A spellbound audience at the Vero Beach Museum of Art seemed blissfully unaware of the gale-force winds blowing outside and flooding rains pounding the museum atrium’s glass roof. The deafening thunder could not compete with the powerful percussion, intricate guitar and soulful saxophone of Don Soledad and his band.
A frequent performer at Vero wine bars, hotels and events like the museum’s first Jazz in the Park Thursday night concert of the season earlier this month, Soledad has garnered a strong fan base for his distinctive flamenco and Latin jazz. Toes were tapping and every seat was filled in the museum’s large marble atrium, as Soledad and his musicians were letting loose the rousing rhythms that have been his passion since college.
Born in Manila, Philippines, Soledad and his family moved to California’s Bay Area when he was only 8 years old. The Soledads were a musical family; his mother and sister liked to play the piano, his brother and uncle played guitar.
Soledad gravitated towards the drums so he could play along. “When I was younger, sometimes I’d sneak in to play a little on my brother’s guitar but I liked the drums,” Soledad admits.
He kept practicing and soon found himself playing professionally at clubs in the San Jose area while still a high school student. “Punk rock and the whole punk thing were pretty big at the time there – it was 1992,” Soledad recalls.
Soledad went on to pursue a degree in pharmacology at San Jose State. It was during this time that he got the chance to see legendary guitarist Paco de Lucia in concert at UC Berkeley.
Soledad was transfixed and transformed by the performance. He left the show feeling strongly compelled to return to music, specifically the guitar.
He immediately sought out local flamenco guitarists who were willing to teach him at rates he could afford. To make extra money for more lessons, he worked the graveyard shift at a nearby Shell station, clocking in with his guitar in hand.
“I composed most of my first songs in a little kiosk at this gas station on Jacqueline Street,” he recalls. “People would see me around town and say, ‘Hey, aren’t you the guitarist from the gas station?’”
His hard work, long nights and local notoriety paid off. Soledad soon had enough money saved up to get himself and his guitars to Spain. “I went to Seville and to Jerez, which is the cradle of Flamenco – where it all began. The culture there is very music and art-focused – you can go out every evening and go from bar to bar and hear fantastic musicians. They just pass the guitars around.” He would stay as long as he could, then go back to the U.S. to work, save up more money, and head back to Spain. He did this for a little over a year and then returned to live in Berkeley.
Settled once again in northern California, Soledad’s fortified Flamenco garnered him consistent work in the Bay Area. Word of mouth about Soledad’s musical prowess soon led him to be hired by Robert and Margaret Mondavi, the renowned wine family. They asked Soledad to play for them and their guests at their frequent vineyard galas and dinner parties.
“It was surreal to be in such a beautiful setting with guests arriving by helicopter,” says Soledad.
The seasonal nature of work in Northern California left Soledad yearning for more consistent, year-round opportunities. With its plethora of talent agencies and high corporate demand for entertainers, the Orlando area was a natural choice for Soledad, and he moved to Florida in the early 2000s.
“I got a part-time job and started working on my first CD right away,” Soledad recalls.
“I taught myself the recording software, ProTools, and had some Rode and Sennheiser microphones. I just recorded the guitar tracks myself in my acoustically challenged apartment in Palm Bay.”
Soledad sought out the talents of some of his musician friends out West to record on his first album, most notably, the accomplished bass player Kai Eckhardt, who is also on Soledad’s most recent release, entitled “Soluna.”
Soledad notes that there is an obvious evolution from his first CD to his second project, with the first being primarily Rhumba Flamenco, dominated by 4-4 beats.
“Soluna” is a reference to the sun and moon and a nod to Soledad’s continuing inspiration to write songs from his time spent in nature.
“I composed almost all of my songs for this album primarily outdoors, under oak trees or looking at a stunning California landscape. And this album has a more contemporary Flamenco style.”
Soledad signed with the Gainesville-based Blade Agency in 2006 and is also sponsored by Kremona, the Bulgarian guitar manufacturing company. He plays a Kremona guitar made from European spruce and Mediterranean cypress, customary for Flamenco guitars. He also plays a guitar he calls his “baby”: a Conde Hermanos guitar from Madrid.
The musicians who play with him are as impressive as his instruments. His bass player, Jon Warcholak, has a master’s degree in jazz bass and is a full-time musician. Steve Kornicki, keyboard player and composer, has performed with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, and his brother, Kevin Kornicki, who plays percussion with Soledad’s group, is a member of “Squonk Opera,” a musical act that made it onto the popular competition “America’s Got Talent.”
Rounding out this talented group are saxophonist Mark Sunderland, from Melbourne, and Latin percussionist Raymond Santana, a descendant of generations of great conga players.
Though Paco de Lucia’s performance was a catalyst for Soledad to return to his musical roots, he claims the soulful playing of Vicente Amigo as his largest inspiration. Soledad plays regularly at Matt’s Casbah, a popular gathering spot with an open-air terrace on Melbourne’s New Haven Avenue. He also plays at Crowne Plaza and the Hilton hotels on Melbourne Beach, the Barcelona Tapas Bar in Cocoa Beach, and at Vero’s Costa d’Este Resort.
Soledad says the Vero Beach Museum of Art is one of his favorite venues.
The feeling is clearly mutual. Along with inviting Soledad to kick off the Concerts in the Park series, the museum has hired him to play at other events there this season, letting Soledad exhibit his audible masterpieces to an audience that so appreciates great art.
