PAQUITO D’RIVERA & CHUCHO VALDÉS

D’Rivera and Valdés: Together Again!

These rare benefit concerts features Cuban jazz legends, clarinetist, saxophonist, author, composer and arranger Paquito D’Rivera and pianist, composer, and arranger Chucho Valdés first met in 1962. Both child prodigies and sons of musical families, the two worked together in Havana’s Musical Theatre Orchestra and in the Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music.

 

 

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PAQUITO D’RIVERA

Paquito D’Rivera has won a combined 16 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards (5 Grammy and 11 Latin Grammys). He 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. As a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, he directed that group for two years, while at the same time playing both the clarinet and saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra.

He eventually went on to premiere several works by notable Cuban composers with the same orchestra. Additionally, he was a founding member and co-director of the innovative musical ensemble Irakere. With its explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and traditional Cuban music never before heard, Irakere toured extensively throughout America and Europe.

The Band:

Paquito D’Rivera – Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
Alex Brown – Piano
Oscar Stagnaro – Electric Bass
Mark Walker – Drums
Pernells Saturnino – Percussion
Victor Provost – Steel pans

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ELEW TRIO

Eric Robert Lewis (born May 13, 1973), popularly known as ELEW, found cross-over success playing rock and pop music. He is known for his unconventional and physical playing style, which eschews a piano bench and includes reaching inside the piano lid to pull at the strings directly, as well as the creation that he calls “Rockjazz”, a genre that “takes the improvisational aspect of jazz and ‘threads it through the eye of the needle of rock.
Eric Lewis / Piano
Bar Filipowicz / Bass
David Hawkins / Drums

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VIRGINIA MACDONALD | TODD MARCUS

Juno Award-winning clarinetist Virginia MacDonald has established herself as a rising star of her generation. Known for her lyrical and soulful clarinet playing. As a highly in-demand bandleader, sidewoman, and composer, Virginia keeps a regular performance schedule across Canada, the United States, and Europe.
Todd Marcus is one of the few artists worldwide to focus on the bass clarinet as a main instrument in modern jazz with his small and large ensembles. His straight-ahead playing and compositions swing with fiery intensity balanced with delicate introspection.  His music offers a strong melodic sensibility, draws from elements of his community work, and often incorporate the Middle Eastern influences of his Egyptian-American heritage.
Todd Marcus | Clarinet
Virginia MacDonald | Clarinet
Bruce Barth | Piano
Blake Meister | Bass
Eric Kennedy | Drums

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VIRGINIA MACDONALD ~ TODD MARCUS QUINTET

Juno Award-nominated clarinetist Virginia MacDonald has established herself as a rising star of her generation. Known for her lyrical and soulful clarinet playing, Virginia has been described as a “powerful new voice in the Canadian scene” by Juno Award-winning bassist Mike Downes. As a highly in-demand bandleader, sidewoman, and composer, Virginia keeps a regular performance schedule across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

Bass clarinetist, composer, and bandleader Todd Marcus is one of the few jazz artists worldwide to focus their work primarily on the bass clarinet. Though use of bass clarinet in jazz typically leans heavily towards avant-garde and free-jazz styles, Marcus’ straight-ahead playing has carved out a unique voice for the instrument in modern jazz.

Musicians:
Virginia MacDonald – clarinet
Todd Marcus – bass clarinet
Bruce Barth – piano
Blake Meister – bass
Eric Kennedy – drums

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