Portraits of Cuba Paquito D'rivera

• 1 La Bella Cubana 03:09
• 2 The Peanut Vendor 03:16
• 3 Tu 03:42
• 4 Tu Mi Delirio 02:54
• 5 No Te Importe Saber 05:02
• 6 Drume Negrita 02:50
• 7 Portraits of Cuba 03:37
• 8 Excerpt from "Aires Tropicales" 03:56
• 9 Mariana 04:21
• 10 Como Arrullo De Palmas 04:02
• 11 Echale Salsita 03:14
• 12 Song to My Son 03:44
• 13 Theme from "I Love Lucy" 03:44
• Total Runtime 47:31

Info for Portraits of Cuba

This absolutely classic jazz recording is entitled Portraits of Cuba and is a milestone project of Paquito D'Rivera. Arranged by Carlos Franzetti, the large band ensemble provides an orchestral ambiance akin to the legendary Gil Evan sound with Miles Davis, in the classic "Sketches of Spain." This recording couldn't come at a better time, as it presents an artistic commentary on a national and social transition as it unfolds in a new and evolving Cuba. It is truly a work that will be applauded worldwide as the quality of the writing and performance is at a level few artists are capable of achieving today. Paquito D'Rivera provides some of the most inspired improvisation in his career to date and the material chosen for this recording are familiar classics in the popular Latin music tradition.

Best Latin Jazz Album of the 39th Annual Grammy Awards!

Paquito D'Rivera, saxophone
Carlos Franzetti, conductor
Lawrence Feldman, alto saxophone, flute
Dicl Oatts, tenor saxophone, flute
Andres Boiarsky, tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute
Roger Rosenberg, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, bassoon
Lew Soloff, trumpet, flugelhorn
Diego Urcola, trumpet, flugelhorn
Gustavo Bergalli, trumpet, flugelhorn
John Clark, french horn
James Pugh, trombone
David Taylor, bass trombone
Allison Brewster Franzetti, piano
David Finck, bass
Mark Walker, drums
Pernell Saturnino, percussion

Digitally remastered

Paquito D'rivera
has won a combined 16 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards (5 Grammy and 11 Latin Grammys). He is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his achievements as a classical composer.

Born in Havana, Cuba, he performed at age 10 with the National Theater Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music, and at 17, became a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony. As a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, he directed that group for two years, while at the same time playing both the clarinet and saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. He eventually went on to premiere several works by notable Cuban composers with the same orchestra. Additionally, he was a founding member and co-director of the innovative musical ensemble Irakere. With its explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and traditional Cuban music never before heard, Irakere toured extensively throughout America and Europe, received several GRAMMY nominations (1979, 1980), and a GRAMMY (1979).

His numerous recordings include more than 30 solo albums. In 1988, he was a founding member of the United Nation Orchestra, a 15-piece ensemble organized by Dizzy Gillespie to showcase the fusion of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. D’Rivera continues to appear as guest conductor. A GRAMMY was awarded the United Nation Orchestra in 1991, the same year D’Rivera received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Carnegie Hall for his contributions to Latin music. Additionally, D’Rivera’s highly acclaimed ensembles- the Chamber Jazz Ensemble, the Paquito D’Rivera Big Band, and the Paquito D’Rivera Quintet are in great demand world wide.

While Paquito D’Rivera’s discography reflects a dedication and enthusiasm for Jazz, Bebop and Latin music, his contributions to classical music are impressive. They include solo performances with the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has also performed with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Costa Rica National Symphony, the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, and the St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, among others. In his passion to bring Latin repertoire to greater prominence, Mr. D’Rivera has successfully created, championed and promoted all types of classical compositions, including his three chamber compositions recorded live in concert with distinguished cellist Yo-Yo Ma in September 2003. The chamber work “Merengue,” from that live concert at Zankel Hall, was released by Sony Records and garnered Paquito his 7th GRAMMY as Best Instrumental Composition 2004.

In addition to his extraordinary performing career as an instrumentalist, Mr. D’Rivera has rapidly gained a reputation as an accomplished composer. The prestigious music house, Boosey and Hawkes, is the exclusive publisher of Mr. D’Rivera’s compositions. Recent recognition of his compositional skills came with the award of a 2007 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition, and the 2007-2008 appointment as Composer-In-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. As part of the Caramoor Latin American music initiative, Sonidos Latinos, D’Rivera’s new concerto for double bass and clarinet/saxophone, “Conversations with Cachao,” pays tribute to Cuba’s legendary bass player, Israel “Cachao” Lopez. D’Rivera’s works often reveal his widespread and eclectic musical interests, which range from Afro-Cuban rhythms and melodies, including influences encountered in his many travels, and back to his classical origins. Inspiration for another recent composition, “The Cape Cod Files”, comes from such disparate sources as Benny Goodman’s intro to the Eubie Blake popular song “Memories of You”, Argentinean Milonga, improvisations on the music of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, and North American boogie-woogie. His numerous commissions include compositions for Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, the National Symphony Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Turtle Island String Quartet, Ying String Quartet, the International Double Reed Society, Syracuse University, Montreal’s Gerald Danovich Saxophone Quartet, and the Grant Park Music Festival.

Another commission came about through ensemble Opus 21’s interest in building bridges between audiences of different backgrounds. Dedicated to the works and art music of the 21st century, Opus 21 commissioned “The Chaser” and premiered it in May, 2006. In 2005, Imani Winds, a woodwind quintet committed to the exploration of diverse world music traditions and the broadening of the traditional wind quintet literature, commissioned “Kites.” This work personifies freedom and the vision that liberty and independence have a foundation through culture and music. Just as a kite may fly freely, its path continues to be bound to the earth–its foundation, by the string. ...

This album contains no booklet.