Raúl Midón

Raúl Midón

Raúl Midón at TED2007 in 2007
Background information
Born (1966-03-14) March 14, 1966
Embudo, New Mexico, U.S.
Genres Soul, flamenco, Latin, jazz
Occupation(s) Singer, musician
Instruments Guitar, vocals, mouth trumpet
Years active 1993–present
Labels Artistry
Website www.raulmidon.com

Raúl Midón (born March 14, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Mexico.

Biography

Early life

Midon was born prematurely in a rural hospital in Embudo, New Mexico, to parents of Argentine and African American descent. His father was a folkloric dancer from Argentina. Midon and his twin brother Marco were blind as infants after spending time in an incubator without adequate eye protection. The sound of music became integral to Midon's life at age four when his father introduced him to the drum. Midon learned how to play guitar while performing in educational programs at a school for the blind, then at an academy in Santa Fe while completing his last two years of high school. Midon then attended the University of Miami, which he selected for its jazz curriculum. He graduated from the University of Miami in 1990. In 2008 he purchased a home in Maryland.

Career

Midon began his career as a session singer for Latin recording artists, including Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, Julio Iglesias, and Jose Feliciano. After touring with Shakira, he moved to New York City to pursue a solo career. In New York City he worked with producer and DJ Little Louie Vega. He wrote and recorded several songs, including "Cerca De Mi" with Vega and his production team under the band name Elements of Life. The band was led by Vega and toured Europe, Japan, and Australia during 2003 and 2004.

Midon was signed by Arif Mardin to Manhattan Records. In Mardin's long career, Midon was his first signing of an artist. Mardin and his son Joe produced Midon's debut album, State of Mind (2005).[1]The album featured a guest performance by Stevie Wonder, one of his idols, another one with Jason Mraz, and a song written in tribute to Donny Hathaway entitled "Sittin' in the Middle." Midon is an avid amateur radio enthusiast,[2] who used his call sign (KB5ZOT) using Morse code. Midon released the album A World Within a World on September 25, 2007.

In 2008 he built a home studio with the help of Cakewalk and the company Dancing Dots, which designs technology the blind. The studio allowed him to produce music from home without the need of an engineer. His song "Everyone Deserves a Second Chance", which appeared on Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca's album Akokan, was recorded at his home. He recorded two songs for the Generosity Water project at his home studio, which he calls The Basement Studio.

Midon worked with Grammy Award-winning producer Larry Klein on the album Synthesis (Decca, 2010). He moved to Santa Monica, California, while recording the album, which featured Vinnie Colaiuta, Dean Parks, Jamie Muhoberac, Larry Goldings, Paulinho Da Costa, and Klein on bass. Two years later a live album and DVD followed. The album Don't Hesitate (Mack Avenue/Artistry, 2014) was recorded at his home studio. The album featured appearances by Lizz Wright, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Miller, and Richard Bona. He wrote the song "Mi Amigo Cubano" with Bill Withers and it led to the film Still Bill (2014).

In 2015, Midon joined the 14th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel. He was also a judge for the 12th and 13th Independent Music Awards. Midon sang the song at the credits for Spike Lee's 2004 LGBT film, She Hate Me, titled "Adam n' Eve n' Eve". His song "Everybody" was featured in the soundtrack of the movie The Peaceful Warrior starring Nick Nolte. Midon's national television debut was on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 28, 2005. Herbie Hancock featured Midon on the album Possibilities (2006), performing Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You".

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "JAZZ SOUL GETS SLAP HAPPY. Raul Midon's attention-grabbing style trumpets the arrival of a major new talent". New York Daily News, May 29, 2005.
  2. ↑ "AE3RM - Callsign Lookup by". Qrz.com. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  3. ↑ "Gracias a la Vida by Raul Midón @ARTISTdirect". Artistdirect.com. 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
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