Israel Varela is performing solo and with Dwiki Dharmawan World Peace Band at the MoonJune Festival Toledo on September 30, 2023.
Israel Varela is an accomplished complete artist and over the last decade has been one of the most in demand Jazz, World, Flamenco musicians performing his music to audiences in more than 30 countries including Spain, The Netherlands, Mexico, Italy, United States, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Greece, Belgium, China, France, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Tunisia, Switzerland, Germany, Argentina, Perú, Chile, Jamaica, Portugal, Uruguay, Angola, UK, Romania, Turkey and Luxemburg.
His originality and distinctive style allowed him to perform, record and collaborate with multitudes of renowned artists such as: Diego Amador, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Mike Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Victor Bailey, Abraham Laboriel, Pino Daniele, Rita Marcotulli, Karen Rubio Lugo, Andrea Bocelli, Joaquin Cortes, Jorge Pardo, Richard Bona, Carles Benavent, Dwiki Dharmawan, Enrico Rava, Chano Dominguez, Markus Stockhausen, Andy Sheppard, Maria Pia De Vito, Kamal Musallam, Julian Heredia, Shai Maestro, Michel Benita, Nguyen Le, Ben Wendel, Javier Colina, Gary Willis, OSEM Symphony Orchestra, Baja California Orchestra, among many others.
Israel Varela remains true to his Jazz and Latin roots and at the same time Flamenco and Contemporary Classical influences are all reflected in each of his nine albums: TIJUANA PORTRAIT (2007) , BORDER PEOPLE (2009), ZAMAR (2012), INVOCATIONS (2015), AS ABOVE SO BELOW (2018), ISRAEL VARELA COLLECTION(2018), YIN AND YANG(2019), “THE LABYRINTH PROJECT” (2019), FRIDA EN SILENCIO (2021)
During his teenage years he studied in Los Angeles Ca. privately with Alex Acuna and Dave Weckl before moving to Italy in 2000. Originally from Tijuana, Mexico, he belongs to the fourth generation of a renowned family of Tijuana musicians. He grew up in an exciting musical environment in a house where predominantly classical and sacred music was played.
More info: israelvarela.com