CONCERTS

77TH SEASON OF

national gallery of art | september 23, 2018

Jo Privat, and Medard Ferrero competitions in the mid-to-late 1990s, Labro moved to 

the United States, where he further pursued his musical dream.

Piazzolla — a major influence on Labro — is also the title of his album made with 

Grammy Award–winning, classical guitarist Jason Vieaux and A Far Cry chamber 

orchestra. His other releases include collaborations with Grammy Award–winning 

vocalist Cassandra Wilson for Another Country and Junction with the critically 

acclaimed Hot Club of Detroit. Labro has been a guest artist with numerous symphonies and chamber ensembles and has toured North and South America, Europe, and 

the Middle East. He has performed with many acclaimed musicians, including João 

Donato, Anat Cohen, Miguel Zenón, James Carter, Larry Coryell, and John and Bucky 

Pizzarelli. In 2012, Labro embarked on a collaboration with the Chicago-based, Spektral 

Quartet. In 2015, Chamber Music America published an article on the group that 

described Labro as an A-list star with deep jazz credentials.

Upcoming Events of the SeventySeventh Season of The William Nelson 

Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin Concerts

Unless otherwise noted, concerts 

are held in the West Building, West 

Garden Court

New York Opera Society

Sound Sketches

September 28, 12:10

Piffaro: The Renaissance Band

Celebrating Water, Wind, and Waves: 

Marine Paintings from the Dutch 

Golden Age

Water, Wind, and Waves: The Wind 

Band at Sea

September 30, 3:30

Julie Fowlis, vocalist

Music of the Scottish Isles

October 7, 3:30

General Information

Admission to the National Gallery of Art 

and all of its programs is free of charge, 

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording 

equipment during the performance 

is not allowed.

Please be sure that all portable electronic 

devices are turned off.

—

Concerts are made possible in part 

through the generosity of donors to the 

National Gallery of Art through The Circle. 

Reserved seating is available in recognition 

of their support. Please contact the 

development office at (202) 842-6450 or 

circle@nga.gov for more information.

—

The department of music produced 

these program notes. Copyright © 2018 

Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, 

Washington

Cover Jose Manuel Capuletti, Dance 

Scene (detail), 1953, National Gallery of 

NGA.GOV/MUSIC Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection
PROGRAM THE MUSICIANS

Emilio Solla Tango-Jazz Trio

Emilio Solla, piano

Chris Cheek, saxophone

Julien Labro, accordion and bandoneon

September 23, 2018 | 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

The program will be announced from the stage.

Emilio Solla

With a career that spans thirty-five years, the Grammy-nominated and New York–

based Argentinian pianist and composer Emilio Solla earned his degree in classical 

piano at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires and his master’s degree 

in jazz composition at Queens College in New York. Solla has released ten albums as 

a bandleader and more than forty as a producer and arranger. He is considered one 

of the world’s outstanding voices in the tango-jazz genre, which blends Argentine 

tango and other Latin American rhythms with the freedom and improvisation of jazz. 

He has performed throughout Europe, Japan, Latin America, and the United States 

at many of the most important jazz houses and festivals and has written music for, and 

recorded and performed with, Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, Edmar Castañeda, 

and Cristina Pato. His album Second Half was nominated for a 2015 Grammy Award 

as Best Latin Jazz Album. He continues to tour with his many projects and is an active 

arranger and composer in New York.

Chris Cheek

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Chris Cheek began playing the alto sax at the age of twelve. 

While attending Webster University, he played with a variety of local jazz and blues 

musicians and bands, including legendary saxophonist Willie Akins and the Bob Kuban 

Brass. Cheek studied with Herb Pomeroy, Joe Viola, and Hal Crook at the Berklee 

College of Music in Boston. He moved to New York in 1992 and has since toured the 

world and recorded with Paul Motian, Charlie Haden, Bill Frisell, Brian Blade, Lee 

Konitz, Carla Bley, Tom Harrell, Eliot Zigmund, Brad Mehldau, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. 

Cheek also plays with Steve Swallow’s quintet and the newly formed Axis Saxophone 

Quartet, alongside Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, and Mark Turner. In addition to 

appearing on numerous CDs as a sideman, Cheek has recorded four albums as a 

bandleader for Fresh Sound Records. He currently resides in Brooklyn.

Julien Labro

Heralded as the next accordion star by Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune, Frenchborn Julien Labro has established himself as one of the foremost accordion and 

bandoneon players in both the classical and the jazz genres. His artistry, virtuosity, 

and creativity as a musician, composer, and arranger have earned him international 

acclaim. After graduating from the Marseille Conservatory of Music in France, Labro 

won international awards, including first prize in the Coupe Mondiale in 1996 and the 

Castelfidardo Competition in 1997. After sweeping first place in the Marcel Azzola,