Ezequiel "Cheche" Alara is a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

and

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has bee ...

-winning music composer, producer, music director, conductor and keyboardist. He is the composer for "The Titan Games" on NBC (hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), "Death by Magic" (Netflix), "To Tell The Truth" (ABC). He has been the Musical Director and Conductor for the Grammy Awards Premiere Show (2017 and 2019), six editions of the Latin Grammys "Person of the Year" Concert galas (''

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname * José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician * Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director *Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politicia ...

'', Caetano Veloso, Alejandro Sanz, Shakira, Miguel Bosé and José Jose), Mike Patton, Jordan Smith's PBS Christmas Special (featuring ''

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

'') for various of the ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...

'' concert tours', ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'', and for touring and recording musicians including

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice o ...

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

, and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

. He has produced albums for

Natalia Lafourcade María Natalia Lafourcade Silva (; born 26 February 1984) is a Mexican pop-rock and folk singer and songwriter who, since her debut in 2002, has been one of the most successful singers in Latin America. Lafourcade's voice has been categorized a ...

, including '' Musas, Vol. 1'' (winner of the 2017 Latin Grammy for "Best Folk Album", and 2018 Grammy nominee for "Best Latin Pop Album"), and ''

Musas, Vol. 2 ''Musas: Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano en Manos de Los Macorinos, Vol 2'' (English: ''"Muses: An Homage to Latin American Folklore in the Hands of Los Macorinos, Volume 2"''), shortened to ''Musas, Vol. 2'' (''"Muses, Vol. 2"''), is the ...

'' (winner of the 2018 Latin Grammy for "Best Folk Album", and 2019 Grammy nominee for "Best Latin Pop Album"),

Claudia Brant Claudia Alejandra Menkarski (born July 21, 1966), known as Claudia Brant, is an Argentine composer, producer and singer

(winner of the 2019 Grammmy for "Best Latin Pop Album"),

Il Volo Il Volo (; Italian for "The Flight") is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of baritone Gianluca Ginoble, and tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 20 ...

Estopa Estopa is a Spanish rock/rumba duo from Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain. Their songs "El Run Run" and "Cuando Amanece" reached number one on Billboard's chart in Spain, and "Con La Mano Levanta" reached number four. The band consists of brothers ...

, and many others. As a producer, Cheche has multiple nominations for Grammys and Latin Grammys, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

Career history

Alara obtained a B.A. in Arranging/Orchestration from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

in Boston and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Jazz Studies from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

. Alara was a participant in the

Playing for Change Playing For Change is a multimedia music project, featuring musicians and singers from across the globe, co-founded in 2002 by American Grammy award-winning music producer/engineer and award-winning film director Mark Johnson and film producer/ph ...

charitable

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradi ...

music project in 2011, playing keyboards on ''PFC 2: Songs Around the World''. For the Lady Gaga song, "Americano", on the 2011 album, '' Born This Way'', Alara recruited the all-female

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

group Trio Ellas.Miram Jordan,
Taking the Machismo Out of Mariachi
, ''The Wall Street Journal'', Oct. 11, 2013. In 2015, Alara produced the Spanish version of '' L'amore si muove'', by

. Alara has acted as a producer and musical director for

, and played keyboards for Lafourcade's ''CDMX: Music from Mexico City'' performance in October 2017. Alara was nominated for the

Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the ...

in the

18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards was held on November 16, 2017, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It was broadcast on Univision at 8PM ET\PT. This marked the tenth year Las Vegas hosts the Latin Grammy Awards and also marked the tel ...

for his production of Lafourcade's '' Musas (Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano en Manos de Los Macorinos, Vol. 1)''. In November 2018, Alara won the Grammy for ''Muses'' at the Latin Grammy Awards. It was announced in January 2019 that Alara would serve as musical director for the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and f ...

. Alara was announced as musical director for the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

in January 2020. Alara has also worked in a variety of capacities on numerous albums, including: *'' Habítame Siempre'' by

(as producer) *'' Born This Way'' by

(arranger, composer, instrumentation) **

Americano Americano may refer to: Drinks * Caffè Americano, a style of coffee prepared by adding hot water to espresso * Americano (apéritif), a variety of apéritif * Americano (cocktail), a cocktail composed of Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda ...

(as writer) *'' Born This Way: The Remix'' (as composer) *'' Luna Llena'' by

Mariana Ochoa Mariana Yolanda Ochoa Reyes (born February 19, 1979 in Mexico City) is a Mexican singer and actress. Music career She was a member of the musical group La Onda Vaselina, who were one of the most successful pop bands of Mexico, OV7. She stayed i ...

(director, keyboards) *'' American Idol Season 5: Encores'' (keyboards) *'' Glee: The Music, Season 4, Volume 1'' by the cast of the American musical television series ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' (as composer) *''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' by

Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. Sanz has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year ...

(as director) *''

Another Cinderella Story ''Another Cinderella Story'' is a 2008 American teen musical comedy film directed by Damon Santostefano and written by Erik Patterson and Jessica Scott. The film stars Selena Gomez, Drew Seeley and Jane Lynch. It is a sequel to ''A Cinderella S ...

'' (as writer of the "Valentine's Dance Tango") *'' Primera Fila (Thalía album)'' by

(performing) *''

Christina Aguilera in Concert Christina Aguilera in Concert was the debut concert tour by American singer Christina Aguilera. It supported her two studio albums, ''Christina Aguilera'' (1999) and ''Mi Reflejo'' (2000). Beginning in May 2000 with appearances at radio festiva ...

'' (keyboards) In addition, Alara was a musician on

The Bonnie Hunt Show ''The Bonnie Hunt Show'' is an American syndicated talk show hosted by Bonnie Hunt. It premiered on September 8, 2008. The show's second and final season premiered on September 8, 2009. It was announced on December 7, 2009 that ''The Bonnie Hu ...

, and composed for 27 episodes of the 2016 version of '' To Tell the Truth'', and for the

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the develop ...

-created show '' The Titan Games''.

References

External links

Personal website
* {{IMDb name, 0016005 Musicians from Buenos Aires Berklee College of Music alumni University of Southern California alumni Music directors Latin Grammy Award winners