Otmaro Ruiz (born June 27, 1964, in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan pianist, keyboardist, composer, arranger and educator. Son of Óscar Ruiz Beluche and Omaira Prado Hurtado, both medical doctors. He has a sister named Orlena, also a musician (violin, piano) and educator.

Career

Ruiz began his formal musical studies at the age of eight on piano, classical guitar, harmony, history and aesthetics. His formal musical studies were done in the Juan Manuel Olivares Music School in Caracas. In the meantime, he also was exposed to other artistic activities, such as drawing and acting. At the same time, he studied organ and pursued a scientific career as a

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

at the Simón Bolívar University, but kept playing keyboards on the side, landing his first professional work in a pop group in 1980. Decided to focus entirely on music, Ruiz dropped out of school in 1983 while playing in his native Venezuela, where he toured and recorded with local and visiting musicians, and also became a busy

studio musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

as a

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s composer and arranger. In 1989 Ruiz moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, where he finished his academic training at CalArts, obtaining a master's degree in jazz performance in 1993. In between, he was also playing with percussionist

Alex Acuña Alejandro Neciosup Acuña (born December 12, 1944), known professionally as Alex Acuña, is a Peruvian–American jazz drummer and percussionist. He has also worked as an educator at University of California, Los Angeles, and Berklee College of ...

, appearing in two albums during the early 1990s. and later recorded with

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval (born November 6, 1949) is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, timbalero, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 ...

, which was followed by a world tour supporting Gino Vannelli in 1996. Ruiz marked the transition into the new millennium performing on both acoustic piano and electric keyboards with rock icons

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

and

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

, Latin Crossings Project, featuring Latin legend

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

and

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

and Fusion giant John McLaughlin, also taking part in recordings and multiple World tours with multi Grammy Award winner vocalist Dianne Reeves,

Frank Gambale Frank Gambale ( ; born 22 December 1958) is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques. Recording career Sol ...

, Alain Caron and

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years l ...

. Ruiz also participated in an international jazz group named JB Project, along with American bassist

Brian Bromberg Brian Bromberg (born December 5, 1960) is an American jazz bassist and record producer who performs on electric and acoustic instruments. Biography Bromberg was born on December 5, 1960, in Tucson, Arizona. His father and brother both played ...

and Japanese drummer Akira Jimbo. This group released three studio albums: ''Brombo'' (2003), ''Brombo II'' (2004) and ''Brombo III'' (2017). Additionally, he appeared on Akira Jimbo's CDs projects for eleven consecutive years as member of a Trio/Quartet format. In 2012, the Cornel School of Contemporary Music of

Shepherd University Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In the fall of 2023, the university enrolled 3,274 ...

awarded Ruiz with an Honorary Doctorate in Music Arts. Then, in 2016, he was nominated for the Best Arrangement Instrumental & Vocals at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards for his version of the tune " Girl from Ipanema", which was part of his production ''Catina DeLuna and Lado B Brazilian Project, featuring Otmaro Ruiz''. This CD also got raving international reviews, including four stars by ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine and also was included in their issue Best of 2016. Furthermore, Ruiz has conducted workshops and lectures worldwide and formed part of the faculty of

USC Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

for five years. Otmaro also worked as a member of the Cornell School of Contemporary Music based at

faculty, as part of a team that includes long time friends and collaborators

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the fathe ...

and Jimmy Branly. In recent years, Otmaro Ruiz released his long dreamed "electric" CD in Trio format with famed musicians

Jimmy Haslip James Robert Haslip (born December 31, 1951) is an American bass guitarist who was a founding member of the jazz fusion group the Yellowjackets, which he left in 2012. He was also an early user of the five-string electric bass. Early life and ...

and Jimmy Branly entitled "Elemental" to amazing international reviews, also became a member of Simon Phillips' influential Jazz Rock Fusion Band "Protocol" and Toured with SoulBop, a Modern Electric Jazz ensemble conducted by

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

and

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

. Ruiz remains active up to the present day, generally recording and touring with L.A.-based groups and vocalists, as well as commanding his own projects.

Selected discography

As a leader

*''Otmaro Ruiz plays Ryuichi Sakamoto'' (MIDI Inc., 1991) *''Nothing to Hide'' (MMP Records, 1996) *''Distant Friends'' (MLP Records, 1997) *''Latino'' featuring Alex Acuña and Abe Laboriel (Pony Canyon Inc, 2005) *''Sojourn'' (Minina Music / Moondo Records, 2008) *''Catina DeLuna and Lado B Brazilian Project Featuring Otmaro Ruiz'' (Independent, 2015) *''Elemental'' featuring

and Jimmy Branly (Blue Canoe, 2018)

Other credits

*''En Vivo'' - Ilan Chester (1989) *''En Concierto'' - Soledad Bravo (1989) *''Thinking of You'' -

(1991) *'' Imagen Latina'' - Alberto Naranjo (1992) *''Dream Come True'' -

(1993) *''Deseo'' -

(1994) *''Passages'' -

(1995) *''The Latin Train'' -

(1995) *''Si el Norte fuera el Sur'' -

Ricardo Arjona Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales (born 19 January 1964), known as Ricardo Arjona (), is a Guatemalan singer and songwriter. He is one of the most successful and best-selling Latin American artists of all time, with more than 20 million records sold ...

(1996) *''Passion Dance'' -

(1997) *''Plomo Revienta'' - Desorden Público (1997) *''Strive for Higher Realities'' - Pedro Eustache (1997) *''Red Heat'' -

(2000) *''The Heart of Things : Live in Paris'' - John McLaughlin (2000) *''Call Me Al'' - Alain Caron (2001) *''Baila Cinderella'' -

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist, piccoloist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 50 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop ...

(2002) *''

TruANT Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medic ...

'' -

Alien Ant Farm Alien Ant Farm is an American rock band that formed in Riverside, California in 1996. They have released six studio albums and sold over 5 million units worldwide. The band's cover of Michael Jackson's " Smooth Criminal" topped the ''Billboard ...

(2003) *''Brombo'' -

/ Akira Jimbo (2003) *''Cancionero del Amor Puertorriqueño'' - Ilan Chester (2003) *''Brombo II'' -

/ Akira Jimbo (2004) *''Live in Montreal'' VD- Dianne Reeves (2005) *''Aneurythms'' -

Jeff Berlin Jeffrey Arthur Berlin (born January 17, 1953) is an American jazz rock bassist and composer. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the band Bruford, led by drummer Bill Bruford. Musical career Berlin was born on January 17, 195 ...

(2006) *'' Natural High'' -

(2006) *''Industrial Zen'' - John McLaughlin (2006) *''Music for Lovers'' - Dianne Reeves (2007) *''Flying Over Bridges'' - Ashley Maher (2007) *''Conversations'' - Alain Caron (2008) / Also with Oliver Jones, Lorraine Desmarais and François Bourassa, among others *''Natural Selection'' -

(2010) *''Born in the 80's'' - Hadrien Feraud (2015) *''Brombo III'' -

/ Akira Jimbo (2017)

References

External links

Home PageAudiophile Records
*
Verve Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Otmaro 1964 births Living people Musicians from Caracas Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela) alumni Venezuelan jazz pianists Venezuelan musicians 21st-century pianists