Afro-Cuban Jazz & Beyond: Durán & Berroa

Afro-Cuban Jazz & Beyond
Hilario Durán & Ignacio Berroa
Chris Mitchell, Jorge Luis Torres and Roberto Occhipinti
*Canadian Summer Tour 2015

The influence of Afro-Cuban music goes beyond geographical borders and has left an undeniable mark on Jazz, America’s original art form. Grammy winner drummer Ignacio Berroa and piano master Hilario Durán join forces with legendary Halifax saxophone player Chris Mitchell, bassist extraordinaire Roberto Occhipinti and child prodigy, percussionist Jorge Luis Torres “Papiosco.” They will perform a full range of Afro-Cuban music in a big band format with the Jazz orchestra of some Canadian cities during their tour. In addition, this presentation offers an audiovisual presentation (workshop) wherever possible and also performance in a quintet formation.

Canadian Summer Tour

• April 7 to April 10: Dalhousie University – Workshops and performances
• June 13: Lethbridge Jazz Festival – Main Stage Headliner – Grand finale of the Festival
• June 14: Calgary Jazz Festival
• June 16-17: National Music Centre (Audiovisual Presentation and Performance)
• June 18: Calgary Jazz Festival
• June 21-22: Edmonton Jazz Festival – Yarbird: Workshop and performance
• June 24: Rochester Jazz Festival -only US date- (quintet formation)
• June 25: TD Toronto Jazz Festival (quintet formation)
• June 28: TD Ottawa Jazz Festival (quintet formation)
• June 30: Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival

*This tour also includes one performance in the USA at the Rochester Jazz Festival on June 24, 2015.

The Band

Maestro Hilario Durán and Ignacio Berroa bring their infinite range of styles presenting the legacy of extraordinary music. The Havana-born, Toronto-based pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader is planning to showcase his virtuosity and versatility with brilliant cohorts. The program offers a varied selection of music well elaborated.

Hilario Durán: Musician of the Year by the Toronto Musicians Association; Vision Award Winner “Premio a la Trayectoria” – Hilario’s formal music training, combined with a deep understanding of traditional Cuban music, as well as a love for jazz, allowed him to play a key role in the integration of Afro-Cuban music and jazz.

Ignacio Berroa: He is the only drummer in the history of American music that has traversed the world of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz drumming, as per Dizzy Gillespie’s own words. Ignacio Berroa is the only non-American drummer who has set a pattern in the history of Jazz. Mr. Berroa was drummer for Dizzy Gillespie in all major groups he had during the last 10 years of his life. To this we can add that Ignacio Berroa has recorded and performed with countless jazz greats.

Chris Mitchell: His mastery of a diversity of styles and proficiency in several music genres has earned him a huge reputation. Dalhousie music professor Chris Mitchell is more than welcome in this presentation, ratifying one more time his profile as a top-notch flautist and saxophonist.

Jorge Luis Torres: A self-taught musician, a child prodigy who began playing the percussion instrument at the age of three; who now makes Toronto his home, comes from a long line of virtuosic rumberos who helped define the shape and direction of Cuban music throughout the years.

Roberto Occhipinti: There is no word to describe this versatile and talented musician. He is one of a small number of musicians who have had successful careers in both classical music and jazz; in addition, he is also one of the Canadian musicians that have taken the time to revisit the glorious history of Cuban music.

Afro-Cuban Jazz & Beyond – The Music

Latin Jazz is considered by many to be a heterogeneous mixture of Latin rhythms. However, few people are completely aware of how the beats of Afro-Cuban music evolved and became central to Jazz music.

“Afro-Cuban Jazz and Beyond” presents an historical view of the circumstances involved in the development of Afro-Cuban Music, beginning with the arrival of African slaves in Cuba, the Caribbean, the United States and Brazil. Ignacio, Hilario, Chris, Roberto and Jorge forge the perfect musical marriage for this unique endeavor drawing on Durán and Berroa’s natural cultural background and career-long exploration of Afro-Cuban rhythms. From his unique point of view, Berroa describes how certain African groups left their marks on the evolution of Afro-Cuban music, the rhythmic similarities and differences between the countries where slaves arrived in the New World, the strong musical connection between Cuba and the United States, and how Afro-Cuban Jazz has developed.