Barcelona-born and Brooklyn-based Alexis Cuadrado is an award-winning composer, producer, bandleader, bassist and educator. He has become one of the most sought-after musicians in the New York scene. NPR music says: “Listen to Cuadrado’s compositions and you’ll find every reason to take him seriously.” NY magazine: "His intricate and sharply defined compositions show that he’s tapped into something much deeper."
Cuadrado's work draws from the crossover of jazz, world, flamenco and new music, exploring the confluence of the Hispanic and American cultures, as well as embracing a deep commitment to comment on social issues. His recent output is a restless exploration of cross-disciplinary works that embrace poetry, film, radio-podcasts, dance and design.
His main outlet for creative work is his own ensemble, the Alexis Cuadrado Group, for which he’s written a plethora of commissioned pieces. Recent work include the live short film scores of pioneer female filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché’s The Consequences of Feminism and Algie the Miner (2020), Harold M.Shaw’s The Land Beyond the Sunset (2020) and Lois Weber’s 1916 feature film Shoes (2018) which premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Other works include Poètica (2014) a collaboration with poets Rowan Ricardo Phillips and Melcion Mateu; Jazz Miniatures for Double Quartet (2012) featuring a jazz and a string quartet; A Lorca Soundscape (2011) featuring Claudia Acuña and Miguel Zenón, in which he adapted the poetry of the legendary Spanish author Federico García Lorca; and Noneto Ibérico (2009) a nine-part Flamenco-Jazz Suite for nine musicians featuring Avishai Cohen, Perico Sambeat and Israel Suarez “Piraña”.
He's also composed for a large variety of jazz and chamber ensembles with pieces like Encuentros (2017) for string quintet, Trivium (2016) for piano trio, Polar Litany (2016) and Hispalis (2013) for big band, and the live score for the silent Charlie Chaplin 1916 film The Immigrant (2015) for a jazz-chamber tentet. Additionally he has composed and produced music for radio and podcasts like The New Yorker Radio Hour, The Slowdown - Featuring U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, Fiasco (Slow Burn) and Studio 360. Other recent productions include a collaboration with Spanish vocalist Antonio Lizana and a dance score for Declaration of Independence by Hungarian choreographer Kata Juhasz.
Cuadrado has six albums as a leader/composer of his ensemble: Poetica (2016), A Lorca Soundscape (2013) and Noneto Ibérico (2011), which have all received extensive media accolades. His first albums: Puzzles (2008), Visual (2004) and Metro (2001) document his original work of the 2000s, and were widely recognized by from critics, presenters and fans alike.
As a bassist, he has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, jazz festivals and clubs around the world (fancy and dingy), 24 hour-long Roma weddings in the south of France and sea-sickness inducing cruise ships in the Mediterranean. He has appeared in recordings and performances with such greats as Grammy Award winners Angélique Kidjo, Youssou N’Dour and Dianne Reeves, Omara Portuondo, Chano Domínguez, Steve Wilson, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Mark Turner amongst many others. He keeps his calendar full freelancing with different bands around the world.
Alexis graduated in Jazz Performance and Composition from the Taller De Músics in Barcelona (1993) and went on to study with the legendary concert bass master François Rabbath in Paris (1995-98). In 2001 he received a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance and Composition (graduating with honors) at the Aaron Copland School Of Music-Queens College in New York. He is also a devoted educator and a current faculty member at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC, and teaches worldwide as a guest lecturer.
Cuadrado lives in Brooklyn with his wife and twin children.