Danilo Perez & Friends April 8, 2010

Danilo Perez, piano
David Sanchez, tenor saxophone
Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone
Jamey Haddad, percussion
Ben Street, bass
Adam Cruz, drums
Amir El-Saffar, trumpet and voice

Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Perez pulls together a global, all-star band that celebrates the music and bountiful inspiration of his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie. As the youngest member of the final edition of Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra, Perez learned first-hand how Gillespie embraced musical and personal collaborations throughout the world. His band — featuring David Sanchez (tenor saxophone), Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto saxophone), Jamey Haddad (percussion), Ben Street (bass), Adam Cruz (drums), and Amir El-Saffar (trumpet and voice) —performs new arrangements of classic Gillespie tunes in addition to original group compositions. Dizzy’s bands were a constant melting pot of styles, genres, and pan-global collaborations. Danilo’s hand-picked all-stars, with roots in Afro-Cuban, be-bop, Indian, African, and Middle Eastern music, will more than honor Dizzy’s legendary vision.

Presented by the University Musical Society, www.ums.org.

Official Website: http://ums.org/s_current_season/artist.asp?pageid=565