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arts international jazz music performances world jazz

Danilo Pérez presents “Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy”

Panamanian pianist, composer, and educator Danilo Pérez announces performance dates for his new project “Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy.”  Pérez and special guests will tour the following cities: Philadelphia, Toronto, New York, Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, and Chicago. For more information, go to http://www.daniloperez.com.
According to a news release, these performances will feature musicians David Sánchez on tenor saxophone; Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone; Amir ElSaffar on trumpet and voice; Jamey Haddad on percussion; Ben Street on bass (John Patitucci will substitute for Street on the first three dates); and Adam Cruz on drums.  The tour celebrates the music and bountiful inspiration of mentor Dizzy Gillespie.
Pérez is best known for his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz. A member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, Pérez has recorded and performed with the likes of Steve Lacy, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Tito Puente, and Wynton Marsalis, among others. Pérez is the Artistic Director of the Berklee College of Music’s newly formed Global Jazz Institute (a unique focused area of study at the college designed to foster creativity and musicianship through various musical disciplines) as well as the annual Panama Jazz Festival. 

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CD Count Basie Orchestra international jazz music national releases traditional jazz

Count Basie Orchestra to salute Jazz Masters


Count Basie Orchestra presents “Swinging, Singing, Playing: The Count Basie Orchestra Salutes the Jazz Masters,” a 11-track CD that salutes jazz titans as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Freddie Hubbard and John Coltrane, in addition to such living legends as Bennett, Quincy Jones, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Jon Hendricks, Curtis Fuller, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and others.
Produced by Mack Avenue’s executive vice president of A&R Al Pryor and CBO producer / conductor of special projects Dennis Wilson, Count Basie Orchestra achieves just what the CD title boasts: a swinging good time of extraordinary blues-fueled performances that hail various jazz legends. There are top-drawer performances by the big band and its all-star guest list that includes Jones, Wess, Hendricks, Fuller, Geri Allen, Nnenna Freelon, Janis Siegel, Butch Miles, Rufus Reid and, in a nod to the younger generation that embraces Basie music, sparkplug singer/pianist Jamie Cullum. The project will be released on Aug. 25 on Mack Records.