Pianist/ composer David Virelles grew up in a musical family in Santiago de Cuba, steeped in the music of the Afro - Caribbean diaspora and Western classical music. Having been invited to Canada by Jane Bunnett in 2001, Virelles relocated to Toronto. He eventually graduated from Humber College, where he taught after graduating. During his stay in Toronto, he worked extensively all over Canada with his own groups and as a sideman. Moving to the United States in 2009, David organically brings together Cuban folkloric and New York improvisational worlds, an interest that started when he was 14. While he views his work as “a hundred percent traditional,” drawing from multiple traditions, in practice, he is creating a syncretic new personal music, rather than a mixture of elements or a recreation.
Besides his solo work, he has also worked with Bunnett, Henry Threadgill, Ravi Coltrane, Andrew Cyrille, Reggie Workman, Oliver Lake, Terri Lyne Carrington, Tomasz Stanko, John Patitucci, Bill Frisell, Román Díaz, Milford Graves, Chris Potter, Tom Harrell, Brandon Ross, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Coleman, Mark Turner, Paul Motian, Marcus Gilmore, Changuito, Chucho Valdés, Hilario Durán, Stanley Cowell, Hermeto Pascoal and Juan Pablo Torres, among others.
David’s 2012 album Continuumended up on many “Best Of The Year” lists, being selected #1 by The New York Times. He released three projects on the legendary label ECM to critical acclaim, documenting a wide artistic range - Mbóko, Antenna, and Gnosis. His release Igbó Alákorin (The Singer's Grove) Vol I & IIis a study of the musical history of Santiago de Cuba. This record features Santiago music legends and it was named Best Latin Jazz album by NPR in 2018. In 2020, Virelles released Transformación del Arcoiriswith Pi Recordings, an electronic EP exclusively on the BandCamp platform. Virelles 2022 album NUNA (El Tivoli Music/ Pi Recordings), is an exploration of the solo piano setting. It was named one of the best albums of the year by different publications including The New York Times and NPR. It also won the Aaron Copland Fund for Music Award. His Carta release (Intakt Records) features David’s trio music with long time collaborators Ben Street and Eric McPherson. The new edition of the Singer’s Grove(Vol. III) features Virelles’ wax cylinders recordings of obscure Cuban classics from the early XX century and original works for solo piano and synthesizer. This September, two new releases will be coming out: Sudeste (a collection of songs written by and featuring David’s father José Aquiles Virelles) and Creative Inspirations, by Trio Imagination, the collective of Andrew Cyrille, Reggie Workman and Virelles.
David is a Shifting Foundation Fellow, a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts, Louis Applebaum Award, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Cristobal Díaz Ayala Travel Grant, Grand Prix de Jazz de Montreal General Motors and The Jazz Gallery Commission. He has been named #1 Rising Star in the Piano category by DownBeat Magazine, and Artist of the Year by Musica Jazz Magazine (Italy). While a student at Humber College in Toronto he won the Oscar Peterson Prize, presented by Peterson himself. He is a recipient of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts and the CINTAS Fellowship in Music Composition. He has been a guest lecturer at residences at the Basel Jazz Campus and the Focus Year special program, CalArts, UCLA, Siena Jazz Summer Workshop, JazzDanmarks Summer Sessions, Amsterdam Conservatory, Fayetteville State University and Harvard University. He currently holds a professorship at the Zürich University of the Arts. Virelles performs in various settings: solo (on acoustic piano or electronics); with his trio; and in ensembles including the Andrew Cyrille Quartet, Trio Imagination, Phantom Station, . He’s also part of various other ensembles, including projects led by Marcus Gilmore (Journey to the New) and as a member of the Ravi Coltrane Quartet, with whom he has worked for the past 15 years.
Virelles has been commissioned by Carnegie Hall (Oro, as part of season 2023-2024 curated by Tania León) and by the Pierre Boulez Saal (Vaivén in 2026).
David Virelles is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Steinway artist.
