Roberto Perera is an Uruguayan Jazz harpist, in the Smooth Jazz and Fusion styles. Born in 1952 in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay, Perera was barely 12 years old when his mother enrolled him in a music conservatory where he selected the rare 36-string Paraguayan harp. Perera's complex technique includes precisely bending the strings to create sharps and flats while gliding across the harp in a seemingly effortless fashion, which bespeaks the tremendous amount of skill and discipline required. About the time Perera started playing the harp, the Beatles were in their heyday. The young musician absorbed their music as well as other pop music influences into his musical muse, which included Brazilian music, folk and tango from South America, and the folk music from Paraguay. Unable to find an instructor who could teach him how to perform a pop music repertoire on the harp, the determined Perera experimented until he was able to overcome the instrument's technical hurdles and develop his own form of expression. In 1973, after completing ten years of harp studies in Montevideo, Perera moved to New York City with hopes of pursuing a top-notch music career. At first, his experience was not the American dream he had imagined, as his performances were limited primarily to playing folk tunes at clubs and restaurants. Perera paid his dues in New York for a couple of years before he was recruited by a talent scout to entertain at an exclusive private club in Florida. There he finally was allowed to perform his own compositions and further develop his distinctive style, having applied the musical influences of Weather Report and Antonio Carlos Jobim. He'd starting approaching the harp as a percussive instrument, much like a piano, instead of a string instrument. By the time his recording debut, Erotica, was released by Epic Records in 1990, Perera had earned a reputation as one of the pioneers in electro-acoustic harp performance. His five subsequent albums for Heads Up infused the jazz-pop idiom with a wide range of multicultural flavorings, punctuated with guest performances by Trinidadian steel drummer Othello Molineaux, Nicaraguan salsa singer Luis Enrique, Floridian hand percussionist Robert Thomas Jr., and Cuban jazz reedman Paquito D'Rivera. Perera was recognized throughout the music industry in 1993 when he won the Billboard Contemporary Latin Jazz Album of the Year award for his second Heads Up release, Dreams & Desires. He was selected as musical director for the Hispanic Heritage awards at the Kennedy Center in 1997 and 1998 was voted Favorite Jazz Artist in his category numerous times in the annual Jazziz magazine reader's poll. He guested on numerous recordings including D'Rivera's 100 Years of Latin Love Songs and Gloria Estefan's Grammy-winning Abriendo Puertas. Perera's own compositions for In the Mood include the contagious samba "Joia" and the sensual "Six A.M." A totally different approach is taken on "Coming Home," originally penned by Perera in the style of a piece of Paraguayan folk music, but imaginatively adapted to the contemporary jazz idiom for In the Mood.[2] Perera is always looking to add new ideas, to experiment with different styles, and to push the parameters of the instrument while showing that the harp can be very cool and hip.
2019
Harpa Music
CD, Album, Comp, Sli
2017
Harpa Music
CD, Album, Sli
2014
Harpa Music
CD, Album, Gat
2007
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
CD, Comp
2002
2001
Hitech
CD, Comp
2000
1996
1994
1993
Heads Up International
CD
1992
Heads Up International, 101 South Records
Cass, Album, Dol + CD, Album
1992
Heads Up International
CD, Album
1991
1990
1981
Little Harp Corp
LP
1979
2008
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
3xCD, Comp + DVD
2002
Javaanse Jongens Tracks
CD, Comp
2002
Perro Andaluz
CD, Album
2001
HNK Records
CD, Album, S/Edition, Multichannel
2000
BR
CD, Album
1998
1996
1992
2011
Sony Music
CD, Comp
2007
Universal Music México, S.A. de C.V.
CD, Comp
2006
Prodisc (4), Lubata
2xCD, Comp
2005
Warner Strategic Marketing, Warner Music Mexico
CD, Comp
2005
Sony Music Strategic Marketing
CD-ROM, Comp
2004
Sony
CD, Comp
2003
Sony, Sony Music Strategic Marketing
CD, Comp
2003
BMG Jazz Club
CD, Comp, Promo, Smplr
2002
Jazziz
CD, Comp, Promo
2002
Jazziz
CD, Comp, Promo
2002
Heads Up International
CD, Comp
2002
Nextage
CD-ROM, Comp
2002
New Sounds 2000
CD, Comp, Smplr
2001
Heads Up International
CD, Comp
2000
Jazz FM Records
2xCD, Comp
2000
Jazziz, Jazziz
CD, Comp, Promo
2000
1999
Lubata
CD, Comp
1998
Inak
CD, Comp + CD-ROM
1997
WJZI
CD, Comp
1996
HKN Records
CD, Album
1996
Jazziz
CD, Comp, Promo
1996
in-akustik
CD, Comp
1995
1995
1993
Sony Music Special Products
CD, Comp
1993
101 South Records
CD, Comp
Heads Up International
CD, Comp
Heads Up International
CD, Comp
1999
ООО "Фирма Грэмми"
CD, Comp, Unofficial
Umbrella Records (3)
CD, Comp, Unofficial
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