Spotlight
Emiliano Rodriguez
Emiliano Rodriguez brought his guitar to UCLA seeking musicians.
Of course, there are the usual suspects: a celebrated faculty including Tom Ranier, Billy Higgins, Harold Land, Michele Weir, Gerald Wilson-and Kenny Burrell.
But Emiliano, a guitarist, was also looking for jazz-playing colleagues among his peers. "I found it frustrating outside the college circuit to meet musicians who were dedicated and really wanted to play," he says. A rock and roll band he formed earlier was made up of high school friends. "I taught them how to play so I could have a band," he says.
That is not the case with "Emiliano Rodriguez and the Modern Son Conjunto," the band he leads as he leaves UCLA with his bachelor's degree. Roughly translated, Son Conjunto means song band or ensemble. The six-piece group includes other veterans or students in UCLA's Jazz Studies program.
Besides Emiliano's compositions, the group plays salsa, Afro-Cuban music, and combinations of reggae, jazz, and salsa. "We like to mix up the rhythms and create innovative sounds," Emiliano says. "We focus on improvisation so you can see our skills." Although Emiliano will be looking for a day job, the band is already making "alright money. You know, we can always make more-I'm always looking to make more."
Before he got to UCLA, Emiliano attended Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach City College, studying music and picking up most of his general education requirements but not finding a true academic home. Then he went to hear a band, Quetzal, and a member, Marta Gonzalez, was celebrating her graduation from UCLA's ethnomusicology program. Emiliano was one short Internet search from finding Jazz Studies. He recalls seeing on the website that Burrell was director: "A guitar player in charge of a program? Emiliano said to himself. "That's where I need to go."
It took some effort to get there, however. While his grades gained him admission to UCLA and ethnomusicology, he was turned down for the Jazz Studies program after his first audition. "I didn't quite have it yet," Emiliano says. "I dropped a couple of important classes at City College and sat in the practice room and just practiced all day long." His second audition was a success.
"It was a bumpy road," he says. "I had to fight for my spot." Having spent 11 years off and on pursuing his bachelor's degree, Emiliano is thrilled to have reached his goal at last. "There's a couple of ceremonies," he said, "and I might do both."