United States of America

“Gonzalez Reeds are different to other brand of reeds I have played before. Gonzalez Reeds project a beautiful centered and deep timber that I have been always looking for. Those reeds match perfectly with my style of playing”.

Carlos Averhoff Jr. is considered one of the most prolific Cuban Saxophonist of his generation. A Latin Grammy nominated artist with the album “Buena Vista Presents Omara Portuondo”, composer, educator, band leader and recording artist of Inner Circle Jazz Record Label.

All About Jazz describes Carlos “a dynamic fresh new voice on the saxophone”. Latin Jazz Network portrays his playing as “quite extraordinarily expressive and beautiful,” further adding, “Carlos Averhoff Jr. is a musician who is renowned as a virtuoso soloist.”

The music of Carlos offers a new hybrid sound of Cuban Jazz showcasing original compositions and arrangements masterfully painting a landscape of contemporary harmonies and rhythms from his native land. Averhoff Jr. creates unique contexts that show connections to Cuban culture and contemporary jazz without being overly obvious.

As a band leader, Carlos has performed in important Jazz venues in US as well as national and international Jazz Festivals. As a side man, Carlos has collaborated with Jazz legends such as: Louis Hayes, Jimmy Cobb, Bob Moses; Cuban drummer Horacio El Negro Hernandez, pianists Jason Moran; Chucho Valdes, saxophonists Dave Liebman, Bill Pierce, Greg Osby, among other Jazz icons.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Carlos first encounter with music was through his mother’s womb by the hands of his father, legendary saxophonist and member of Chucho Valdes’s Irakere, Carlos Averhoff, Sr. Classically trained in Cuba’s top music schools – Manuel Saumel Conservatory of Music, Amadeo Roldan School of Music and Havana’s Superior Institue of Art – Carlos continued his education in the United States earning Suma cum Laude Honors at Berklee College of Music and a Master’s Degree with Honors from the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music.

He took instruction from Jazz luminaries Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Ed Tomassi, Frank Tiberi, Greg Osby, Bill Pierce, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, Cecil McBee, Ran Blake, John McNeil and Donny McCaslin.