“It's a job one does with love.”

“My dad was a musician. That’s why I started playing music. He used to play in salsa orchestras in Veracruz, which is where I’m from. It was very common for the musicians to continue playing music even after they finished their gigs. They called it ‘bohemia’. Sometimes they would go home to eat or have a beer, but they would continue playing music. I learned how to play by watching them, and they would teach me how to hold the bongo, congas, and timbal,” says Rey David Alejandre, the pianist for Jazz On The Rocks. These were his inevitable beginnings in music.

Rey David grew up surrounded by musical instruments he considered his toys. At 7, he started performing on stage with his father. By the time he turned 12, he had already performed at the renowned Teatro Nacional de La Habana Cuba as part of a cultural exchange program called “Cuba-Veracruz”. Unknowingly, he developed a passion for music with his father’s guidance. At home, he listened to vinyl records of famous artists such as Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, and Héctor Lavoe. His mind traveled through the dream world of salsa, and he often daydreamed about what the future held for him.

Life takes us to unexpected places, but with determination, hard work, some good fortune, and talent, dreams can become a reality. The story of Rey David is a perfect example. He frequents Jazz OnThe Rocks and can often be found playing the piano, moving skillfully between the keys. It’s worth noting that Rey David was once Willie Colón’s trombonist, a musician who served as an influential figure to him when he was growing up.

“I dedicated my whole life to this, and one day, my dream came true. I was able to audition with Willie Colón. During a period when he came to Mexico, he was working in television and did the music for a soap opera. A trombonist with the characteristics and sound that Willie wanted were missing, like that, like the sound of the master. I was invited to the audition, and I stayed, but that was later, when I was 21 years old,” he says.

A milestone in Rey’s life was his move to Cancun, where he worked as a salsa musician in the hotels. “There is a lot of tourism, and the North American public likes jazz. So I had to learn the hard way because there were no schools, there were almost no books, and I did it self-taught. There was a place in Cancun called the Roots, where the palomazo was set up, and local and foreign musicians arrived. (“Palomazo” is the spontaneous participation of an artist or a group in a concert without a previous announcement.) There, the stage lent itself to get on the palomazo; that way, I could learn. 

Another adventure was to go to New York for three months and stay for seven years, soaking up salsa and jazz. This was the ideal city to continue shaping his dreams. 

He has become a skilled musician in salsa, jazz, and Latin jazz, playing trombone, piano, and percussion instruments. He has performed in some of the most notable venues, including the United Nations, Madison Square Garden, Jazz Standard, Birdland Jazz Club, Malta Jazz Festival, Riga Jazz Festival, and Blue Note Jazz.

What attracted you to Jazz on The Rocks?

I came thanks to Tito Rodriguez, my friend. Last year, he invited me to the Jazz Week in Los Cabos. So I came here and really liked the place; the view is beautiful, and I have wanted to play a grand piano for a long time. Besides, Tito’s repertoire demands a lot. It is a more complex repertoire. And suddenly, I had two or three days when I realized I was already performing at Jazz On The Rocks all week.

“Here I get what Rey is all about, what Rey likes. A crazy, dedicated, passionate musician like me needs to feel complete. And that reminds me of why I’m a musician in the first place: to be content and happy!”.