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It's been over three years since I last saw him, so I was eagerly awaiting last night's performance at the Jazz Showcase for a few months. I was also fortunate that the Afro-Latin publication Agúzate let me write a show preview and review of his recent Panama 500 album, which you can read here. Writing that piece forced me to sit down and really listen to Panama 500 closely, and I was richly rewarded.
all photos by Omar Torres-Kortright |
Much of the evening was devoted to Panama 500, but the altered instrumentation and Pérez's intense need to open doors and explore ideas guaranteed that the approach to those songs was imbued with improvisational twists and turns. The same goes for his deep forays into Monk and Dizzy. Two sets, two-plus hours of music, exquisite 'til the very last note.
In preparing for my Agúzate article, I had the opportunity to ask Danilo a few questions about his art and what I have long suspected was a special relationship with Chicago.
Don: Panama has been a central subject of much of your music
going all the way back to Panamonk, and what strikes me the most is how little
it sounds like what is commonly known as “Latin jazz”. What’s different
about Panama?
about Panama?
Don: I hear so much of the ‘indigenous’ in your music. And
although Caribbean culture often references the mix of European, African and
indigenous cultures, for me the African and European influences seem to
dominate in most music, but this is not the case with you. Tell me a bit about
that.
Danilo: The music I am hearing and writing required different tone
colors. For Panama 500, my last
project, I used the Guna’s folkloric element, violin and cello, plus
Panamanian percussion sounds. This added a fantastic color to the mix. Also with
the narrations I used their voice and language as an inspiration to improvise
and write music. To use music as a tool to send a message of dialogue and
equality is very important to me, and as a UNESCO Artist for Peace it is already
a responsibility. Therefore in Panama 500
the Guna Indians taught me how little informed we are about history and that the
discovery of Pacific Ocean should be reviewed and studied as a rediscovery
instead. Every project that I embark on I really like to focus on the
elements that unite them: Africa, Europe and Latin American folklore.
Don: I hope I’m not being presumptuous, but Chicago seems to be a
special place for you. I’m going back to at least Panamonk, when I first met you, but even your first totally
independent project Live at the Jazz Showcase was recorded here. Am I imagining
that fondness?
Danilo: No, you are right, it is a very special place because it has
provided me with a lot of inspiration to write and play music. A lot of special
commissions to write music and a lot of important collaborations in my musical
life. I really have a special place in
my heart for this amazing, creative city.
Don: At this point in your career you could almost exclusively be
a concert hall performer, getting paid well for one night’s work, but you are
doing the full four nights, two sets a night at the Jazz Showcase this week.
Why?
Danilo: It is important to me to keep experimenting, mentoring and
reworking my craft, [and] the Jazz Showcase is an institution of jazz music and
provides me with all these opportunities to keep developing.
Danilo Pérez continues at the Jazz Showcase through Sunday, September 21. It's a busy music weekend in Chicago, but you really should find a way to get there and experience this amazing music and person for yourself. Trust me, you'll be happy that you did.