roberto monsalve

ROBERTO MONSALVE

Roberto Monsalve was born into a family with a strong musical tradition in Linares, Chile, and began playing the piano at an early age. He went on to study piano and cello at the University of Chile in Santiago, and composition at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, under Professor Don Lindenberque Cardoso.
Until moving to the United States in 2000 Roberto worked mostly in Santiago as a jazz pianist, composer and arranger.
He collaborated with other musicians on numerous recordings and frequently accompanied performers on tour to other countries in South America and Europe.

Roberto is Paula's favorite keyboard accompanist and even though they lived on separate continents until recently, they were able to collaborate on special occasions in-concert and in the recording studio.
One such occasion was the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis when Roberto did the arrangements and played with Paula's Latin Jazz quintet. Their innovative renditions of some of the great Latin American folk and popular songs were a great hit with the Pan-Am audience at such venues as the Indiana Roof Ballroom, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and local clubs.
Roberto collaborated with Paula as keyboardist and arranger on her "Solo Boleros" and "Concierto" albums. He was her pianist for the Richmond Symphony Orchestra concerts in 1996 and 1998, and the Anderson Symphony Orchestra in 2000.
In 1999, Roberto received a grant from the Sociedad Derecho de Autor, Santiago, Chile to create his first album: "Hecho a Mano" (Hand Made). The acoustic trio album, recorded live, showcases his own unique warm, melodic latin jazz style.
Roberto now lives in Indiana with his wife and three daughters, and is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the Hoosier State's up-and-coming jazz pianists