San Diego Jazz Hero
A mainstay of San Diego’s thriving jazz scene for more than a decade, Louis Valenzuela has distinguished himself as a guitarist who can deftly perform an array of jazz styles, as well as gospel and rhythm ’n’ blues. Whether leading or co-leading bands, heading weekly jam sessions or playing as a sideman, he can be counted on to perform with a winning combination of skill, sensitivity and verve. He does so an average of six days a week, often with double gigs on weekends.
As a member of academia, Valenzuela teaches jazz guitar at San Diego State University (in person) and Mesa College (online, at least for the time being). He also teaches at Avant Garde Music Company, the music school and recording studio he co-founded in Chula Vista, the southern San Diego County city in which he was born.
All of this makes the man a beacon of his community. But it is what he has done since the pandemic started that elevates Louis Valenzuela to true Jazz Hero status.
As a techie with an insatiable appetite for documenting music, Louis had begun livestreaming gigs by his musical pals and himself even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. When it did hit, with virtually every jazz gig in town silenced and cores of musicians out of work, he sprang into action.
He repurposed AGMC’s three-room recording studio and freely opened its doors for jazz artists to perform livestreaming concerts there – socially distanced and masked. A slew of performers eagerly embraced his hospitality to connect with audiences online, and as a welcome means to earn at least a little money in the process.
Valenzuela named this labor-of-love enterprise Electric LouieLand in honor of one of his favorite guitarists, Jimi Hendrix. Such top San Diego jazz artists as flutist Holly Hofmann and trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos – both previous JJA Heroes honorees – were among the many musicians who were able to reconnect with fans through Electric LouieLand, whose high-caliber audio and visual quality far exceed what most musicians could achieve with at-home livestreams.
Once in production mode, Valenzuela was not content to only do livestreams in one location. In March 2021 Castellanos began performing weekly outdoor dinner concerts at Balboa Park’s Panama 66 restaurant, for socially distanced listeners who could remove their masks only while eating. Louis brought much of his ElectricLouieLand gear there to livestream each gig, free to audiences close and far.
In short order, national award-winning San Diego radio station KSDS-FM Jazz 88 — its studios then shuttered, broadcasting completely remotely, sans any live on-air staff — began re-transmitting Valenzuela’s livestreams on Saturday evenings. The station now devotes an hour each Saturday to his recent streams on “Jazz Night San Diego.”
As pandemic restrictions are now being lifted, Valenzuela is back gigging in person nearly every day and leading at least two weekly jam sessions. This past March he created and launched what he calls the SDRealBook, a real-time fake book that features contemporary compositions by such top area musicians as Castellanos and pianist Joshua White. It’s available free at ElectricLouieLand.com, as is his ElectricLouieLand.com Guitar Book and all the livestreamed concerts he’s made possible.
Of course, this master-of-multi-tasking would never describe his actions as heroic. He has simply done what he can to help his fellow musicians be heard when being heard has been a major challenge. But to those who have benefited from his actions – performers and listeners alike – heroic very aptly sums up Louis Valenzuela’s contributions. He’s a Jazz Hero, who jazz – and San Diego – are lucky to have. — George Varga, photo © Devin Blaskovich
