Beledo for Jazz Rock/Fusion

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José Pedro Beledo, known professionally by just his surname, is a guitarist from Montevideo, Uruguay who currently lives in New York City, and who can be characterized as "the Uruguayan Allan Holdsworth". He additionally plays keyboards, violin and accordion. The influence of Holdsworth is very noticeable in Beledo's playing style and electric guitar tone, although comparisons can also be made with the music of Tribal Tech and Al Di Meola's later albums.

After starting out on piano, Beledo picked up the guitar in the wake of the British Invasion and briefly joined the blues rock band Días De Blues in the 1970s. He soon found his new passion in jazz fusion after being exposed to artists such as Chick Corea, Weather Report and Soft Machine, and played in a number of jazz rock groups from Uruguay and Argentina (including Maytreya, Siddharta and Opa) before releasing his first solo album Escape in 1985. After recording two more albums (one electric, one acoustic and more based in Latin American folk music styles) and playing with musicians all over the world, Beledo moved to the United States and eventually signed with Moonjune Records in 2013, going on to serve as a session musician for many other talented artists on the label, including SimakDialog, Gary Husband, Dwiki Dharmawan and Gia Ionesco. He is also the guitarist of the crossover prog band Circuline.

DISCOGRAPHY (with links)

ESCAPE (Studio album, 1985)
1.    El Músico De Rock (3:21)
2.    La Función (2:56)
3.    Valores (2:14)
4.    Ya No Estarás (2:27)
5.    Después De Ese Cielo (3:24)
6.    Barroco I (1:01)
7.    Olvídame Abismos (3:53)
8.    Cristales (1:20)
9.    Oda (2:55)
10.    Maytreya (3:14)
11.    Verano En Nuevo Inglaterra (3:22)
12.    Barroco II (0:42)
Total time: 30:49
Bonus track on 2020 MoonJune reissue:
13.    Nunca Dejes De Volver  (2:26)
LP Ciruja Records CR506 (Uruguay, 1985)
Cassette Ciruja Records CR506 (Uruguay, 1985)
CD Moonjune Records (USA, February 22, 2020)
- José Pedro Beledo / electric, acoustic & synth guitar, acoustic piano, synthesizer, vocals
With:
- Popo Romano / bass guitar, fretless bass guitar
- Miguel Romano / drums
- Osvaldo Fattoruso / drums (3, 11)
- Pedro Aznar / fretless bass guitar, synth guitar (11)
- Norma Galfetti / vocals (2)
- Inge Steffen / flute (9)
- Dave Carpenter / bass guitar (13)
- Nick D’Virgilio / drums (13)

EL CÉFIRO (Studio album, 1992)
1.    El Céfiro (2:55)
2.    Mensaje En Clave (3:18)
3.    Steeple Scheme (3:13)
4.    Cuarteto De Saxos (0:56)
5.    Vamos En Camino (2:47)
6.    Barroco (Lento) (0:56)
7.    Viajero Desconocido (4:03)
8.    El Céfiro (Piano Solo) (2:31)
9.    The Sleeping Terror (3:42)
10.    El Regreso (2:25)
11.    El Gnomo Y La Luciernaga (2:57)
12.    Kuatra (2:42)
13.    Balada Lejana (1:46)
14.    Tema De Fuego Y Mar (3:50)
15.    Despedida (3:44)
Total time: 41:45
Cassette Melopea Discos CMPV 1058 (Uruguay, 1992)
José Pedro Beledo / guitar, piano, synthesizer
With: 
- Gary Willis / bass guitar
- Gustavo “Mamut” Muñoz / bass guitar
- Popo Romano / bass guitar
- Bill Berg / drums
- José Luis Pérez / drums
- Miguel Romano / drums
- Bob Nagy / guitar synthesizer

LEJANAS SERRANÍAS (Studio album, 1997)
1.    Chamarralerria (5:25)
2.    Allá Afuera (5:14)
3.    Danza Uruguaya (2:22)
4.    Para Don Luis (4:22)
5.    Snapper Village (4:36)
6.    Lejano Carnaval (5:35)
7.    Tu Dueño (3:12)
8.    Suite Serrana (6:13)
9.    Lobos (5:01)
10.    La Tregua De Cufré (6:06)
11.    Uruguaji (5:04)
12.    Incomunicados (Bulerias) (4:21)
Total time: 57:31
CD Perro Andaluz PA 2669 2 (Uruguay, 1997)
- José Pedro Beledo / classical guitar, acoustic piano
With:
- Jorge Camiruaga / vibraphone
- Popo Romano / upright bass, acoustic bass
- Ariel Ameijenda / sarod (1), sitar (11)
- Edu Lombardo / percussion
- Nego Haedo / percussion (1, 11)
- Joey Cardello / percussion (12)
- Federico Britos / violin (5)
- Roberto Perera / Paraguayan harp (5)

MONTEVIDEO JAZZ DREAMS (Studio album, 2007)
1.    Entre Laberintos (4:48)
2.    Fugue On A Blue Note (6:32)
3.    Wild Shore Ride (5:08)
4.    Another Tomorrow (5:48)
5.    Late Show (5:48)
6.    The Truce Of Cufré (3:48)
7.    Way Back (7:08)
8.    Funland Blues (4:47)
9.    Boat House Riff (6:47)
Total time: 50:34
CD Gudari Records GuR001 (USA, 2007)
- José Pedro Beledo / guitar, piano
With:
- Jorge Camiruaga / vibraphone (1, 3, 4, 6, 8)
- Stefon Harris / vibraphone (2, 5, 7, 9)
- Andy Middleton / tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
- Randy Brecker / trumpet
- Chris Komer / French horn
- David Finck / upright bass
- Mark Walker / drums (1-4, 6-8), vocal drums (1)
- Manolo Badrena / drums (5, 9), percussion (1, 5, 9), vocals (9)
- Carol Moore / vocals (1)
- Amar Kabir / trumpet

DREAMLAND MECHANISM (Studio album, 2016)
1.    Mechanism (5:21)
2.    Bye Bye Blues (5:36)
3.    Marylin’s Escapade (8:40)
4.    Lucilla (6:28)
5.    Sudden Voyage (5:01)
6.    Big Brother Calling (4:13)
7.    Mercury In Retrograde (4:19)
8.    Silent Assessment (5:01)
9.    Budjanaji (5:00)
10.    Front Porch Pine (5:28)
Total time: 55:07
CD Moonjune Records MJR077 (USA, August 31, 2016)
- José Pedro Beledo / electric guitar, violin, electric piano, synthesizer, piano, accordion, Spanish guitar, fretless bass guitar, vocals
With:
- Lincoln Goines / bass guitar (1-3, 6-8)
- Gary Husband / drums (1-3, 6-8)
- Endang Ramdan / kendang (4, 9)
- Cucu Kurnia / kendang, percussion (4, 9)
- Tony Steele / bass guitar (5, 10)
- Doron Lev / drums (5, 10)
- Dewa Budjana / electric guitar (9)
- Rudy Zulkarnaen / bass guitar (9)

Edited by Mirakaze - October 17 2021 at 10:52