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Earshot Jazz Festival Preview: Dafnis Prieto

dafnisonmusic.com
Dafnis Prieto

The Cuban-born drummer/percussionist, bandleader and composer Dafnis Prieto appears at the Earshot Jazz Festival next Thursday, October 17 at the Poncho Concert Hall at Cornish College for the Arts, with his Si o Si Quartet:  Peter Apfelbaum (saxophone/melodica/caxixi), Robert Rodriguez (piano) and Johannes Weidenmueller (bass).

Dafnis arrived in New York in 1999, and worked in bands led by Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Eddie Palmieri, Chico and Arturo O’Farrill, Claudia Acuña, and Andrew Hill.   As a composer, he has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and, most notably, for his own bands, ranging from duets to his groups featured in his five acclaimed recordings as a leader. 

Prieto transposes elements from his Afro-Cuban musical heritage onto a jazz drum kit, incorporating congas, timbales, and the layered rhythmic patterns of rumba and son.

He's also a recipient of the 2011 MacArthur Foundation grant, known as the "genius grant."

http://youtu.be/j4NnGqxMgjI

Listen for the best in Latin jazz on Jazz Caliente, Thursdays at 2pm on KPLU's Mid Day Jazz!

Originally from Detroit, Robin Lloyd has been presenting jazz, blues and Latin jazz on public radio for nearly 40 years. She's a member of the Jazz Education Network and the Jazz Journalists Association.