Consuelo Candelaria

"Compositionally driven post-bop jazz that embraces deep musician interplay into an act of joyful expression."

Consuelo Candelaria-Barry is a pianist and composer known for her lyrical touch, rhythmic vitality, and distinctive compositional voice.

Over the course of her career, she has performed and recorded with many of jazz's most respected artists, including Ron Savage, Billy Pierce, Bobby Broom, Curtis Fuller, Don Braden, Walter Smith III, Jason Palmer, Harvey Mason, Lewis Nash, Louis Hayes, Billy Hart, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Paula Cole. Recent performance highlights include the Panama Jazz Festival (2024) and appearances at the Cambridge Jazz Festival (2022–2025) with the Ron Savage Trio featuring Billy Pierce and Bobby Broom.

As a bandleader, her recordings When They Danced (named a Boston Globe Top 10 Jazz Album), Last Sunday Morning (Accurate Records), and In The Moment are comprised primarily of original compositions, showcasing both her expressive pianism and her distinctive voice as a composer. She also appears on Paula Cole's Ballads and PBS's Unresolved with Jason Palmer.

Her international career has taken her throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, including performances with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, recorded by Abbey Road Studios, and appearances for the President of Costa Rica.

A Grand Prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest (Jazz category) for her composition En Tiempos Pasados, Candelaria-Barry continues to perform, compose, and create music that reflects technical mastery, emotional depth, and a deeply personal artistic vision.

In addition to her international performing and composing career, she is a Full Professor at Berklee College of Music, where she continues to mentor emerging musicians while maintaining an active global performance and recording career.

"She has become one of the great masters of jazz piano and a first-rate composer."

 

Project details

A gem from 2008, released finally. This unreleased vault session features the legendary saxophonist Bill Pierce (Art Blakey, Tony Williams). Heavily inspired by the post-hard-bop lineage of Mulgrew Miller and Donald Brown, the compositionally driven tracks showcase high-energy musician interplay and expression. The sound is joyful and organic. Unearthed after nearly 30 years, this powerful quartet performance is a historical must-listen for modern jazz curators and purists alike.
 

Album

In the moment

Consuelo Candelaria

Download: Your price

In the moment

Consuelo Candelaria
Album download

Please choose a price: $ USD ($10.00 or more)

Please pay at least $10.00

Out of stock
In this vault release, recorded in 2008, I am over the moon to finally be able to share this music with all of you. It is close to my heart as much of the music is centered around family:) One is for Mom, Mother's song, Read more

In this vault release, recorded in 2008, I am over the moon to finally be able to share this music with all of you. It is close to my heart as much of the music is centered around family:) One is for Mom, Mother's song, and the other is for Dad, La Jornada. LIttle Feet's beats is for my boys when they were quite little and I would hear their little feet boppin' around. These are but a few of compositions here. I love this record, and am so happy to share it with you at long last. ❤️

0:00/???
  1. 1
    In the moment 5:59
    Your price

    In the moment

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/5:59
  2. 2
    Unlikely chacha 7:31
    Your price

    Unlikely chacha

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/7:31
  3. 3
    Umbrian Rain 7:41
    Your price

    Umbrian Rain

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/7:41
  4. 4
    Cariñosos 7:56
    Your price

    Cariñosos

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/7:56
  5. 5
    Mother's song 7:11
    Your price

    Mother's song

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/7:11
  6. 6
    Samba Chicana 7:37
    Your price

    Samba Chicana

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/7:37
  7. 7
    02 Little Feets Beats 8:34
    Your price

    02 Little Feets Beats

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/8:34
  8. 8
    La Jornada 8:35
    Your price

    La Jornada

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/8:35
  9. 9
    02 Aerial View (w_ fixes) 5:47
    Your price

    02 Aerial View (w_ fixes)

    Consuelo Candelaria

    Please choose a price: $ USD ($0.99 or more)

    Please pay at least $0.99

    Out of stock
    0:00/5:47

Press / Reviews

“ALBUM REVIEWS : Compositions Make for Appealing ‘Sunday’ One of the great joys of jazz is the music’s constant capacity to generate new, unexpected, often unknown talent. Pianist-composer Consuelo Candelaria is on the faculty of Berklee College of Music in Boston and Jon Hazilla is a Boston-based drummer. Both are proficient, if not especially unusual players, although Candelaria possesses a pleasant Bill Evans quality in her solo work. More important, Candelaria, who wrote all the music on the CD (with the exception of Billy Strayhorn’s “Johnnie Come Lately”), is an extraordinarily gifted composer. Virtually every tune on the album bursts with memorable melody and catchy rhythms. Some highlights: the meter-twisting rhythms of “Java Jive” and “Waltz for You,” the Monkish “Out of Kilter,” the floating melodies of “In Your Voice” and the title track “Last Sunday Morning.” In almost every case, Candelaria avoids the obvious, constantly altering familiar jazz forms, stretching phrases, taking chances with unusual rhythms. She is a composer to watch, with a knack for writing music with a rare combination of listener appeal and creative density. * Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good), four stars (excellent). ” - By Don Heckman

— LA Times

“Driven by her inventive modern neo-bop compositions, pianist Consuelo Candelaria's collaborative album Last Sunday Morning earned high praise from AllMusic critic Michael G. Nastos. Nastos highlighted her exceptional musicianship, celebrating her "beautiful array of sonorous chime chording and light lines."” - Michael G. Nastos

— AllMusic

Press photos

Video

Contact