Israel Tanenbaum-Rivera (born March 7, 1961) is a Puerto Rican pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

, record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, arranger and audio engineer who has produced more than 50 albums and participated in over 100 recordings.

Salsa

Tanenbaum has performed with many of the classic salsa

Salsa music

Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...

 artists and bands such as Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, Marvin Santiago

Marvin Santiago

Marvin Santiago was a Puerto Rican salsa singer who became famous all across Latin America during the 1970s. He was also a part-time comedian on Puerto Rican television. His brother, Billiván Santiago, had some success in Puerto Rico as a plena singer.- Early life :Santiago was born in San Juan...

, Daniel Santos

Daniel Santos (singer)

Daniel Santos was a singer and composer of boleros, and an overall performer of multiple Caribbean music genres, including guaracha, plena and rumba...

, Tommy Olivencia

Tommy Olivencia

Tommy Olivencia was a renowned bandleader of salsa music.-Early years:Olivencia, was born Ángel Tomás Olivencia Pagán in the Villa Palmeras section of Santurce, Puerto Rico. His family moved to the city of Arecibo when he was just a child. There received his primary and secondary education...

, Cheo Feliciano

Cheo Feliciano

José Feliciano, better known as Cheo Feliciano , is a composer and singer of salsa and bolero music.-Early years:...

, Batacumbele, Santitos Colón

Santos Colon

Ángel Santos Colón Vega , aka Santitos Colón, was a Puerto Rican salsa music singer and crooner, born in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico and raised in Mayagüez. He was also known with a moniker: "The Man with The Golden Voice".- Youth and Early Career :Colón was born in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, but...

, Orquesta Mulenze, Brenda K. Starr

Brenda K. Starr

Brenda K. Starr is an American singer-songwriter. She is well known originally in dance-pop, but now mostly in salsa-based music...

, Lalo Rodríguez

Lalo Rodriguez

Lalo Rodríguez , born in 1958 in Carolina, Puerto Rico is a salsa singer and musician is best known for his hit "Ven Devórame Otra Vez"....

, Ednita Nazario

Ednita Nazario

Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....

, and Roberto Roena

Roberto Roena

Roberto Roena is a salsa music percussionist, orchestra leader, and dancer. Roena was one of the original members of El Gran Combo Puerto Rican's first successful salsa music orchestra. He later became the leader of his own band, "Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound", arguably one of the best Latin...

, for whom he became Musical Director in 1986. In 1988, with a successful career as a pianist, Tanenbaum moved to Colombia from his native Puerto Rico and joined (as the producer, pianist and arranger) Guayacán Orquesta, one of Colombia’s premiere salsa bands. Tanenbaum played a vital role in defining the sound that allowed Guayacán to effectively reach out to the growing U.S. and European Latino markets. This led to one Platinum and two Gold Records. In Colombia, Israel has worked with many other artists including Grupo Niche

Grupo Niche

Grupo Niche is a salsa group founded in 1978 in Bogotá, Colombia. Currently based in Cali, Colombia, it enjoys great popularity throughout Latin America. It was founded by Jairo Varela and Alexis Lozano. Jairo Varela has stayed with the group becoming producer, director, songwriter, vocalist and...

, Grupo Clase, Checo Acosta and Galy Galiano. Tanenbaum has taken special interest in all-female salsa bands -popular in Colombia- such as Caña Brava, Aché Orquesta and Santísima Charanga, and has contributed to the field as director, arranger and producer.

In 1992, Cuban violinist Alfredo de la Fe

Alfredo de la Fé

Alfredo De La Fé is a Cuban-born and New York-based violinist who lived in Colombia for more than 16 years and is responsible for transforming the violin into an important sound of Salsa and Latin music...

, who, at the time, lived in Medellín, Colombia, asked Tanenbaum to produce his next album "Con Toda la Salsa" for the Discos Fuentes label

Discos Fuentes

Discos Fuentes is a record label based in Colombia. It was founded in 1934 in Cartagena, Colombia by Antonio Fuentes Estrada, and was the first Colombian record label. The label was instrumental in introducing African-based genres such as cumbia, fandango, and porro to Colombia...

