Dafnis Prieto
Encyclopedia
Dafnis Prieto is a Cuban
Drummer
, Composer
and Educator. He is a 2011 MacArthur Fellow
.
Indeed, within a short period of time Dafnis Prieto's revolutionary drumming techniques had a powerful impact on the Latin and Jazz music scene, locally and internationally.
He was voted "Up & Coming Musician of the Year", by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2006, and nominated for a Grammy Award for "Absolute Quintet" as Best Latin Jazz Album, and a Latin Grammy for "Best New Artist" in 2007. He is an educator, and has conducted numerous master classes, clinics, and workshops. Since 2005, he has been a member of the NYU Music Faculty.
A resident of New York since only 1999, he has already played in bands led by Henry Threadgill
, Steve Coleman
, Eddie Palmieri
, Chico and Arturo O'Farrill
, Dave Samuels
& The Caribbean Jazz Project, Jane Bunnett
, D.D. Jackson, Edward Simon
, Michel Camilo
, Chucho Valdez, Giovanni Hidalgo
, Claudia Acuña
, Roy Hargrove
, Don Byron
, and Andrew Hill
among others. He has performed at many national and international music festivals as a sideman and as bandleader including various of his own project and music.
As a composer, he has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands, ranging from duets to his “Small Big Band” and including the distinctively different groups featured on his four acclaimed recordings as a leader About The Monks, Absolute Quintet, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Si o Si Quartet Live at Jazz Standard.
He has also received new works commissions, grants, and fellowships from Chamber Music America, Jazz at Lincoln Center, East Carolina University, and Meet the Composer.
Dafnis Prieto endorses: Yamaha Drums
, Sabian Cymbals, Latin Percussion
, Evans drum heads and Vic Firth sticks.
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent. For more information about the Cuban people, see Demographics of Cuba and Culture of Cuba...
Drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, Composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and Educator. He is a 2011 MacArthur Fellow
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
.
Life
"His arrival in the U.S. has been compared by to that of an asteroid hitting New York."Indeed, within a short period of time Dafnis Prieto's revolutionary drumming techniques had a powerful impact on the Latin and Jazz music scene, locally and internationally.
He was voted "Up & Coming Musician of the Year", by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2006, and nominated for a Grammy Award for "Absolute Quintet" as Best Latin Jazz Album, and a Latin Grammy for "Best New Artist" in 2007. He is an educator, and has conducted numerous master classes, clinics, and workshops. Since 2005, he has been a member of the NYU Music Faculty.
A resident of New York since only 1999, he has already played in bands led by Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....
, Steve Coleman
Steve Coleman
Steve Coleman, born , is an African American saxophone player, spontaneous composer, composer and band leader. His music and concepts have been a heavy influence on contemporary jazz.-Chicago:...
, Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
, Chico and Arturo O'Farrill
Arturo O'Farrill
Arturo O'Farrill is a pianist, the son of Latin jazz musician and bandleader Chico O'Farrill. He formerly worked with Carla Bley and eventually took over his father's band. Arturo went on to form the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, which played at Lincoln Center. Under his direction the group recorded...
, Dave Samuels
Dave Samuels
Dave Samuels is an American vibraphone player who has worked with various jazz and fusion artists, such as Spyro Gyra. Currently, he plays in an ensemble called The Caribbean Jazz Project, a Grammy-winning jazz-Latin music group...
& The Caribbean Jazz Project, Jane Bunnett
Jane Bunnett
Jane Bunnett is a Canadian soprano saxophonist, flutist and bandleader known for her Afro-Cuban jazz melodies.In 2004, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada...
, D.D. Jackson, Edward Simon
Edward Simon
Edward Simon is a Venezuelan jazz pianist and composer.Simon was born into a musical family; both his brothers, Marlon and Michael Simon are also noted professional musicians...
, Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo is a pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work...
, Chucho Valdez, Giovanni Hidalgo
Giovanni Hidalgo
Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" is an educator and percussionist associated with Latin jazz.-Early years:Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico where he received his primary education. His grandfather had also been a musician as well as his father, José Manuel Hidalgo "Mañengue", who was...
, Claudia Acuña
Claudia Acuña
Claudia Acuña is a Chilean vocalist. Born in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, she was inspired as a child to perform a variety of music, including folk, pop and opera, by Victor Jara and Violetta Parra. Her attention turned to American popular music and jazz at the age of 15, when she first...
, Roy Hargrove
Roy Hargrove
Roy Anthony Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter. He won worldwide notice after winning two Grammy Awards for differing types of music, in 1997, and in 2002...
, Don Byron
Don Byron
Don Byron is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet, but has also used bass clarinet and saxophones....
, and Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
among others. He has performed at many national and international music festivals as a sideman and as bandleader including various of his own project and music.
As a composer, he has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands, ranging from duets to his “Small Big Band” and including the distinctively different groups featured on his four acclaimed recordings as a leader About The Monks, Absolute Quintet, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Si o Si Quartet Live at Jazz Standard.
He has also received new works commissions, grants, and fellowships from Chamber Music America, Jazz at Lincoln Center, East Carolina University, and Meet the Composer.
Dafnis Prieto endorses: Yamaha Drums
Yamaha Drums
Yamaha Drums is a subsidiary of the Yamaha Corporation founded in 1967. The company manufactures acoustic and electronic drum kits as well as percussion instruments, marching band equipment, and drum hardware.-Production:...
, Sabian Cymbals, Latin Percussion
Latin Percussion
Latin Percussion, also known as LP, is a brand of percussion instruments, specializing in ethnic instruments engineered and manufactured to withstand the rigors of use in a drum kit, orchestral percussion section, and similar applications...
, Evans drum heads and Vic Firth sticks.
External links
- Artist Website
- "NYC Jazz Musician Dafnis Prieto Named MacArthur Foundation Fellow", September 21, 2011
- "Dafnis Prieto", NPR music