Alfredo Rodriguez

Alfredo Rodríguez Salicio (born October 7, 1985) is a Cuban jazz composer and pianist.

The elder of the two sons of professional singer, romantic song composer, and television host Alfredo “Alfredito” Rodríguez and Mayra Salicio, he studied classical piano at the Manuel Saumell Conservatory, then at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory of Music and the Instituto Superior de Arte, in Havana. His interest in jazz was sparked by the annual “JoJazz” competition for young jazz musicians, where he received an honorable mention in 2003.

In 2006, Rodríguez was selected from among twelve pianists worldwide to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where he met the late Quincy Jones, who became both his producer and mentor. One of his best-known compositions, made with Quincy Jones, Tan Dun, and Siedah Garrett, the anthem Better City, Better Life, was chosen as the official soundtrack of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. In 2015, Rodríguez received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Instrumental Arrangement category, for the track Guantanamera.