Emiliano Salvador, Cuban pianist, percussionist, and composer, was born on August 19, 1951, in Puerto Padre, Las Tunas province. At nine years old, he made his musical debut in an orchestra conducted by his father. He studied percussion and piano at the National School of Art (120th Street between 9th and 13th Streets, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana). He later studied orchestration and composition with Federico Smith and Leo Brouwer, and piano with María Antonieta Henríquez, with whom he refined his musical training.

Upon completing his musical studies at the age of 19, he joined the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora (GES), organized by the Cuban Film Industry (ICAIC) and directed by Leo Brouwer; he was its youngest member. In this group, he worked and experimented with all kinds of music and was part of a jazz group that also included Sergio Vitier, Leo Pimentel, Leo Acosta, and Eduardo Ramos. During this time, he composed music for numerous ICAIC films and participated in soundtracks for films such as El hombre de Maisinicú, and accompanied Silvio Rodríguez and the Brazilian quartet MPB4, Chico Buarque, among others.

In 1978, with the dissolution of GES, he joined Pablo Milanés’ group, where he worked as a pianist and arranger, and with whom he made several recordings and toured abroad. That same year, he recorded his first LP, a work that truly made him internationally known, both in Latin Jazz and Salsa. It was titled “Emiliano Salvador. Nueva Visión” (Emiliano Salvador. New Vision) and is a clear example of the potential of this great pianist, one of the most successful experimental albums in Cuban music. It featured artists such as Arturo Sandoval, Jorge Varona, Amadito Valdés, Paquito D’Rivera, El Guajiro Mirabal, and Bobby Carcasses, among others. Due to its great success, this album received an award from the EGREM (Spanish Association of Musicians of Latin American and Caribbean Studies) in 1980.

Among the songs featured on the album are Son de la Loma, Angélica, El Montuno, Luna Wanestain, Convergencia, Canción a Isela, and Puerto Padre; among them, Puerto Padre is probably the best piece on the album, which epitomizes the pianist’s talent.

His second LP, “Emiliano Salvador II,” was conceived in 1980. During these years, he founded and led his own group, which at various times included artists such as José Carlos Acosta (tenor and soprano saxophone), Emilio del Monte (paila and drums), Rodolfo Valdés Ferry (tumbadora and bongo), and Feliciano Arango (electric bass). Together with his collective, he toured more than fifteen countries in Europe, Latin America, and Canada.

He performed at important jazz festivals around the world, including being invited to the Pianissimo concert at the Canadian Palace of Fine Arts in Ottawa in 1980. He became the first Latin American musician to perform at that event. He also performed at jazz festivals in Havana, Montreal, Caracas, Moscow, Tbilisi, and Bratislava.

According to specialized critics, Emiliano’s prestige lies in his unique style, forged from Afro-Cuban roots, jazz, Brazilian music, classical and romantic piano, and the influences of pianists such as McCoy Tyner, from whom Salvador drew the greatest musical influence. This style is based on polyphonic and polyrhythmic treatment, that is, he conceived the piano as an orchestra.

Salvador was described by Chucho Valdés as the best pianist of his generation.

In 2002, Esteban García brought the musician’s personality to video in a 27-minute documentary titled Las manos y el ángel (Hands and the Angel). This work won the Caracol Award from UNEAC and at Cine Plaza. On March 31, 2006, the Emiliano Salvador Cultural Plaza was inaugurated in Puerto Padre as a tribute.

A full-page photo of Salvador appears in Nat Chediak’s Dictionary of Latin Jazz (Madrid, 1998), and the magazine Latin Beat of Los Angeles, California, dedicated two articles to his memory.

Emiliano became one of the most brilliant Cuban jazz drummers thanks to his natural rhythmic sense. His particular interest in Thelonious Monk’s harmonic innovations was reflected in his works and performances, and he was the first Cuban pianist to do so. He was an incredibly talented pianist when it came to improvisation.

He performed on various stages with groups and musicians such as: Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Brandford Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby McFerrin, Jack De Johnette, Manhattan Transfer, Woody Shaw, Larry Coryell, Steve Swallow, Jimmy Smith, Booy Watson, Joe Henderson, Chico Freeman, Airto Moreira, Nana Vasconcelos and others.

His compositions have enriched the Cuban jazz repertoire, some of which could become classics as they meet all the requirements. Among Emiliano’s work as a composer we find: Angélica, A Puerto Padre, Aquellas gaviotas, Con Fe, El eclipse, El montuno, En una volanta actual, Mi contradanza (Contradanzas); Dance for Four, It’s Too Late Later (Danzas); Fatia, It’s Too Late Later (Danzones); A Moment of Inspiration (with José Carlos Acosta) (Fusion); One Sunday Morning (Jazz Ballad); Jazz Plaza, Prelude and Vision, Post-Vision, Ana’s Dream, Poly (Latin Jazz); Tap Dance for a Beautiful Lady (Zapateo).

Among Cuban musicians, he has received posthumous tributes from figures such as Bobby Carcassés, who dedicated a song and the CD “Jazz Timbero” to him, Paquito D´ Rivera (who dedicated the CD “40 Years of Cuban Jam Session” to him) and Orlando Valle “Maraca”, a talented Cuban flutist, who named his group “Otra Visión” (Another Vision), in tribute to Emiliano’s first album entitled “Nueva Visión”.

Salvador was a musician greatly admired by other musicians and known as a pianist’s pianist. Today, he is an international legend in the fields of Afro-Caribbean music and Latin jazz, as well as an icon of virtuosity. He is a source of inspiration for new generations of Cuban jazz pianists.

He won the 2001 Cubadisco archive music award for Pianísimo.

Emiliano Salvador died in a traffic accident on October 22, 1992, in Havana.

Discography: LP “Emiliano Salvador. New Vision” (1978); LP “Emiliano Salvador II” (1980); LP “Emiliano Salvador and his Group” (1986); LP “One Sunday Morning” (1987); CD “Yesterday and Today” (1992); CD “Vision” (1995); CD “Pianíssimo. Emiliano Salvador” (2000).