"Ricardo Tejero: Born in Madrid. Saxophonist, clarinetist and composer.

Ricardo's work ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, jazz, African music, dance music and conduction of large orchestras. He also has developed and important activity as music educator, teaching sax and clarinet tuitions as well as leading music workshops.

Ricardo began playing alto saxophone in 1992. Initially self-taught he then studied with Wade Mathews. In 1998 he started playing improvised music under the guidance of Chefa Alonso at the same time as he was playing in different ad hoc bands doing Latin Music, jazz or Spanish Popular music. In the same year he formed, together with other musicians, his first improvisation ensemble SOPLATHAT, who played an active role in Madrid's improvisation scene of late 90's.

In 2001 Ricardo moved to Leeds (England) to study music. He graduated in Jazz and Contemporary Music at Leeds College Music in 2005, obtaining in 2007 a Masters Degree in Contemporary Music at Brunel University (London) under professors Richard Barret and Peter Wiegold.

Since he moved to Leeds he played and participated in many different groups and projects like the quintet NEEDS MUST ( Leeds ), a co operative project with drummer Neil Thomas and bassist James Paylor; LCM's DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA under Tony Faulkner; Omar Puente's LATIN BIG BAND; Sese Seko Mgamba Mandinga Band or played in different projects of LIMA ( Leeds Improvised Music Association ) with musicians like Dave Kayne, Mathew Bourne, Didrik Ingvaldsen, Ninon Foiret, Peter Fadnes or Christoff De Berzenac.

In 2005 Ricardo london went to London where he lived for almost a decade and maintained an active role in the London improvised music scene as well as working with other ad hoc projects, playing and collaborating with musicians from different countries. Some of the musicians he has worked with include John Edwards, Alex Ward, Javier Carmona, Dominic Lash, Dave Tucker, Mark Sanders, Veryan Weston, Niko Meinhold, Julian Bonequi, Alexander Hawkins, Steve Noble, Roland Ramanan, Giorgio Albanese, Roberto Sassi, Tony Marsh, Marcio Mattos, , Hannah Marshall, Frank Paul Schubert, Adrian Northover or Matthias Muller among others.

At present Ricardo lives again in his home town Madrid where he got involved in a number of projects not only in music but also working with dance and theater, colaborating with artists like Paloma Carrasco, Guillermo Bazzola, Sam Hall, Baldo Martinez, Eva Varela Lasheras or Jorge Sanchez. Ricardo also takes part in the colective Raras Musicas organising and promoting musical events.

He has played in festivals and venues of most European countries as well as Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, USA and Japan."

"My educational background includes studies in classical piano, cello and a degree in telecommunication engeneering. Yet, from 2003, I focused my musical activity on free improvised music; and from 2006, on educational activity, as a music teacher in Public Secondary Education Centres in Madrid.

I keep on learning and enjoying by continuously exchanging experiences with other improvisers, both in the context of workshops and workaday projects. In my classical training, Serguei Mesropian (cello) and Nino Kereselidze (piano) were key teachers for me. In the free improvised music framework, I attended to workshops by Chefa Alonso, Wade Mathews, Eddie Prèvost or Phil Minton. As a member of the FOCO Orchestra, I've been conducted by Fred Frith, Terry Day, Maggie Nicols, Ilan Volkov, Keith Tippett, William Parker, Olivier Benoit or Agustí Fernández. I've also collaborated as a performer with composer Fran M. M. Cabeza de Vaca, nourishing me that way with highly enriching creative processes. I've been involved in various multidisciplinary projects, with visual artists, poets and dancers. In the field of dance, I'm training in contact improvisation with Patricia Gracia, Diana Bonilla and Cristiane Boullosa.

I'm currently actively involved in the projects Bruo, MOON:DOS (presented at several festivals in Tenerife, Madrid, Málaga, Barcelona and Bilbao), and La Criatura. Besides, I usually participate with diverse formations at Musicalibre association's improvisers gatherings, at Raras Músicas' sessions and at ¡Escucha!'s musical series (Espacio Cruce). I also belong to all these collectives. I'm involved in several projects with contact improvisation dancers. Exploring the improvisational creative process not only from sound but also from movement has become for me a main framework to keep on researching about improvisation. I launched Escucha en Movimiento as a project to include initiatives in an open interdisciplinary research."