Multi instrumentalist and composer Jose Mendez was born in Venezuela during a tumultuous socio-economic period for the country. As Mendez saw his hometown’s self destruction and his country’s steady decline, mixed feelings began to take place on what was already a troubled self conscious. A faded connection to Criollo culture and a deep desire to transcend it drove Jose’s early musical stages after escaping to America in 2016. This necessity for transcendence was key to a large number of harmonic discoveries that Mendez would encounter during his High School Jazz Band period. Combining a plethora of scattered influences into what would become his debut “Explorations From Within”. A solo drum set album that tells the story of a hero’s journey. 

Jose would go on to deliver his second work as a gift to his late cousin. Jose Augusto Mendez, whom Mendez considered a big influence on his artistic desires, tragically passed away as a result of untreated mental illness. An event that would leave a permanent mark in Jose’s life as Jose Augusto was his only truthful friendship in the old country. A brother and a mentor in many ways. “Consciousness” explores what Mendez describes as a thorough look into the troubled persona we all carry inside. 

 Mendez is currently working with Saxophonist Angelo Rainone. Delivering their first single “1:1:4” in 2024.