Dizzy Gillespie brought this sax and clarinet great to the world's attention. Grammy Award-winning, best selling artist, Paquito D'Rivera is a stellar example of the marriage of Latin American music and jazz. With more than thirty solo albums to his credit, he is equally luminous on the soprano and alto saxophones, as well as the clarinet. His CD Funk Tango won him his latest Grammy in 2008, and his autobiography, My Sax Life: A Memoir, tells the story of his musical life starting in Cuba and taking him around the world.
Please join us for a postlude performance by the
CONSERVATORY SCHOOL LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE
in the Conservatory Theatre.
Program Notes:
Paquito D'Rivera Quintet
Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 8:00 pm
This is the 22nd concert presented in Koerner Hall
Paquito D'Rivera, clarinet and alto sax
Diego Urcola, trumpet/valve trombone
Alex Brown, piano
Mark Walker, drums
Oscar Stagnaro, electric bass
Paquito D'Rivera
Clarinet and Alto Sax
Paquito D'Rivera is an award¬winning composer, conductor, performer, and author. Born in Havana, Cuba, Mr. D'Rivera has written and conducted works for symphony orchestras, big bands, small ensembles, and led his own trailblazing jazz groups for over forty years. As a classical musician, he made his debut with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra at the age of 19 and went on to premiere several works by prominent Cuban composers with the Orchestra. In his passion to bring Latin repertoire to greater prominence, Mr. D'Rivera has successfully created, championed, and promoted all types of classical compositions. Particularly notable are his three chamber compositions recorded live in concert with Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall.
Mr. D'Rivera's awards include the Jazz Masters Award from the NEA and the National Medal of the Arts, Honorary Doctorates from the University of Pennsylvania and the Berklee College of Music, the Frankfurter Musikpreis, a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition, and the President's Award from the International Association for Jazz Education. D'Rivera's discography comprises over 30 solo albums in jazz, bebop, and Latin music, and has garnered him nine Grammy Awards. He was also the first artist to win a Latin Grammy in both Classical and Latin Jazz categories in 2003.
Paquito D'Rivera is the Artistic Director of the Festival Internacional de Jazz de Punte del Este in Uruguay and the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington, DC, as well as Composer¬in¬Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Additionally, D' Rivera tours worldwide with his ensembles: the Chamber Jazz Ensemble, the Paquito D'Rivera Big Band, and the Paquito D' Rivera Quintet.
Alex Brown
Piano
Newest member of the D'Rivera Quintet, pianist Alex Brown was a 2007 winner in the Jazz Soloist category of Downbeat Magazine's Student Music Awards. While continuing his studies at New England Conservatory, he performs in the Boston and Washington, DC, areas, along with festival appearances in the Panama Jazz Festival, the Curacao Jazz Festival in the Caribbean, the East Coast Jazz Festival, and the Telluride Jazz Festival in Colorado. A well rounded musician, Mr. Brown has garnered numerous first place awards in classical music competitions. At the age of 13, he won first place in the Encore Orchestra Young Artist Competition, which gave him the opportunity to perform Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in its entirety with a full orchestra.
Oscar Stagnaro
Electric Bass
Originally from Peru, Oscar Stagnaro is considered one of the most versatile bass players on the East Coast. His mastery of playing a variety of styles ranging from jazz and fusion to Latin jazz, Brazilian jazz, and South American music has helped him travel the world performing with the very best Latin jazz artists. Says Bass Player magazine: "Oscar's technical agility, advanced harmonic and melodic knowledge, and grounding in funk and R&B - as well as his dedication to Latin traditions ¬give him the ultimate flexibility when it comes time to lay down a groove." In addition to his performing career, he has developed Latin Bass curricula at both the Berklee College of Music, where he is an associate professor, and at the New England Conservatory. Mr. Stagnaro joined D'Rivera's group in 1990.
Diego Urcola
Trumpet/Valve Trombone
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, three time Grammy Award¬nominee Diego Urcola has been a member of the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet since 1991. This in-demand trumpeter also performs regularly with the legendary saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All¬Star Big Band. Jesse Varela of Latin Beat described him as "a disciplined technician blessed with classical and jazz chops - but when he lets his bebop loose, this guy is pure excitement, with passionate range and attack."
Mark Walker
Drums
Drummer, percussionist, and composer Mark Walker, originally from "Central America" (Chicago, Illinois) began his tenure with Paquito D 'Rivera in 1989, when Mr. D'Rivera came to Chicago and needed a drummer who could handle a variety of rhythmic styles. Since then, Mr. Walker has performed around the globe and recorded many Grammy Award¬winning albums, not only with D'Rivera, but also with Oregon, Caribbean Jazz Project, Michel Camilo, Lyle Mays, Cesar Camargo Mariano, New York Voices, Patricia Barber, and many more. Mr. Walker is also associate professor at Berklee College of Music and has a side project called the "Berklee Brothers," comprised of Berklee faculty.
All of tonight's artists are making their Royal Conservatory debuts.
