User:Kree8music

EDDY GARCÍA D’OLEO – BIO

Born in Dominican Republic and raised in Puerto Rico, Eddy García developed an interest in music at an early age when he was given a drum set as a Christmas present at the age of 5. His involvement in music started when he joined his church choir at San Mateo Church in Santurce, PR. At the age of 12 his family moved to USA where he joined another church choir that would allow him to develop his natural-born talent of putting ideas together. He always loved music from the greatest salsa band ever assembled, the Fania All-Stars, so he started playing Latin percussion instruments (conga, timbales, bongos, etc.), drums and electric bass, always trying to emulate his heroes. The church choir grew into a music ministry called JCA (Jovenes católicos en Acción) in Lawrence, Mass. and it is then that one day he started meddling with an old piano in his church’s basement (he had taken some lessons while growing up in PR) and his love affair with the instrument began. One day he was called to join a band that was formed to accompany a legendary salsa group who had converted to Christian music, Richie Ray and Bobby Crúz, as a drummer/timbale player. Not willing to loose a probable once in a lifetime opportunity, Eddy approached the virtuoso Richie Ray in order to get a better understanding of his piano-playing style, his influences and an overall picture of the process of creating music – It was a life changing experience. After graduating from high school Eddy studied at Salem State College in Salem, Mass. where he studied two of his passions, psychology and, of course, music. He also took some private piano lessons with teachers from the acclaimed Berkley College of Music in Boston and later on studied arranging and composition with one of the great masters and sax player in Puerto Rico, Ernesto Sánchez. In the mean time merengue music from the Dom. Rep. was at the top of the charts in the Latin music scene and it was then that one artist caught his attention, the also virtuoso pianist Ramón Orlando and his “Orquesta Internacional” who inspired him to further his knowledge in this particular style of music. Life then took him on a different path, but this time as a full-blown pianist/keyboardist. He started playing with a Boston local singer called Benny Sadel which allowed him to travel to different cities in the northeastern part of USA but most importantly to New York City. Mainstream bands started to take notice of the white-gloved piano player (something Eddy picked up along the way to control his excessive hand sweating while playing and that later became his trademark). One band in particular, La Gran Manzana, was one of the biggest acts and most avant-garde bands in Latin music at the time for which Eddy was hired as a keyboardist. After living in NY for some time Eddy was later on approached to play keyboards with another great Latin vocalist named Peter Crúz. In 1988 a Peter Cruz’s tour to PR presented a great work opportunity for all involved to stay permanently in the island. It is then that Peter Crúz asked Eddy to arrange most of the songs for his next album giving him his first break as a professional arranger. This was something that Eddy had never done before but, since he had along the way indulged his curiosity studying different scores and styles of music and also he needed to work and earn some extra cash, he accepted. It was the beginning of a great ride since he, finally, was able to translate into music for the masses his musical point of view and to demostrate his chameleonic ability to arrange and produce music in different styles and genres. Eddy García has worked with some of the best artists in the Latin Music industry either as a producer/arranger, songwriter, musical director/pianist or session musician and is one of the most prolific and talented producers in Latin America. His long list of chart-topping, grammy-winning or grammy-nominated work ranges from Merengue, Salsa, Rock, R&B, Ballads, Reggaetón and everything in between. Gilberto Santarosa, Olga Tañón, Wisin & Yandel, Toño Rosario, Elvis Crespo, Millie Quezada, Manny Manuel, Grupomanía, Joseph Fonseca, Jossie Esteban, Zona Roja, Los Sabrosos del Merengue, Gisselle, Melina León, Hector Acosta & Los Toro’s Band y Tony Tun-Tun, to name a few, are some of the artists Eddy García has worked with. He has also produced jingles for TV networks and radio stations in Puerto Rico and abroad. At the present he is working on new projects and continues to grow, thrive and work in this ever-changing industry that we all love.