. The album included Israel's Latin Jazz composition Hacha y Machete which reached the jazz top 10 lists across Europe. This success opened the doors to the European markets and lead to several tours during which Israel accompanied Alfredo as his pianist and musical director. In 1995, Tanenbaum produced La Salsa de los Dioses shortly before Alfredo moved to Italy. When Alfredo moved to New York in 2002, Israel -who was then living in the US- put together a band and toured the US with Alfredo.

Tanenbaum has produced music for record labels like Sony, Phillips

Philips Records

Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...

, CBS

CBS Records

CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...

, BMG

BMG

Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

 and Fania

Fania All-Stars

The Fania All-Stars was a musical ensemble established in 1968 by the composer, Johnny Pacheco, as a showcase for the musicians on the record label Fania Records, the leading salsa record company of the time.-Beginnings:...

.

Jazz

Israel has played with jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 musicians such as Dave Valentin

Dave Valentin

Dave Valentin is a jazz flutist.He learned latin percussion first when he was a teenager, and then switched to flute. Valentin's teacher, Hubert Laws, suggested that he not double on saxophone because of his attractive sound on the flute. He studied at the Bronx Community College...

, Giovanni Hidalgo

Giovanni Hidalgo

Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" is an educator and percussionist associated with Latin jazz.-Early years:Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico where he received his primary education. His grandfather had also been a musician as well as his father, José Manuel Hidalgo "Mañengue", who was...

, John Benitez, David Sanchez

David Sánchez (musician)

David Sanchez is a well known, 2005 Grammy winning jazz tenor saxophonist from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico born in September 1968.-Early life:Sanchez took up the conga when he was eight and started playing tenor saxophone at age 12. The earliest influences were Afro-Caribbean and danza but also European...

, Juancito Torres Jazz Ensemble, and Richie Flores. In 1997 he mixed the album "Papo Lucca y La Cuban Jazz All Stars". In 2000 Israel recorded a Christmas album with trumpet player Frank Vardaros. Tanenbaum's compositions have been recorded by flutist Connie Grossman, pianist Papo Lucca

Papo Lucca

Enrique Arsenio Lucca Quiñonez, better known as Papo Lucca, born on April 10, 1946, Ponce, Puerto Rico.Papo Lucca is a famous Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist , but is best known as a pianist. Main musical genre focus are Salsa and Latin Jazz...

: Tanenbaum a la Lucca (On Target with La Sonora Ponceña), and violinist Alfredo de la Fe

Alfredo de la Fé

Alfredo De La Fé is a Cuban-born and New York-based violinist who lived in Colombia for more than 16 years and is responsible for transforming the violin into an important sound of Salsa and Latin music...

: NN, Hacha y Machete.

Incidental music

Israel has composed music for documentary, theater, television and film that has been nominated for various awards. In the 90's he worked on the music for Amor, Mujeres y Flores, a Colombian documentary directed by Marta Rodríguez and Jorge Silva, and for the TV series Otra en Mi. Tanenbaum has written music for Martin Guigui's movies: Swing, My X-Girlfriend's Wedding and Cattle Call. The music for “Swing”

Swing (2003 film)

Swing is an American romantic comedy film starring Constance Brenneman, Innis Casey, Tom Skerritt, Jacqueline Bisset, Jonathan Winters, Nell Carter, Dahlia Waingort, Adam Tomei, Barry Bostwick, Mindy Cohn and directed by Martin Guigui.-Plot:...

 was awarded Best Soundtrack in a feature film at the 2003 Latin USA Film Festival and Best Impact of Music in an Independent Feature Film at the 2004 Park City Film Music Festival. In 2009 he composed the music for El Atolondrado El Atolondrado, an adaptation for clown of Molière's classic by Argentinian director, Ricardo Behrens produced by the Colombian National Theater. In addition, he has produced jingles for many clients such as Renault, Hyundai and Eveready.

