Diego Pinera
The drummer Diego Pinera grew up in Montevideo (Uruguay) and has now been living in Germany for several years. He studied drumming at the Berklee College of Music (USA), at the University of Music in Havana (Cuba) and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig. He received lessons from Danilo Perez, Bob Moses, Jose Luis Quintana ‘Changuito’, and Kenwood Denard.

Back in Uruguay he founded the Diego Pinera Trio and recorded the CD Buscando with the Perro Andaluz label. He eventually returned to Germany, where he founded the Berlin Quartett and recorded Reflexiones feat. Tony Lakatos. In 2014 the Jazz Thing Next Generation Series Strange Ways followed. Pinera recorded his current album My Picture with Mark Turner and Ben Street in 2015 in New York. In May 2016 he played the cd.real.tour with Donny McCaslin and Phil Donkin. As ‘Sideman’ he played with musicians such as Donny McCaslin, Jerry Bergonzi, Danilo Perez, Hans Glawischnig, Dan Tepfer, Alex Sipiagin, Miguel Zenon, Wilson de Oliveira, Tony Lakatos, Nene Vazquez, Joe Gallardo, Katja Riemann, Nils Wogram and Paul Brody.

With his quartet (with Peter Ehwald, Tino Derado and Phil Donkin) he achieved in his compositions a new, unusual approach to Latin Jazz. Sometimes this approaches Pop and Modern Jazz, sometimes he concentrates on the original, multilayered rhythms of this improvisational music. Pinera’s playing is nonetheless always grounded in the Latin American musical tradition. Diego Pinera was nominated in 2015 for the ECHO Music Prize in the category ‘Best Instrumentalist of the Year’.

Festival Appearances North Sea Festival, Jazzfestival ‘Garana Jazz Festival’ Romania, BLUE NOTE Milano, Riga Ritmi Jazzfestival, Dresdener Drumfestival, Jazzfestival ‘Jazztour’, Festival International Naganagua Venezuela, Bogota Jazzfestival im Teatro Libre, Guangdong Jazzfestival China, Jazzfestival Lima Peru, Malta Jazzfestival.