Biography
“Be ruined for the ordinary and obsessed with the pursuit of wonder. That wonder is Jesus Christ.”
- José Valentino, Ph.D.
Maintaining a vibrant career as an internationally touring cross-genre performing and recording artist (flutist, saxophonist, and bassist), four-time Latin GRAMMY® Award Winner and three-time Latin GRAMMY® Award Nominee, EMMY® Award Winner, DOVE® Award Winner, 53-time DOWNBEAT® Music Award Winner (record holder), and 23-time Global Music® Award Winner (record holder), Dr. José Valentino Ruiz has performed 1400+ concerts as Headliner in numerous festivals, performing arts centers (including twice at Carnegie Hall), and conferences on six continents (North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, & Australia); led 40+ non-profit mission trips; delivered 110+ keynotes, concerts, workshops in academic sectors; consulted numerous Fortune 500 companies; produced 140+ albums and 10 documentaries; and published 60+ peer-reviewed research articles. Ruiz maintains the roles of 1) Director of Music Production at Hayden5; 2) CEO at JV Music Enterprises; 3) Founder & Program Director of UF Music Business & Entrepreneurship; and 4) Director of the Global Institute for Music Research's Commission for Entrepreneurship and Leadership.
Legendary artists describe José Valentino’s artistry on the bass guitar as "Very soulful and heartfelt!" (Multi-GRAMMY® Award Winner, John Patitucci) and "Amazing and incredible!" (Bass Magazine’s three-time Bassist of the Year® Award Winner, Victor Wooten); on the saxophone as "Genius!" (Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Paquito D’Rivera) and "Openly and unequivocally speaks beyond" (multi-Oscar® Award Winning film musician, Pedro Eustache); and on the flute as "Playing the flute with fire!" (National Endowment of the Arts® Jazz Master, Hubert Laws); and "The best improvisor on flute!" (Lifetime Achievement Award® Winning flutist, Jim Walker).
José Valentino’s international awards span from music, business, entrepreneurship, digital media production, communications, education: four Latin GRAMMY® Awards (2022 Best Latin Children’s Album, 2022 Best Christian Album in Spanish Language, 2020 Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and 2019 Best Christian Album in Spanish Language); three LatinGRAMMY® Award Nominations (2023 Best Instrumental Album; 2016 Best Instrumental Album; and 2015 Best Latin Jazz Album); EMMY® Award (2018 Best Cultural Documentary); International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences' Anthem® Award (2023 Education, Art, and Culture—Strategy); Gospel Music Association’s DOVE® Award (2022 Spanish Language of the Year); Inc. Magazine's Best in Business® Award (2022 Advertising company); Inc. Magazine's Power Partner® Award (2022 B2B company); Fast Company's Top 10 Most Innovative Company® Award (2022 Video Agency); Global Genius® Award (2022 Outstanding Teacher Award); the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts' 2023 The Communicator® Award (Consumer Marketing & Communication: Film & Video–Use of Music); twenty three Global Music® Awards (2023 Instrumentalist (Gold); 2023 Recording/Production (Gold); 2023 Jazz Fusion Album; 2023 Concept (x2); 2023 Creativity/Originality (x2); 2023 Duo Album; 2023 Latin Jazz Album; 2023 Instrumentalist; 2023 Jazz Performance (x2); 2023 Christmas Album; 2022 Contemporary Classical Album (x2); 2022 Mixed-Genre Album; 2022 Alternative Music Album; 2022 Vocal Jazz Album; 2022 Experimental Music Album; 2022 Nuevo Flamenco Album; 2022 Funk Fusion Album; 2018 Album of the Year; 2018 Meditation Music Album); and the International Singer-Songwriters Association Award® (2023 Best International Female Album of the Year).
Moreover, José Valentino has received fifty-three Downbeat Music® Awards (record holder as competitor and adjudicator from 2006–2022 in the categories of Jazz Soloist, Small Jazz Group, Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist, Blues/Pop/Rock Group, Latin Group, Engineered Studio Recording, Engineered Live Recording, & Classical Soloist); two Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts' Davey® Award (2023 Film/Video: Education; 2022 Virtual & Remote Experiences); three Association for Marketing & Communication Professionals' Audio Visual Arts Digital® Awards (2023 Platinum, 2023 Gold, and 2022 Gold for Long Form Music Videos); Yamaha Young Performing Artist® Award (2006 Flute); five United Kingdom Music Industry® Awards, ARPA® Award (Best Male Vocal Album) and ARPA® Award Nomination (Album of the Year); the New Vision® Award (Bahamas International Film Festival); Impact DOCS® Award of Excellence (2023 Documentary Feature); University of South Florida Outstanding Young Alumni® Award; Hillsborough County's (Tampa Bay) Commendation® Award for Excellence in Community Entrepreneurship; and Parents' Choice® Award (2017 Gold Medal for Children's Music), among many others.
