Danilo Pérez

Danilo Pérez ( born December 29, 1966 in Panama) is a Panamanian jazz pianist.

Life and work

Pérez began at the age of three years to play the piano and studied with ten years of classical piano at the National Conservatory of Panama. In the salsa band his father, he played drums and synthesizers. He went to the U.S. to study electronics at Indiana University, in 1985 he moved to study music Berklee College of Music.

He then worked for two years with Jon Hendricks, Paquito D' Rivera and then with Terence Blanchard and Claudio Roditi. He first appeared on the album Reunion D' Rivera and Arturo Sandoval. From 1989 to 1992 he was a member of Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra. Was, among others, the album Live at the Royal Festival Hall known.

Since 1993 he has been active as a bandleader. It published its first own albums: Danilo Perez and The Journey. With Sandoval he took the 1994 Grammy-winning album Danzon on. Since 1995 he was also a member of Wynton Marsalis ' band. In the same year he recorded an orchestral version of The Journey with the Panamanian Symphony Orchestra.

In 1996 as a result of his confrontation with the music of Thelonious Monk Album Panamonk, followed in 1998 by the nominated for a Grammy Central Avenue.

In 1997 he received a commission for the Concorso Internazionale di Composizione in Bologna; Blues For The Saints have been listed by vibraphonist Gary Burton and the Orchestra Sinfonica of Emilia -Romagna under Jerzy Maksymiuk. At the annual New York Jazz Awards 1998, he won the award for Best Artist or band in performance. In 1999 he received a commission for the Chicago Jazz Festival; the piece Suite of the Americas was published in 2000 on his album for the label Verve Motherland.

2000 Pérez was for a solo concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC invited. In the same year he became a cultural ambassador of Panama, in addition he is founder and director of the annual Panama Jazz Festival and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

Currently, Pérez is a member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet and works with Ben Street and Adam Cruz. He is the Director of the Berklee Global Jazz.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Danilo Perez with Santi Debriano, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, David Sanchez, Ruben Blades, 1993
• The Journey with David Sánchez, Milton Cardona, Ignacio Berroa, Kimati Dinizulu, George Garzone, Larry Grenadier, 1994
• Danzon (Dance On) by Arturo Sandoval, Giovanni Hidalgo, Carlos Gomez, Juan Nogueras, Rigo Herrera, Rita Quintero, Cheito Quinones, Bill Cosby, Kenny Anderson, Dana Teboe, Ed Calle, Rene Toledo, Richard Eddy, Gloria Estefan, Roger Ingram, Sal Cuevas, Felix Gomez, Eddy Rivera, Vikki Carr, Dave Valentin, Willy Chirino, 1994
• Terri Lyne Carrington with PanaMonk, Avishai Cohen, Jeff Tain Watts, Olga novel, 1996
• Central Avenue with John Patitucci, Jeff Ballard, Jeff Tain Watts, Luciana Souza, Raul Vital, 1998
• Motherland with Claudia Acuña, Greg Askew, Aquiles Baez, Brian Blade, Louis Bauzo, Richard Bona, Richard Byrd, Regina Carter, Carlos Henriquez, Chris Potter, Luisito Quintero, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Antonio Sanchez, Luciana Souza, Diego Urcola, Ricaurte Villarreal, 2000
• Footprints Live with Wayne Shorter, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, 2002
• Till Then ... with John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Ben Street, Lizz Wright, Donny McCaslin, Adam Cruz, 2003
• Danilo Perez - Across The Crystal Sea ( arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman ), 2008