Guitar with Raymund De La P.

Raymund de la Pena has been playing music professionally for the past 32 years and was introduced to music at an early age. He started playing the piano at age 8 and shifted to the guitar a year later when he heard "yesterday"by the Beatles, the reason for the move to a different instrument was inevitable as he states "I heard some nuances and sonic ideas that the instrument wasn't giving to me and pretty much i heard that on the guitar from the get go". And so,with his fascination for music he went to get his college degree in music performance.After graduation he played gigs all over the world( jazz bars, hotel gigs,session work etc...). In 2001 ,he was given the oportunity to be the musical director of the broadway musical "RENT" in Singapore where it got rave reviews.In 2003 he went to perform on a cruise ship in europe that traveled to 20 countries as a musical director for the showband. In 2011 he released his debut record "The Long Road Taken" independently with his group(composed of session musicians)the "RDP Project" wherein it featured all of his original compositions, describing it as :"The Long Road Taken is an amalgamation of the different facets of jazz,particularly in a quartet setting". He has performed with Victor Jones( renown drummer) at the Zinc bar in New York and at Skippers in Newark,New Jersey.He has also performed with other Jazz artists such as Eliane Amherd ,Elin Kathleen Melgarejo,Doug Little,Mel Davis and have attended master classes by the great trumpet player Eddie Henderson,jazz great Charlie Byrd,jazz legends Ray Brown and Herb Ellis just to name a few. Ray's playing and improvisational style is described as modern -which blends the relaxed and ductile articulation which is akin to horn players,but yet deeply grounded in the jazz tradition of swing, melody and the blues. Degrees/training: Bachelor of Music (Major in Classical Guitar) University of the Philippines. *** Travel Equipment *** guitar or guitar and amplifier *** Specialties *** jazz and classical