Folklore/Traditional music

Israel has studied the musical roots of afro-caribbean rhythms and traditional music of places where he has lived like Korea and Colombia. He enjoys incorporating elements of folklore in his compositions and arrangements. Tanenbaum has produced artists like Puerto Ricans Felita Oyola and Celia Ayala (of the renown folklore group "La Familia Ayala") as well as Colombian Juana Francisca Alvarez (Esencia de Currulao) and Categoría Vallenata. He recorded the participants of the First Marimba Festival in Cali Colombia in 2008 where he was the Technical Director. His own experimental project Latinbaum mixes elements of folklore with rock, pop and jazz.

Teaching

Tanenbaum has developed curriculum for teaching in informal and formal settings in his different areas of expertise. In the United States, he has run workshops to teach Jazz, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and audio production. In 2004, he developed the Audio Recording Technician Program for the Roxbury Community College in Boston, MA. While in Boston, Israel also worked with WGBH Educational Foundation, in collaboration with the Boston Public Schools, on the production of the "Music and Words" program which integrates music and literature into curriculum based activities. In Colombia, he created and taught the first university classes on jazz history and harmony, salsa and Latin ensembles for the music program at Javeriana University in the late 80's/early 90's. On his return to Colombia in 2008, he introduced music business classes to the Javeriana Faculty of Arts where he currently teaches and directs Latin and jazz ensembles.

Festivals and venues

Israel has performed (among others) at:

• Blue Morning, Paris, France
• Festival de Música del Caribe, Cartagena, Colombia
• JVC Jazz Festival, Turin, Italy
• Nice Jazz Festival
  Nice Jazz Festival
  The Nice Jazz Festival, held annually since 1948 in Nice, on the French Riviera, is "the first jazz festival of international significance." At the inaugural festival, Louis Armstrong and his All Stars were the headliners...
  
  , Nice, France
• Festival de Jazz Teatro Libre, Bogotá, Colombia
• Festival Latino, Switzerland
• Open Tropen Jazz Festival, Belgium
• Feria de Cali, Cali, Colombia
• Roots Festival, Holland
• Village Gate, New York, NY
• SOB's, New York, NY
• Vermont Jazz Festival, Burlington, VT
• Festival Latino Americano, Florence, Italy
• Carnaval de Barranquilla, Barranquilla, Colombia
• Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro, Bogotá, Colombia
• Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Festival de Música de Barichara, Santander, Colombia

Selected discography

• Guayacán Orquesta: Qué la Sangre Alborota, La Más Bella, 5 Años Aferrados al Sabor, Sentimental de Punta a Punta, A Verso y Golpe, Marcando la Differencia, Como en un Baile, Con Sabor Tropical, De Nuevo en la Salsa (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Alfredo de la Fe: Con toda la salsa, Salsa de los dioses (producer, composer, arranger, pianist)
• Sonora Ponceña: On Target -> Tanenbaum a la Lucca (composer, arranger)
• Iván y Lucía (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Nino Caicedo (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Fania All Stars: Bravo 97 (arranger)
• Aché Orquesta: Ya es hora (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Checo Acosta (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Galy Galiano: Sin Fronteras (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Obbini Tumbao (producer)
• Leslie Mendez (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Orquesta Tiempo (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Roberto Roena: Regreso (pianist)
• Zaperoco (pianist)
• Grupo Niche (pianist)
• Connie Grossman (composer, arranger, pianist)
• Yambé (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Grupo Clase (producer, arranger)
• Carlos Vega (producer, arranger, pianist)
• La Banda de Alexis (producer, pianist)
• Categoría Vallenata (producer)
• Celia y Tito Ayala (producer)
• Algo Nuevo (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Alvaro del Castillo (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Nina (producer)
• Orquesta Matecaña (producer, pianist)
• Yenyeré (producer, arranger, pianist)
• La Trombonera (pianist)
• Delazcar Quintero (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Orquesta Solución (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Sonora Grupera (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Sandunga (producer, pianist)
• Frank Vardaros (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Salsa Night Band: La Cadena Se Rompió (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Azulito Aguamarina (producer, pianist)
• Satin (producer, arranger, pianist)
• Esencia de Currulao (producer, pianist)
• Felita Oyola (producer, arranger, pianist)