Pasaje a la Revelacion

Born on March 8th of 1967, Argentinean keyboard wizard Sergio ALVAREZ can be first described as the South American equivalent to progressive monsters Keith EMERSON and Rick WAKEMAN simultaneously. As a solo artist, he has recorded a handful of albums in which he delivers an enormous sound based on old school symphonic prog, full of melodic depth, bombast and stylish virtuosity. Actually, he comes from a family of musicians (for instance, his father was a bandoneon player who led a Tango ensemble in the 50s). When Sergio was just 18, he was a member of IN EXTREMIS, a band that played a hybrid between AOR, pop and prog rock: this adventure lasted almost 10 years. Besides that, he played as a session musician for jazz, blues and folklore bands, and also wrote music for radio and TV jingles.

Citing ELP, YES, Rick WAKEMAN, PINK FLOYD and GENESIS as main influences, his musical work and performances are best expressed in his solo albums, naturally. The first one, "Pasaje A La revelacion", was released in 1999. It was praised by progressive rock fans and critics within the small circuits devoted to art-rock, but he didn't rest on his laurels; instead, he wrote and recorded more material that would eventually be part of his next album entitled "Escenas De Ficcion", which was released just one year later. This sophomore release included a monumental 27 minute long epic named 'Sueno de un explorador', the clearest example of the sort of musical ambition that ALVAREZ had always had in mind. Additionally, it caught the attention of foreign progressive media - Progression Magazine (USA), Progressive Newsletter (Germany), Expose (USA), Wonderous Stories (Italy), Background Magazine (Holland). What's more, on September 13th of that same year, he played as the opening act to Rick WAKEMAN at the prestigious Gran Rex, Buenos Aires. Later on, he made a small European tour (October 2003) and played twice at Baja Prog 2006 (Mexico). At the time, he had already released his third album "Naturalezas Disonantes", which not only enhanced his obvious symphonic prog patterns but also included refreshing elements of World music and spacey atmospheres in places. Clearly, Sergio ALVAREZ is always open to the challenges of evolving as a composer and a performer.

While on record he uses digital substitutes of a rhythm section, on stage he is accompanied by a live drummer. In 2008, he conducted a series of musical TV programs that featured him interviewing fellow musicians and mostly playing music not only of his own repertoire but also classics of the genre.