Ernesto Vega

Clarinetist, Saxophonist and Composer, Ernesto Vega is a graduate of the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, Cuba. At the age of seventeen, Down Beat Magazine recognized his interpretative style on the clarinet recalling the legendary jazz clarinetist, Artie Shaw. In 2003, Vega won the first prize at the National Jazz contest Jojazz in Havana Cuba. He performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis on their visit to Cuba. Ernesto has collaborated with Cuban legends such: Frank Emilio, Chucho Valdés, Bobby Carcasses, Ernan Lopez Nussa, Jorge Reyes, and Changuito among others. He also has been part of various projects involving
Arturo O'farrill & His Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Houston Orchestra , Havana Jazz Collective, Carlos Masa Group, Yuri Buenaventura , Alfredo Rodriguez , Oriental Quartet . Ernesto Vegas' first album "Venir al Mundo," won the Cubadisco Award as the Best Jazz Album of 2009. His second project DVD “DUO” along with Harold Lopez Nussa was nominated as best live recording performance at Cubadisco awards in 2012. Since 2013 Ernesto is based in Houston TX, being one of the most demanded musicians in the city, in 2017 he was invited as a soloist by Arturo O’Farrill & His Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra to record in the acclaimed Grammy award project “Familia” alongside Chucho Valdés, his versatility and virtuosity make Ernesto one of the leading musicians of his generation and one of the finest clarinetist from the Island of Cuba.