About Alberto Vilas

After finishing his studies, he continued to take courses to improve his technique and interpretation with masters such as María Jesús Crespo and Luiz de Moura.

He has been a member of various rock bands from a very young age, which allowed him to start experimenting in the world of composition and arrangements. He is one of the oldest members of the prestigious instrumental tango quartet Tangata, together with Artigas Anelo, Laura Quintillán and Gustavo A. Barcia, a group that recorded three albums: "COMO EN OCTUBRE", "TRECE" and "CALAMBRE" that covered all Galicia and a large part of Spain and Portugal.

He has also recorded a CD, "Escenas Latinas", a duo with tubist Eduardo Nogueroles, with works by Paul Hindemith, Bruce Broughton, Anthony Plog and Enrique Crespo.

He is also the author and interpreter of the music of Fernando Carreira's documentaries "O Imperio Têxtil", "Manolo Barros, un Rebelde de Aceiro" or the most recent "Ángel" dedicated to the life and work of the painter and restorer of Redondela, Ángel Barros, to whom one of the compositions is dedicated.

He has taken several courses in contemporary music with the prestigious French pianist Martin Joste (collaborator of John Cage), as well as pedagogical specialization courses with the also prestigious Argentine pedagogue Violeta Hemsy de Gainza.

Very interested in Jazz, he entered this world through pianist Manuel Gutiérrez, continuing his training at the Permanent Jazz Seminar of Pontevedra with Paco Charlín and Abe Rábade, taking part in all the activities offered there: master classes, concerts in the cycle "Jazz no Principal", CD recordings, etc. He also received a scholarship to study in the workshop "Jazz em Tavira", in the Algarve, Portugal.

He has received training from musicians such as: Perico Sambeat, Miguel Zenón, Jaleel Shaw, Marcus Strickland, Donald Edwards, Walter Smith III, John O' Gallagher, Alán Ferver, Russ Lossing, Aruán Ortiz, Jonathan Kreisberg, Ambrose Akinmushire, Jonathan Blake, Brannen Temple, Jesús Santandreu, Carlos Barreto, Filipe Melo, Joao Moreira, Mike Moreno, E. J. Strickland, Josh Ginsburg, Lage Lung, Demian Cabaud, Guim G. Balasch, Pablo Martín, Arturo Serra, Logan Richardson, Sam Harris, Tommy Crane, Greg Ruggiero, Taylor Eigsty, Joe Sanders and Víctor Prieto, among others.

He has shared the stage with musicians such as Bobby Martínez, Marc Ayza, Nuno Ferreira, Ramón Cardo, Carlos Martín or Chris Kase .

He participated in Canjazz 2010 together with Marc Ayza, Vicente Macián, Virxilio da Silva and Juyma Estevez and also in the fourth edition of Nigrán Jazz , performing his own songs with the Alberto Vilas Quintet. With this group he has performed in practically all the major jazz festivals in Galicia such as Imaxinasons in Vigo, Vía Stellae in Compostela, Nigranjazz, Lugo Jazz Festival and Pontevedra International Jazz Festival.

With this quintet he was also selected by the IEA for a tour in Spain.

In 2014 he participated with the Alberto Vilas Quintet in the 1906 Cycle jazz marathon that took place in Praza da Quintana in Santiago de Compostela.

In February 2015 they played with their own quartet at the Gastrofestival held at Conde Duque in Madrid for three consecutive days.

In the summer of 2015 he played at the Imaxinasóns (Vigo Jazz Festival) with the trio led by bassist Juyma Estévez, presenting his first CD, recorded months earlier, entitled "OCÉANOS DE PORCELANA".

In that same year 2015 he joins the group of the multifaceted Tatán (actor, puppeteer, singer ....). They record "CHAPEU" which is presented in "Culturgal 2015". This band performs in many places in Galicia and Portugal.

In 2016, April, they present "UBUNTU" which will be nominated finalist of the Martín Códax Music Awards.

In summer 2016 he returns to the Pontevedra Jazz and Blues Festival, this time as part of the Pontejazz Big Band directed by Jesús Santandreu.

Also in 2016 he returns to Imaxinasons to present his third album in quartet format, entitled "UBUNTU", which will also be presented at the Ponteareas Jazz Festival, among many other venues.

He collaborates with the saxophone quartet Thesis Quartet, in concerts, with important Galician bands.

Also in 2016 he wrote and recorded the music for the documentary "SEMITONOS" about the life and work of the painter Fernando Morales, written and directed by Pancho Salmerón.

As a composer, performer and leader of his own band, he has recorded three albums: "EXPERIANZA" (2011), "CRÓNICA CROMÁTICA" (2014) and "UBUNTU" (2016).

At the same time he collaborates with other projects as a freelance musician and participates in the recording of the cd "ALEGRÍA" by Sergio Tannus, "DESERTO DE CENTOS" by Sonia Lebedinsky or "CANTOS DA IALMA" by Xulio Lorenzo, "CAMIÑOS" by Magín Blanco.

He also accompanies artists such as Rosa Cedrón or Xosé Manuel Budiño.

He is also a regular collaborator of the great Galician singer Uxía, whom he accompanies live and on recordings , such as his participation in the album ''UXÍA/O'' on poems by the poet Uxío Novoneira, which has received several awards.

In May 2017 he received the MARTÍN CÓDAX Music Award in the Classical-Contemporary Music category for his work ''UNIVERSO LEM''. In that same edition he is a finalist in three projects, his "UBUNTU" by Alberto Vilas Quartet, with Tatán and CHAPEU.

In July 2017 he is invited by the accordionist of Galician origin, Víctor Prieto, to play at the presentation of his album "THE THREE VOICES" at the Teatro Principal de Ourense, where he shares the stage with Víctor Prieto, with the great Missouri saxophonist based in New York, Chris Cheek, with the German double bassist Hanns Höhn, the German drummer Benno Sattler and the Galician violinist Sara Casasnovas.

In 2018, in celebration of the group TANGATA's 30-year history, the album ''Que 30 años no es nada'' (30 years is nothing) is published. The group tours throughout Galicia, the culminating moment being the concert they perform together with the Orquestra Clássica de Vigo at the Teatro A Fundación de Vigo.

Alberto Vilas is responsible for the arrangements and orchestral adaptation for this project.

This project has been nominated as a finalist in the Martín Códax Music Awards 2019.

In 2019 he is appointed artistic director of the Ponteareas Jazz Festival, creating a programme that distinguishes this festival with artists such as Víctor Prieto Trío with Jordi Gaspare Gonzalo del Val (with whom Alberto Villas shares the stage at the invitation of Víctor Prieto).

Also in 2019 he records and collaborates on the new album by cantautor Tino Baz "Si Cantan Es Ti Que Cantas" presented at "A Guarda" in July of that year, a concert in which Villas was also invited to participate.

In August 2019 he was invited by one of the most important voices of Portuguese populr music, the great VITORINO, to give a concert in Évora around the album "Tango " that the singer from Alentejo recorded in Buenos Aires in 2009. This concert was a great event and Vitorino was accompanied by the following musicians: Ramón Maschio on guitar; Alex Stewart on violin; Pedro Santos on accordion; Bruno Vitor on double bass; Rui Alves on percussion and Alberto Vilas on piano.

He is currently a piano teacher and accompanist in the Singing, Violoncello, Violin, Doublebass, Band and Orchestra department at the Conservatório Profissional de Música "Manuel Quiroga" in Pontevedra, besides having worked professionally as a teacher at the Conservatório de Lugo and at the Conservatório Superior de Vigo.