Luardel "Cheeks" Chico

Band base:
Puerto Rico
Biography:
In 1992, Cheeks spent most of his time studying the piano and bass guitar at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts and playing for the church. It was during that year that Cheeks entered a contest for a Wisconsin Conservatory of Music scholarship and took 1st place. There he studied with John Foshoger and Elaine Bliss. At the age of 16, he graduated high school and decided to go to UW-Parkside. Three semesters later, he ended up at the University of Dubuque Iowa, where he got to fly solo while studying to become a commercial pilot. He joined the US Marines in 1995.

This gave him the opportunity to visit countries such as Italy, Japan, Germany, Korea, and many others. This is also where he picked up his famous nickname Cheeks, which is short for Chico, his last name. In 1999, Cheeks returned to Milwaukee and soon started playing salsa and merengue with several local bands.

Cheeks is now a Computer Tomography (CT) Electronics Technician for General Electric Medical Systems (GE) in Waukesha. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the piano and sharing his talents with others.

Lessons
Learn to play the hottest salsa and merengue montuneos on the piano. Even with Cheeks' busy schedule, he finds time and shares his knowledge of his musical roots by teaching salsa and merengue from the very basic to the more advanced. Learn to play:
  • Salsa Montuneos
  • Salsa Soloing
  • Merengue Styles
  • Latin Jazz Voicings


Albums:
None
  Concert Dates
Genre Styles
Latin Bachata
TBA