First Name

Rodrigo

AIM/Yahoo/MSN

Rodrigo Villanueva

College/University:

University of North Texas

I am here for:

Gigs, Educational Purposes, Meet Players, Networking

Whom I want to meet:

Jazz Musicians

Employment Status

Employed

Occupation:

College Professor

Employer:

Northern Illinois University

About Me:

I'm a drummer & composer from Mexico. I'm a faculty member at NIU's School of Music. I love to travel.

Musical Background & Experience:

Rodrigo Villanueva
Drummer and composer, Mr. Rodrigo Villanueva holds a bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. He has played and/or recorded with several jazz, classical and pop artists from Mexico, Perú, Korea, Japan and the U.S. Among them are Stefan Karlsson, Lynn Seaton, Fareed Haque, Ed Saindon, Clark Terry, Eddie Henderson, Jimmy Owens, Liam Teague, Rodolfo Sanchez, Lee Tomboulian, Hiro Morozumi, Jangeun Bae, Carlos Guedes, Takayoshi Yoshioka, Jon Anderson, Carlos Prieto, Roberto Limón, Sandra Kaye, Carla White, and the Mexican pop icons Lucero and Alejandro Fernandez.
As a composer, he has arranged and/or sequenced music for pop artists and has published several original compositions for jazz big band. As an educator Mr. Villanueva has taught drum-set courses, clinics and workshops at many institutions in Mexico, Peru, Korea, Japan and the U.S. He is currently assistant professor of jazz studies at Northern Illinois University, where he teaches jazz drums, jazz arranging, and coaches the NIU Jazz Lab Band, winner of the first place at the 2008 edition of the UW-Eau Claire Jazz Festival. Rodrigo performs regularly with his jazz trio/quartet, the U.N. Jazz Trio, the NIU Jazz Faculty Group, the Sada Jazz trio, Panoramic, the Carolina Jazz Collective, and the Jan Wheaton Jazz Quartet. He endorses Sabian Cymbals, Yamaha Drums, Latin Percussion instruments and Evans Drumheads, in addition he is a member of Vic Firth’s education team.

Website:

http://www.rodrigovillanueva.com

Website:

http://www.myspace.com/rodrigovillanuevajazzproject

Website:

http://www.youtube.com/user/beti7rod

Why I love jazz:

Jazz is Freedom. It allows a much deeper connection among the performers than any other style of music I know of

Music:

Jazz, Classical, Contemporary, Avant-garde, Pop, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Indian. All the GOOD MUSIC.

Top 5 Desert Island Discs:

Bill Evans' You Must Believe In Spring.
Chick Corea's Now He Sings, Now He Sobs.
Vince Mendoza's Start Here.
Keith Jarrett's Trio: Setting Standards.
Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

Books:

The Perfume, El Llano en Llamas, Relato de un Naufrago, Cronica de una Muerte Anunciada, La Ciudad y Los Perros, In Cold Blood, Der Steppen Wolf, La Casa de los Espiritus

Television:

House, Monk, Frasier, Grey's Anatomy, Discovery and National Geographic Documentaries.

Movies:

Rope, The Birds, Rear Window, The Shining, Shining, 2001 A Space Odisey, Full Metal Jacket, Delicatessen, Como Agua Para Chocolate, Cinema Paradiso, Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios, Amores Perros, Los Olvidados, Ordinary People, Danton, Death Poets Society.