Biography
Negroni's Trio emerged as a Latin Grammy-nominated jazz piano trio when composer, pianist, instructor, and arranger José Negroni assembled the group. His son Nomar Negroni, a Berklee College of Music graduate, handles drums while American bassist Josh Allen, who earned his degree from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, anchors the low end. The ensemble fuses Caribbean rhythms with modern creative and Latin jazz.
Beyond the trio format, José Negroni commands respect in classical symphonic and world music circles and has performed on stages across the globe. That breadth supplies a crucial ingredient in the band’s overall identity. For more than a decade he oversaw Sony Music’s publishing division in the United States. A disciple of salsa legend Papo Lucca, he spent sixteen years teaching at Puerto Rico’s Music Conservatory. Throughout the 1980s he built a thriving career as one of Latin America’s foremost musical directors, producers, and pop arrangers while serving almost continuously as pianist and musical director for the region’s biggest international stars.
After the trio’s formation in the late 1990s, the musicians appeared at jazz festivals worldwide and became regulars at New York’s Blue Note. Their debut recording, 2003’s Naturaleza/Nature on Universal Music Latino, merged progressive jazz elements with pop and Latin music while evoking Puerto Rico’s cultural spirit. The album earned substantial airplay on smooth-jazz, world-music, and new-age formats and registered on the corresponding charts. Piano/Drums/Bass arrived the following year, earned a Latin Grammy nomination, and remained on the jazz charts for fifteen weeks. After departing Universal, the group issued Father and Son on the Cacao label in 2008, then Just Three in 2010, On the Way in 2012, and Negroni’s Trio Tres Palabras, LIVE! in 2014.
In 2015 Negroni signed with Sony Music and released the expansive Negroni Piano + 9, which positioned the trio within a larger ensemble featuring Charlie Sepulveda, William Cepeda, Humberto Ramírez, and Leo Quintero. The project received international airplay and garnered a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Album. Two years later the trio delivered its boldest statement yet with New Era. José Negroni exercised full creative control at Sony Music, deploying electric keyboards alongside his grand piano. He reimagined “Take the 'A' Train” and “Sweet Georgie Fame,” offered fresh interpretations of pop standards such as “That's the Way of the World” and “Isn't She Lovely,” and explored Brazilian and Latin material including “El Incomprendido,” “Perfidia,” and “Brazilian Love Affair.” The Afro-Cuban treatment of Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny,” featuring Cuban songstress Aymee Nuviola, served as the lead single; Billboard premiered the track, which subsequently appeared on multiple streaming charts. The complete New Era album reached stores in early September.
Beyond the trio format, José Negroni commands respect in classical symphonic and world music circles and has performed on stages across the globe. That breadth supplies a crucial ingredient in the band’s overall identity. For more than a decade he oversaw Sony Music’s publishing division in the United States. A disciple of salsa legend Papo Lucca, he spent sixteen years teaching at Puerto Rico’s Music Conservatory. Throughout the 1980s he built a thriving career as one of Latin America’s foremost musical directors, producers, and pop arrangers while serving almost continuously as pianist and musical director for the region’s biggest international stars.
After the trio’s formation in the late 1990s, the musicians appeared at jazz festivals worldwide and became regulars at New York’s Blue Note. Their debut recording, 2003’s Naturaleza/Nature on Universal Music Latino, merged progressive jazz elements with pop and Latin music while evoking Puerto Rico’s cultural spirit. The album earned substantial airplay on smooth-jazz, world-music, and new-age formats and registered on the corresponding charts. Piano/Drums/Bass arrived the following year, earned a Latin Grammy nomination, and remained on the jazz charts for fifteen weeks. After departing Universal, the group issued Father and Son on the Cacao label in 2008, then Just Three in 2010, On the Way in 2012, and Negroni’s Trio Tres Palabras, LIVE! in 2014.
In 2015 Negroni signed with Sony Music and released the expansive Negroni Piano + 9, which positioned the trio within a larger ensemble featuring Charlie Sepulveda, William Cepeda, Humberto Ramírez, and Leo Quintero. The project received international airplay and garnered a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Album. Two years later the trio delivered its boldest statement yet with New Era. José Negroni exercised full creative control at Sony Music, deploying electric keyboards alongside his grand piano. He reimagined “Take the 'A' Train” and “Sweet Georgie Fame,” offered fresh interpretations of pop standards such as “That's the Way of the World” and “Isn't She Lovely,” and explored Brazilian and Latin material including “El Incomprendido,” “Perfidia,” and “Brazilian Love Affair.” The Afro-Cuban treatment of Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny,” featuring Cuban songstress Aymee Nuviola, served as the lead single; Billboard premiered the track, which subsequently appeared on multiple streaming charts. The complete New Era album reached stores in early September.
Albums
Esperanzas/Hopes
2021
Acústico
2019
New Era
2017
On the Way
2012
Just Three
2010
Live
2007
Piano/Drums/Bass
2004
Naturaleza Nature
2003
Singles
