Pedro Iturralde Ochoa, born on July 13, 1929, in Falces, Navarre, Spain, began his musical journey at nine, debuting as a saxophonist. He performed professionally by thirteen and pursued further studies in saxophone at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid where he also later taught. His breakthrough came with La pequeña czarda, composed at twenty for saxophone and piano accompaniment. Iturralde’s first international tours began in the late 1950s through early 1960s, leading him to Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, and Germany. In 1967, he released Jazz Flamenco, a fusion of flamenco and jazz with guitarist Paco de Lucía. Iturralde received the Gold Medal for Merit in Work in 2017 and died on November 1, 2020.
