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About Dafnis Prieto
Dafnis Prieto: Experiments in Spontaneity
by R.J. DeLuke
Improvisation--music in the moment, eloquently once called the sound of surprise"--takes place in genres besides jazz. But in America's indigenous art form, it is a cornerstone. The degree to which a song might contain improv varies greatly. Sometimes it's hard to tell in a highly arranged piece where the musicians are taking liberties. Other times its obvious an elongated solo is being composed on the spot. Consider the idea of a band that's pretty much making everything up ...
Continue ReadingDafnis Prieto Proverb Trio: Proverb Trio
by Dan Bilawsky
It has long been said that there's nothing new under the sun," but this record counters that particular proverb's proclamation. Drummer/composer Dafnis Prieto has birthed an album unlike anything else in his own discography--or anywhere else, for that matter. The self-titled debut from Prieto's Proverb Trio is a triumphantly trippy album that's built around the notion of jazz as a collectively improvised modern melting pot. Prieto, keyboardist Jason Lindner and singer/rapper Kokayi came into the studio without ...
Continue ReadingDafnis Prieto: Proverb Trio
by Mark F. Turner
Walking a tightrope without a safety net is what Proverb Trio is all about. The recording was entirely improvised, and recorded in six hours by percussionist/composer Dafnis Prieto , keyboardist Jason Lindner and Grammy-nominated vocalist/emcee Kokayi (Carl Walker), who have performed together since 2009. Prieto--a one-time member of reedman Henry Threadgill's Make a Move and Zooid ensembles--is a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship recipient and a discernible voice known for his passion and technique on his own recordings, including About The Monk's ...
Continue ReadingAlbum Review
Kip Hanrahan: At Home in Anger
by AAJ Italy Staff
Kip Hanrahan non è un musicista nel senso tradizionalmente associato al termine. È un regista visionario che si occupa di musica, è un organizzatore di scenari sonori, di palpitazioni artistiche, di poesia minimalista che si muove nell'aria, dimenandosi e cambiando colore senza alcuna remora. I suoi album sono tra le cose più belle che la musica dell'ultimo trentennio ci ha consegnato. Dopo una fase di stanca (anche i poeti sono sensibili alle condizioni del tempo...) Kip Hanrahan sta tornando da ...
Continue ReadingDafnis Prieto Si o Si Quartet: Live at Jazz Standard NYC
by Tom Greenland
Live at Jazz Standard NYC, by the Si o Si Quartet, is drummer/bandleader/composer Dafnis Prieto's fourth album of all-original material, cementing his reputation as a formidable technician and visionary. Returning from his previous release are Peter Apfelbaum (tenor and soprano saxophones, melodica) and Manuel Valera (keyboards), while acoustic and electric bassist Charles Flores is his partner-in-rhythm from the Michel Camilo Trio. A vibrant set, Live at Jazz Standard NYC shows off Prieto's polyrhythmic prowess: orchestrated across the ...
Continue ReadingDafnis Prieto Si o Si Quartet: Live At Jazz Standard NYC
by Mark Corroto
This date is drummer Dafnis Prieto's fourth as leader and second on his own label, Dafnison Music. Following the 2008 studio date Taking The Soul For A Walk, Prieto reenlisted saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum (Hieroglyphics Ensemble, Steven Bernstein's Millennial Orchestra, Kamikaze Ground Crew) and pianist Manuel Valera (John Patitucci, Paquito D'Rivera, Seamus Blake) for this live session at New York City's Jazz Standard.
Here is a mature player and composer. This 30-something musician was born in Cuba, only moving ...
Continue ReadingDafnis Prieto Sextet: Taking the Soul for a Walk
by Michael P. Gladstone
It's been almost a decade since drummer/percussionist/composer and arranger Dafnis Prieto came to New York from his native Cuba. Taking The Soul For A Walk is his third album and the first for his own label, Dafnison. Before adventuring on his own, Prieto spent a period working in a variety of jazz subgenres; which include latin ensembles led by Eddie Palmieri and Michel Camilo, as well as the avant-garde combos of Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman and Peter Apfelbaum. ...
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