With a fervent passion for sharing music with people worldwide, José Valentino's headlining performances have graced renowned stages such as Carnegie Hall (twice), Tanglewood Hall, Clearwater Jazz Holiday (twice), Seabreeze Jazz Festival (thrice), Uptown Music Festival (twice), and the spectacular Free Chapel’s Christmas Spectacular (a whopping seven concerts, making it the largest Christmas concert production in the Southeastern USA). His musical journey has also led him to captivate audiences at ULTRA Music Festival, St. Armand’s Jazz Festival (five times), St. Pete Jazz Festival, St. Pete Latin Jazz Festival, World Music Festival (twice), Pilgrimage Festival, Winter Park Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Festival, and the enchanting Sounds of the Season Concerts at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (a remarkable five times).
Internationally, José Valentino's enchanting melodies have resonated across the globe, taking him to the stages of Spain, Greece, Turkey, Liberia, Guatemala (thrice), Nicaragua (four times), Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Austria, Hungary, France, and countless venues throughout the United States of America. These include notable spots like El Choliseo in Puerto Rico, El Conservatorio de Puerto Rico (five times), appearances at the renowned NAMM Show (nine times), and numerous memorable concerts in venues such as the Reilly Arts Center, Mahaffey Theater, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Ruth Eckerd Hall, and The Palladium Theater (four times). José Valentino has even graced the massive stage of the RCA Dome, performing in front of a staggering 50,000 people. As a collaborative performing artist, José Valentino has had the honor of performing as a Headliner or Opening Act, and recording albums alongside a constellation of GRAMMY® Award Winners and music legends. His musical journey has entwined with luminaries such as Chick Corea, Paquito D’Rivera, Alex Acuña, Jim Walker, Marcos Witt, Brian Bromberg, Victor Wooten, Chucho Valdez, Aaron Neville, Renesito Avich, Marcos Sanchez, Dave Weckl, John Pattitucci, Gaither Band, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Willard R. Kesling, Maharajah Flamenco Trio, and the sensational Spyro Gyra, just to sprinkle a few illustrious names into the mix.
José Valentino’s peer-reviewed academic research and performances have been presented at International Society for Music Education, Global Institute for Music Research, Association for Popular Music Education (x3), Society for Music Teacher Education, National Association for Music Education, Society for Arts Entrepreneurship Education (x5), National Flute Association (x9), International Jazz & Entrepreneurship Camp (x3), Global Music Production and Entrepreneurship Summit, International Jazz & Entrepreneurship Camp (x3), Aspen Music Festival (Jazz Academy), Florida Music Educators Association, Florida Flute Association, World Flute Society, UF International Piano Festival, National Opera Association, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Gospel Music Association, Jazz Education Network (x2), The Midwest Clinic for Band and Orchestra, UF Music Industry Leadership Day, Digital Music Entrepreneurship & Leadership Summit, among many others.
Published articles by José Valentino include the International Journal of Music Performative Research, International Journal of Music & Cultural Studies, International Journal of Music Entrepreneurship & Leadership, Open Journal of Music Education, International Journal of Health and Music, International Journal of Music Pedagogy, Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts, Journal of Arts Entrepreneurship Education (x2), Journal of Popular Music Education (x2), National Association for Music Education (x6), Association for Popular Music Education (x6), International Journal of Community Music, International Research Forum for Music Performance & Artistry, International Research Forum for Music & Wellbeing, International Research Forum for Music Business & Innovation, International Research Forum for Music Administration & Governance; International Research Forum for Cross-Cultural Music & Issues; International Research Forum for Music Pedagogy & Practice, International Research Forum for Global Music Education, International Research Forum for Music & Multimedia Production, International Research Forum for Music Improvisation & Composition, International Trombone Journal, Music Teacher National Association E-Journal (in press); Music Teacher National Association Business Digest; Kansas Music Review (x2); Voyage Magazine, Canvas Rebel Magazine (x2), Bold Journey Magazine, The Conversation, All About Jazz, and other scholarly outlets. Moreover, Ruiz's business ventures, productions, and leadership initiatives have been recognized by various global media outlets such as Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, The Economist, Downbeat Magazine, New York Times, LA Times, Billboard Magazine, and Rolling Stone Magazine(x2). Formally, Ruiz served as Co-Editor of Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts (2023).
On April 2023, José Valentino world-premiered “Found Connections”, a one-of-a-kind cross-genre concerto for Wind Symphony and Flute, Saxophone, and Bass composed by Dr. Ricardo Lorenz who wrote the piece especially for Ruiz and conducted by Maestro David Waybright. The recording won three Gold Awards of Excellence for Instrumentalist, Composition, & Recording Production at the 2023 Global Music Awards.
Credentially, José Valentino holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Music Theory, Master of Music (M.M.) in Instrumental Performance, Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Global Outreach & Missiology, and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Music Education. He credits his teachers, Dr. Kim McCormick (flute), Valerie Gillespie (saxophone), Valentin Ruiz (bass guitar, business, and entrepreneurship), Dr. Sandra Resto-Ruiz (piano and mission work), Steve Rucker (percussion), and Dr. Victor Fung (research) for investing in his calling.
For more information and professional inquiries, visit: www.josevalentino.com.