Abel Boquera
Abel Boquera is a Hammond organist and pianist based in Barcelona. He has spent the better part of twenty years behind the keys, building a career that spans organ trios, touring bands, jazz quartets, and hundreds of remote recording sessions from his studio.
His longest-running project is The Shu Shu's — a trio with guitarist Dave Wilkinson and drummer Caspar St. Charles that has been together for over fifteen years. The group became the backing band for Gisele Jackson, the Baltimore-born soul singer whose voice once graced the stages of Ray Charles, James Brown, and Donna Summer. Together they've toured jazz festivals and clubs across Europe, including Jamboree in Barcelona, San Javier International Jazz Festival, and Teatro Principal de Alicante, and released two albums, the most recent recorded live at L'Auditori de Castelló in 2021.
In 2022, Boquera joined the Muriel Grossmann Quartet as the group's Hammond B3 organist. Their first recording together, Devotion, was released in 2023 on Jack White's Third Man Records — a double LP of extended spiritual jazz that All About Jazz described as featuring Boquera's "advanced playing," calling it "organ-fueled soul jazz." The following year, the quartet recorded The Light of the Mind and performed at the Philharmonie de Paris during Jazz à la Villette, sharing the bill with Kenny Garrett, as well as at Fondation Maeght in Vence for Gilles Peterson's Impressions series.
Boquera is also part of a quartet with saxophonist Gorka Benítez, guitarist Dani Pérez, and drummer David Xirgu, currently preparing an album. His most recent project is Kimchi, led by guitarist Dani Comas, with Juan Pablo Balcazar on bass and Pep Mula on drums — a group built around groove, improvisation, and the collaborative process of making music together. He also plays in Víctor de Diego's group alongside Jaume Llombart and Christian Smith, in Pere Miró's R&B project Scaramanga, and continues collaborating with artists including Ramón Cardo and Adrian Cunningham.
Alongside his live work, Boquera runs Amigó 42 in Barcelona — a recording space built around his collection of vintage keyboards and a deep curiosity for how these instruments work. He has completed over 500 remote sessions for artists and producers worldwide, tracking Hammond B3, piano, Fender Rhodes, and Clavinet for projects ranging from soul and funk to rock, jazz, gospel, and R&B.
Also worked with
Ray Gelato · Benjamin Herman · Seamus Blake · Gustav Lundgren · Dave Mitchell
