"El Greco" José Miguel Crego Castro. (1958)

José Miguel Crego Castro, artistically well-known as ''El Greco", was born in Havana, January 25, 1958. At the early age of five, started his musical studies at the Conservatoire of music in Vedado in the specialty of piano, later on, being seven, he entered the Alejandro García Caturla Conservatoire in Havana, in the specialty of trumpet.
In 1970, he made studies on music at the National School of Art in the same city and since his early years he showed strong inclinations and abilities for the improvisation.

He started his professional life in 1976 at the Big Band from Capri Hotel, under the direction of the famous trumpeter Leonardo Timor. In Cuba he also plays in different ocassions at jazz festivals together with the famous trumpeter Arturo Sandoval at the National Hotel`s Libertad Salon.

Afterwards he entered Los Yakos and Afrocuba Groups, performing his first international touring as the first Cuban musical group in European jazz clubs; such as the New Morning of París and Ginebra, Switzerland and the Ronnie`Scott of London.

Short after, he became member of Irakere Group, with which he performed diverse international tours and recorded three records, one on concert music, Tierra en transe and the other two approaching danceable music, Ruta 43 and Bailando así, working at the same time with the Pacho Alonso`s Orchestra and as member of the accompaning orchestras for the Soviet Circus when it came to Cuba. Afterwards, he entered the Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music and later on the Galaxia Group touring during various months around Centro and South America, recording the CD La Mujer Precisa in Colombia. In Cuba, he intervened in the recording of the music ellaborated to welcome the sanctity Juan Pablo II, under production of Mario Cuesta in his visit to the island. Working also with Los Tupamarus Orchestra, he recorded a CD with Los del Caney for CBS Records and diverse TV programs with Mr Jimmy Salcedo, besides playing together with Paloma San Basilio.

On 1988, he founded together with prestigious Cuban musicians, coming most of them from Irakere, NG La Banda Orchestra, under the general direction of the notable Cuban musician José Luis Cortés, well-known as El Tosco, he travelled to different countries with this group such as Curacao, Venezuela, Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Suriname, Martinique, San Martin, Puerto Rico, Spain, Greek, Swiss, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Bulgaria, Monaco, Andorra, Japan and some others, attending the most important jazz festivals of the world, such as North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreaux Jazz Festival, Nice Jazz Festival, Nantes Jazz Festival, Normandía Jazz Festival, Color Café Festival, Japón, Río de Janeiro, Venezuela, Cancún 2000 and 2001 with pianist Gabriel Hernández and Chucho Valdés (junior), etc.


During his musical career, he has recorded about 50 CDs some of them for outstanding record labels and have performed at such famous scenes as the Lincoln Centre in New York, playing with worldwide gems like pianist Gabriel Hernández, singer Paloma San Basilio, Willy Colón, Oscar de León, Frankie Ruiz, Héctor Lavoe, Roberto Roena, José Cheo Feliciano, Michel legran, Luis García, Andy Montañez, Tommy Olivencia, Papo lucas, Willy Chirino, Diky Gaytán, Afrocuba All Star, Danilo Pérez, David Sánchez, Daniel Valentin, Dizzie Gilliespe, among others, sharing scene also with such gems as Arturo Sandoval, George Benson, Winston Marsalis, Ivan Lins, Clark Terry, Chikc Corea, Tania Maria, Irakere, Dizzy Gillespie, Chico Freeman, Dave Valentin, Sammy Figueroa, Robbie Ammen, Gilberto Gil Ermeto Pascual y many others.


In 1997, he founded his own group and toured to Costa Rica to record The New Cuban Jazz. Volume I at Marsol Studios, this award-winning album, via Bis Music, was the 1997 Best Jazz Record.

He has been invited to record with diverse personalities from the artistic universe like Gonzalo Rubalcaba in the CD Antigua, via Blue Note Label, nominee to Grammy Awards that year, also different soundtracks of famous film makers, like Pareja de Tres (Spain), Nazca (Chile), Kyoko (Japan).

He has recorded six albums as soloist: Jardín del Jazz, El año del cometa, Top Secret, En vivo y en directo desde Costa Rica, all of them via Caribe Production Label, currently licensed by Bis Music. The New Cuban Jazz Volume I and Gregoriando I y II under Unicornio Label join this roster, worked also on a series of eight CDs of music to learn how to dance, their titles are: Bailas Mambo, Bailas Cha cha chá, Bailas Danzón, Bailas Cumbia, Bailas Bolero, Bailas Salsa, Bailas Merengue y Bailas Tango.

In 1987, he won First Prize at the open Jazz Contest for trumpeters held in Panama City .

In 1994, he founded his quintet of Latin Jazz under the name of Top Secret and made his first international tour to Costa Rica, playing four concerts, one of them at Melico Salazar Theater in the capital and in the Jaulares Cultural Complex located in the Poas Volcano, also in Puerto de Limón. He gave also a concert at the Culture Ministry in presence of the Republic Vice-President and Culture Minister Astric Fisher.


In 1997, he performed his second Costa Rica tour, both were arranged through Jaulares Productions. He recorded an album at Marsol Recording Studios. This set, via Bis Music Label was winner of the 1997 Best Record in jazz category, under the title The New Cuban Jazz Volumen I at the CUBADISCO of that year.

In July 2000, he attended the 16th International Festival of Jazz, playing at the Carpa de Parking del Parnal, Andorra, Spain, along with pianist Harbie Hankoc.

In December of 2000, he is invited by Sr Juan de Marcos González, director of Project Afrocuban All Stars and creator of Buena Vista Social Club to play with them in Mexico, with the contributions of musicians Rubén González in the piano, Cachao in bass, Amadito Valdéz in timbal, Ibrahim Ferrer and many others. With all these bunch of stars, he waited for the arrival of the new millenium at the Mexican capital. This time they shared such outstanding scenes as El Zócalo, the Hard Rock Discotheque, Cafe of D.F. and some others where they worked also for Direct T.V.

In 2001 and 2002, he attended the Jazz Festival of Halifax, Canada with Havana Fax Group, directed by the Canadian Jeff Goodspeed.

In 2003 and 2004, he made diverse concerts in Miami Beach, together with such luminaries as Armando Gola, Felipe Lamole, Simson, Giovanni Hidalgo, Otelo Molineaux, Manuel Valera and the company in the piano of his son José Marcos Crego.

He was acknowledged with the Best Instrumental Video with the material Ese hastio by director Marcos Castillo in the 2004 edition of Lucas Prize, later on this year, he is nominated in the category of Instrumental Music with the CD Esta es mi Música via Unicornio Label in Cubadisco with a new musical concept called Grecos Big Band, with musical arrangements of Miguel Angel De Armas and José Marcos Crego.

He was nominated again in jazz category with CD Gregoriando I y II via Unicornio Label in Cubadisco 2005, attending also the opening ceremony together with the peerless David Blanco, playing a tune by this talented and young artist.

El Greco is currently working in new discographic productions, having so far more than 50 themes masterized at the Head Machine Studios in Cancún, Mexico. Parallel to this labor is readying the schedule of concerts and performances for the upcoming 2006.

See a material about this artist in La Bijirita

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