Paquito D’Rivera
Country: Cuba
http://www.paquitodrivera.com/
Paquito D'Rivera is a legendary Cuban and American clarinetist, tenor and soprano saxophonist and composer. He is 14-time Grammy Award winner and one of the most famous musicians from the "Island of Freedom".
Paquito D'Rivera was born on June 4, 1948 in Havana, Cuba. When he was 10 years old, the young musician was playing in the National Theatre Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory, and when he was 17, he became a soloist with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. As one of the founders of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, still in his Cuban period, Rivera demonstrated a remarkable talent and sincere love for classical, jazz, pop-rock and traditional Cuban music. The synthesis of these genres together with no less legendary musicians, pianist Chucho Valdés and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D'Rivera worked as a part of the famous Irakere band. The participation in this band made the musician known outside of Cuba. Irakere toured extensively in Europe and the US, and in 1979 won a Grammy. It was during this period that Rivera decided to stay abroad, which he did in 1981, having applied for asylum in the US Embassy during a tour in Spain.
Based in New York, D’Rivera became an instant sensation. He played in the best clubs and halls, his records were enthusiastically welcomed by critics and were sold well. In 1988, Paquito D'Rivera, along with the legendary trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, assembled a United Nation Orchestra, the band of 15 persons playing music, which can be briefly described as a synthesis of the Latin American and Caribbean culture with jazz. In 1991, the orchestra received a Grammy, and the same year Paquito was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Carnegie Hall for his contribution to the development of the Latin American music.
The discography of Paquito D'Rivera includes more than 30 albums. The uniqueness of this artist, inter alia, is his universality. He is one of the few who was able to unite the fans of jazz, Latin and classical music. In the field of classical music, Paquito D'Rivera became famous not only as a soloist (on account of the musician cooperation with many world's leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra), but also as a composer. He wrote the music for the Jazz at Lincoln Center project, US Library of Congress and many well-known orchestras.
In 2007, Rivera received the Live Jazz Legend Award from the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Together with his quintet, Paquito de Rivera will perform in Ukraine for the first time at Alfa Jazz Fest 2015, where he will present the program “Jazz Meets The Classics”.
