements, pop, and Latin music, and reflected the spirit of Puerto Rico's heritage. It not only received wide radio play at smooth jazz and on world music and new age programs, but also found a spot on their respective genre charts. Piano/Drums/Bass followed a year later. It was nominated for a Latin Grammy and spent 15 weeks on the jazz charts. After leaving Universal, Negroni's Trio recorded Father and Son for the Cacao label in 2008, followed by Just Three in 2010, On the Way in 2012, and Negroni’s Trio Tres Palabras, LIVE! in 2014, In 2015, Negroni signed to Sony Music and issued the ambitious Negroni Piano + 9, which placed the trio in a larger context and featured legendary musicians alongside the band including Charlie Sepulveda, William Cepeda, Humberto Ramírez, and Leo Quintero. The album got international airplay and was nominated for a Latin Grammy as Best Jazz Album. In 2017, the trio issued its most ambitious outing yet: New Era broke the mold for Negroni's Trio. Utilizing electric keyboards as well as his grand piano, Jose Negroni was given complete creative control by Sony Music. He arranged classic jazz tunes such as "Take the 'A' Train" and "Sweet Georgie Fame" to new takes on pop standards such as "That's the Way of the World" and "Isn't She Lovely" to tunes with Brazilian and Latin leanings such as "El Incomprendido," "Perfidia," and "Brazilian Love Affair." The album's lead single, an Afro-Cuban-styled reading of Bobby Hebb's classic "Sunny" with Cuban songstress Aymee Nuviola fronting the band, was premiered by Billboard and made several streaming charts. The full-length New Era was issued in early September.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo