Biography
Chema Vílchez was born in Madrid in 1967. He initiates his electric studies of guitar, harmony, arrangements and composition when he was 13 years old. Later, when he was 18, he begins to study Flamenco guitar. Since he was 15 to 21, he plays in diverse bands of jazz and rock, combining these activities with the exercise of an intense educational activity. He started a very intense praticing of Yoga with 17 years old, and 3years later he get the titulation as Yoga teacher with the Sivananda Fundation.
At the age of 22, he travels to Los Angeles, to the Musicians Institute of Hollywood, where he graduates with honors. At the same time, he plays with bands as Overland Dr, with Joe Ruiz and Enzo Cossu, and studies with Robben Ford, Joe Diorio, Gambale, Don Mock, Scott Henderson and Jimmy Findlay.
At 24, he returns to Spain and creates the Institute of Music & Technology (IMT), back to the teaching activity. Nowadays, IMT has been during the direction of Chema one of the most prestigious schools of music in Spain, with students from all over the world. In its seven years of existence there have been more than 2.500 students. Besides, Chema takes part in several trios and duets.
At 27 he returns to the United States, where records his album "The Dream of the Navigator". He also plays in important clubs of Los Angeles, where he shares playing and recording with very important musicians as Eric Marienthal, Alex Acuña, Alphonso Johnson, Chad Wackerman, Andrea Marcelli, Gary Willis, Steve Hunt, Mitchel Forman, John Beasley, Steve Tavaglione, Walt Fowler, Jimmy Earl, Marlon Mehr, etc.
In 1995 he releases "The Dream of the Navigator" in Spain, promotioning it in diverse radio stations, televisions, clubs and touring around Spain and Italy (Lugano, Novara, Lonate, Milán, Génova, Turín, Pavia) and several live concerts in the RAI. Over this period he plays and/or records, among others, with: Hartmut Zeller, Giorgio di Tullio, José Antonio Pereira, Piero Orsini, Patxi Pascual, Lorenzo Definti, Daniele Comoglio, Bob Sands,…
At the age of 29 he returns to Los Angeles, where he records two CDs, "The Sacred Nature of Life" and "Contemporary Visions-Jazz Standars"; in that period he plays and/or records with Dave Weckl, John Patitucci, Mitchel Forman, Alex Acuña, John Stowell, Richard Bona and Dave Carpenter, among others. In 1998 he comes back to Spain and begins the live presentations of "The Sacred Nature of Life", and at the same time, he carries out numerous interviews for radio programs, newspapers and specialized magazines. At the beginning of 2000, he records his fourth CD, "The Seven Revelations of the Silence", a CD that itself frames inside the esthetic of the contemporary music.
In 2002 Chema recorded a new albums, Música para la Relajación y el Sosiego. During this tiem he is the former guitar player with the Orquesta Nacional de Jazz de España, maybe the most important orquestra in Spain, playing in the biggest auditoriums and theaters. In the 2003 he will be doing presentations of the new album, and keep the collaboration with national and international artists
In 2005 record “La Música de El Faquir”, uno de sus discos más interesantes donde integra el jazz contemporáneo con el color y el sabor de la música india. Cuenta en este disco con la colaboración de dos de los mejores músicos españoles, Moisés Sánchez y Luis Escalada. También en este año ve la publicación de su segundo libro, “Yoga Renacer a la Vida”
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