StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Alex Mercado

Today, let's take a look at some videos featuring pianist Alex Mercado, who will make his St. Louis debut in a concert next Friday, September 28 at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

The date is part of a brief tour of the Midwest, for which Mercado will be accompanied by Rodrigo Villanueva on drums and St. Louis' own Bob DeBoo on bass. While he's here, Mercado also will present a free, public master class at 1:00 p.m. on Friday in Room 103 of Washington University's Music Classroom Building, 6500 Forsyth Blvd.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Mercado is considered to be one of Mexico's top jazz musicians. He's released four albums as a leader, including 2014's Symbiosis, which was selected as one of DownBeat magazine's Editors’ Picks for 2014, and his most recent recording Paisajes, which came out at the end of 2017.

You can see a performance of the title track from Paisajes in the first video up above, which features Mercado with bassist Israel Cupich and drummer Gabriel Puentes and was released online in January 2018

After the jump, you can see the same three musicians playing "Búsqueda," also included on Paisajes, and "What Lays Beyond," the latter recorded live at this year's North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

That's followed by a full set, recorded in 2015, and a solo piece called "Prisma," recorded live in 2016. Last but not least, there's another trio performance, of the title track from the Symbiosis album as recorded in 2015 at the Festival de Jazz Nuevo León in Mexico.

For more about Alex Mercado, read the Q&As with him published by JazzCorner.com and AllAboutJazz.com.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...