Paquito D'Rivera Saxophone, clarinet, flute, composer Born June 4, 1948 in Havana, Cuba
Photo by Bob Barry

Information for Presenters

Available for:
Concert performance, speaker/panelist, public interviews, clinic/masterclass.

Bands and instrumentation:
Duo (w/piano); Chamber Jazz Trio (w/cello, piano); Quintet (piano, bass, drums, trumpet, sax/clarinet); Panamericana Ensemble (big band 12-20)

Educator or clinician/masterclass topics:
The Impact of Latin Elements in Jazz and American Music.

Comfortable performing with or conducting as a visiting artist?
Yes, with his pianist. Willing to work with other disciplines: literature.

Available as a soloist or to work with a local resident band or rhythm section?
Yes, depending on the project.

Availability:
Flexible.

Contact information:
Brenda Feliciano
Havana NY Music Co.
7707 Blvd. East
North Bergen, NJ 07047
Ph: 201/295-3176 cell: 201/323-3690
Email: brendafeliciano@msn.com
Web: www.paquitodrivera.com

Biography

The winner of four Grammy Awards, Paquito D'Rivera is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his achievements as a classical composer. Born in Havana, Cuba, he performed at age 10 with the National Theater Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music and, at 17, became a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony.

D'Rivera co-founded the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and served as the band's conductor for two years. In 1973, he was co-director of Irakere, a highly popular ensemble whose explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical, and traditional Cuban music had never before been heard. The band toured extensively and in 1979 was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Ensemble.

In 1981, while on tour in Spain, D'Rivera sought asylum in the United States embassy. Since then he has toured the world with his ensembles - the Paquito D'Rivera Big Band, the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet, and the Chamber Jazz Ensemble.

His numerous recordings include more than 30 solo albums. In 1988, he was a founding member of the United Nation Orchestra, a 15-piece ensemble organized by Dizzy Gillespie to showcase the fusion of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. In 1991, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Carnegie Hall for his contributions to Latin music. That same year, as part of the band Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nation Orchestra, he along with James Moody, Slide Hampton, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Arturo Sandoval, Steve Turre, and others were featured on the Grammy Award-winning recording, Live at the Royal Festival Hall.

He has appeared at, or written commissions for, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, the National Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra, Simón Bolivar Symphonic Orchestra, and Montreal's Gerald Danovich Saxophone Quartet. He serves as artistic director of jazz programming at the New Jersey Chamber Music Society and is artistic director of the Festival Internacional de Jazz en el Tambo (Punta del Este, Uruguay). He has become the consummate multinational ambassador, creating and promoting a cross-culture of music that moves effortlessly among jazz, Latin, and classical.

Mr. D'Rivera was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2005.

Selected Discography
Blowin', Columbia, 1981
Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nation Orchestra, Live at the Royal Festival Hall, Enja, 1989
Portraits of Cuba, Chesky, 1996
Brazilian Dreams, MCG Jazz, 2001
Big Band Time, Pimienta, 2003

Biography from NEA Jazz Masters (NEA, 2006). Copies can be ordered free of charge through our Publications section.

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