Benjamín Brea

Benjamín Brea
Background information
Birth name Benjamín Arsenio Brea Constenla
Also known as El Maestro
Born (1946-09-18)18 September 1946
Galicia, Spain
Died 23 April 2014(2014-04-23) (aged 67)
Caracas, Venezuela
Genres Jazz, classical, folk, latin, pop
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Saxophone, flute, oboe, clarinet
Years active 1956–2014
Associated acts
Website www.musicavenezuela.com/mv/benjamin_brea
Notable instruments
Woodwinds

Benjamín Brea (18 September 1946 – 23 April 2014) was a Spanish-born Venezuelan musician, arranger and teacher, mostly associated with jazz, even though he had the advantage to play several music genres in various bands as a soloist as well as sideman and conductor.[1]

Early life

Born as Benjamín Arsenio Brea Constenla in Galicia, Spain, he moved with his parents to Venezuela in the early 1960s. He received formal music training in Caracas and graduated under Vicente Emilio Sojo in the José Angel Lamas school of music. Brea started his professional career in 1962, becoming an outstanding musician on a great variety of instruments, being able to play all saxophone and flute families, as well as oboe, clarinet and bass clarinet.[2]

After playing with several local dance bands, he remained busy and performed on countless soundtracks and jingles recording sessions. In addition, he became a member of the Radio Caracas Television orchestra and the now defunct Philharmonic Orchestra of Caracas conducted by Aldemaro Romero. Besides, he backed up significant performers as Jeff Berlin, Paquito D'Rivera, Julio Iglesias, Armando Manzanero, Danilo Pérez, Arturo Sandoval, The Jackson Five and The Supremes, while playing in jazz big band formats led by Porfi Jiménez, Alberto Naranjo and Gerry Weil, among others. In between, he performed alongside such local artists as Soledad Bravo, Vytas Brenner, Maria Teresa Chacin, Ilan Chester, Franco de Vita, Simón Díaz, Gualberto Ibarreto, Los Cañoneros, Ricardo Montaner, Alí Primera, María Rivas, Serenata Guayanesa and Cecilia Todd, in recordings or in concert performances.[3]

Discography

Despite working intensively as a sideman in recording sessions, Brea released only three records in his long-lived career. His first solo album Another Point Of View was released in 1995 and consists of his takes on jazz standards of people like Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, arranged with more contemporanean brushes. It includes tunes like Moonlight Serenade and Summertime, as well as a jazzy version of the andean classic El Cóndor Pasa.[3]

His second album Un Viejo Amor is a more romantic offering and less jazzy, while Christmas Saxes was a production made by him in solitary; recording the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes tracks himself in counterpoint, with the diligent aid of sound engineer Javier Alquati in his own home studio. This last album is a compilation of traditional Christmas songs from Venezuela and beyond.[3]

Other projects

Apart from his own studio projects, he also organised a jazz band to play at gigs and was a staff member at the El Hatillo Jazz Festival, which is an annual event celebrated in the small town of El Hatillo Town, Venezuela.[4]

Later life

In January 2014, Brea fainted while attending a rehearsal and was moved to a hospital in Caracas, where he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He died on 23 April 2014, aged 67.[5]

Discography

Selected collaborations

Edgar Alexánder : Azúcar Cacao y Leche
María Teresa Chacín : Mi querencia
Los Cuñaos : Volumen 2
Vytas Brenner : La ofrenda
Los Cuñaos : Los Cuñaos vol. 4
Frank Quintero : Después de la tormenta
Alex Rodríguez : La Retreta Mayor
Alí Primera : Canción mansa para un pueblo bravo
Alí Primera : Cuando nombro la poesía
Gerry Weil : The Message
María Teresa Chacín : En azul, amarillo y rojo
Guillermo Carrasco : Guillermo Carrasco
Rosa Virginia Chacín : Mi nostalgia
Yordano : Negocios son negocios
Ilan Chester : Canciones de todos los días
El Medio Evo : Bolumen 4
Franco De Vita : Franco De Vita
Alí Primera : Entre La rabia y la ternura
Andy Durán : Mambo-Salsa
El Medio Evo : Medio Evo de nuevo
Alí Primera : Por si no lo sabía
Jorge Aguilar : Calor
Guillermo Carrasco : Visual
Ricardo Montaner : Ricardo Montaner vol. 2
Pentágono : Más romántico
Alberto Naranjo : Imagen Latina
Pentágono : Pentágono 3
Federico Britos Ruiz : Conexión jazz
Franco De Vita : Extranjero
Agni Mogollón : Entre duendes
Pentágono : Aguanta corazón
María Teresa Chacín : Yo soy venezolana
El Pavo Frank : Latinos de etiqueta
Charlie Nagy : Para todos Charlie
Iván Pérez Rossi : No la quiero
Vytas Brenner : Amazonia
Andy Durán : A Jazzy Latin Beat
Marisela Leal : Todo Brasil
Propiedad Privada : La verdadera historia
Maricruz Quintero : Niebla y lluvia
Chiqui Rojas : Sin fronteras
Cecilia Todd : Una sola vida tengo
María Teresa Chacín : Romántica
Andy Durán : Latin Jazz Club
Daniel Grau : You Are In My Dreams
Soledad Bravo : Raices
Luz Marina : Vestida en flor
María Teresa Chacín : Amor mío
Martes 8:30 : Origen Caracas
Oscar Maggi : Cuidao' con los escalones
Giselle Brass : My Favorite Songs
Ramón Carranza : Carranza Jazz
Fusión IV : Tarde pero temprano
Serenata Guayanesa : Una amistad de 25 años
Various Artists : Jazz desde Aldemaro
Tambor Urbano : Que no se pare la rumba
Malanga: Ta' trancao
El Pavo Frank : ¡Bravo Pavo!
Tambor Urbano : La rumba continúa
María Teresa Chacín : Me voy a regalar
Juan Carlos Núñez : Suite urbana
Shesura : Diferente amanecer
Fernando Alarcón : Amor de estrellas
Frank Quintero : Signos de admiración
María Teresa Chacín : La Historia
César Muñoz : Dentro del papel
Iván Pérez Rossi : Canto Caribe
Agua De Luna : Mi tiempo
El Pavo Frank : De Colección
Serenata Guayanesa : El ferrocarril
Andy Durán : Salsa dura y descarga
Ilan Chester : Cancionero del amor venezolano vol. 3
Maruja Muci : My Funny Valentine
Fernando Alarcón : Once de Octubre
Abraham Gustin : Blue
Los Cañoneros : Luna sobre el valle
Francisco Pacheco : Diversidad
Sergio Pérez : Báilalo tú también
Elisa Rego : Rockola
Malanga : Sr. Malanga

See also

References

  1. ↑ Peñín, José; Guido, Walter Guido. Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela (1998), Tomo 1, pg. 221. Fundación Bigott, Caracas, Venezuela; ISBN 978-980-6428-03-4
  2. ↑ Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Benjamin Brea: Biography and Discography". Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Mipunto.com El Hatillo Jazz Festival (2006; in Spanish); accessed 25 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Notice of death of Brea, eluniversal.com, 24 April 2014; accessed 25 April 2014.

External links


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