AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Vince Mendoza

Artist:Vince Mendoza

Song:Otono

Album:Nights on Earth

Though he started out as a jazz trumpeter, Vince Mendoza is mostly a composer, arranger and conductor for hire. Though he does not have his own band, he has worked frequently with Metropole Orkest in The Netherlands and WDR Big Band in Germany. Mendoza is a seven time Grammy award winner. He was born Nov. 17, 1961 in Norwalk, CT. He studied piano and classical guitar as a child, then switched to trumpet and composed for his high school jazz band. After studying music composition at Ohio State, Mendoza moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and earned a master's degree in composition at USC Thornton School of Music. Then he got into studio work most notably with drummer Peter Erskine. After releasing a couple of albums on a Japanese label, Mendoza signed with Blue Note and released the 1990 album Start Here. Since then he has recorded a lot for European labels. Mendoza started working with WDR Big Band in 1994 and Metropole Orkest in 1995. He is currently artist in residence for both. After working on Bjork's 2001 album Vespertine, Mendoza composed the score for Lars Von Trier's film Dancer in the Dark starring Bjork. He has won Grammys for arranging for Joni Mitchell, The Brecker Brothers, and Metropole Orkest. Otono is from the 2011 album Nights on Earth on the German label Horizontal. Metropole Orkest appears on the album along with guest appearances by Christian McBride, Peter Erskine, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, Alex Acuna, Joe Lovano, Bob Mintzer and Ambrose Akinmusire. Musicians on Otono include Alan Pasqua on piano, Larry Goldings on organ, Nguyen Le on electric guitar, Louis Winsberg on acoustic guitar, Jimmy Johnson on bass, Peter Erskine on drums and Alex Acuna on percussion. This album is available as a budget CD. Mendoza currently records for BMG's Modern Recordings label. His 2023 album Olympians features Metropole Orkest and guest appearances by Dianne Reeves, Cecile McLorin-Salvant, Chris Potter and Alex Acuna. Mendoza is an adjunct professor of jazz composition at USC Thornton School of Music. Here's Vince Mendoza conducting Metropole Orkest in a performance of Otono 2012.