Fred Hoadley

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Piano, Afro-Cuban Ensemble

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Originally from New England, Fred Hoadley studied music at Hampshire College and Berklee College of Music, where his teachers included Jaki Byard, Vishnu Wood, Mike Abbot, and Charlie Banacos. He founded the Seattle salsa band Bochinche in 1983, which reigned as the northwest's favorite salsa band throughout the 1980's, and produced the band’s first album, Ahora Bochinche.

 

After Bochinche, Fred toured nationally with the West African band, Kukrudu, and founded the Seattle based Afro-Cuban jazz band, Sonando, whose 1994, 1998, and 2006 releases received critical acclaim around the country. He helped anchor the rhythm section of Seattle's Expresión Latina from 1992-1997, and has performed with Cambalache, Nueva Era, and many other northwest salsa bands.

 

He has received grants and awards from The Seattle Arts Commission, Northwest Folklife, YMCA, and 4Culture for educational programs and composition in 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2009. His love of latin music brought him to Cuba in 1983, 1990, 1993, and 1996, where he studied piano and arranging with Cesar “Pupy” Pedroso and Nelson Diaz, and Cuban tres guitar with Antonio Perez and Guillermo “Boulet” Mantalear. He currently holds educational residencies, workshops, and performances with public schools in Washington State and across the U.S, and performs as pianist, Cuban “tres” guitarist, composer, and arranger with a broad range of bands, including: Sonando, The Fred Hoadley Trio, Charanga Danzón, Wesito & Friends, and The Susan Carr Ensemble.

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Fred teaches private piano lessons at Music Works on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and also directs the Afro-Cuban ensemble on Mondays. 

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