Tony Succar

Antonio "Tony" Succar (born 18 May 1986^[1]) is a Peruvian–American musician, composer, arranger and producer.

Early life

Succar was born in Lima, Peru. When he was two years old his family emigrated to the US and settled in Miami, Florida. Among his relatives were a number of musicians who encouraged Succar to develop his own musical interests.^[1] The family's musical tradition began with his paternal great-grandparents, Mexican composer Lauro Uranga and Spanish flamenco dancer Rosa Rodríguez Valero. Succar's father Antonio is a pianist and his mother Mimy is a singer.^[2] When Succar was 13, he began playing drums with his parents' band when they performed at weddings and other private and corporate functions.

Education

Succar attended Miami Sunset Senior High School in Miami-Dade County. At the time his ambition was to be a professional soccer player,^[3] and he played in several teams, including his high school team when it won the 2004 state championships. Later he tried to earn a soccer scholarship at Florida International University. Unable to obtain a scholarship, he asked his father for study advice. The advice he got was to apply for FIU's School of Music. Seeking an interview with the school's drum instructor he ended up auditioning for the Latin Jazz ensemble and was quickly accepted. Succar gained a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance in 2008 and went on to study for a Masters degree, which he gained in 2010.^[1]

Musical career

Succar already had an active musical career while still an undergraduate student. As a college junior he took over as musical director of the family band, which he rebranded as Mixtura.^[3]

On 21 September 2010, Succar released an album recorded at his graduate recital, a live concert featuring Mixtura at Miami's Wertheim Performing Arts Center. This CD/DVD contains a mix of Latin-influenced arrangements of classic Jazz numbers and original material. It received numerous positive reviews^[4] including Audiophile Audition^[5] and JazzChicago.^[6]

After graduating from FIU, Succar became an artist-in-residence there in 2012, continuing to work with the school's music students on a number of projects. He is the youngest artist ever to hold this appointment at FIU.^[7]

Succar has worked with a number of prominent artists in the Latin music genres. These include Tito Nieves, La India, Kevin Ceballo, Michael Stuart, Jon Secada, Jennifer Peña, Jean Rodriguez and Obie Bermúdez, who all collaborated with him on Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson.

The Unity Project

Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson is a collaborative project to produce a musical tribute to Michael Jackson. As well as live performances, the project plans to release an album consisting of 14 Jackson songs rewritten to include Latin influences, primarily Salsa. Succar, who was a long-term fan of Jackson's work, is the founder and producer^[8] of the project. Unity was launched in 2016 with a concert at Olympia theater in Miami. Unity features more than 100 musicians, such Latin superstars as Tito Nieves, Jon Secada, and La India, and the mixing magic of Jackson’s legendary engineer Bruce Swedien.

References