DALLAS (January 29, 2010) – The AT&T Performing Arts Center will present JAZZ ROOTS: Piano Latino, featuring acclaimed Latin jazz pianists Michel Camilo, Eddie Palmieri and Alfredo Rodriguez on Monday, March 1 in the Winspear Opera House.
The piano plays a special role in helping to define the sound of Latin Jazz. The powerful block chording, ascending and descending keyboard runs and percussive style of play used by the piano masters of Latin Jazz have made the instrument a rhythmic backbone of the genre, just as much if not more so, than a melodic and harmonic tool. Three of the greatest living Latin Jazz pianists performing today are featured in Piano Latino.
Eddie Palmieri has a career that spans more than 50 years as a pianist and bandleader of Salsa and Latin jazz orchestras. His discography includes 36 titles, which earned nine Grammy Awards. The legendary pianist thrills audiences throughout the world with his unique style, charismatic power and bold innovative drive.
Michel Camilo, the Dominican-born winner of a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz album, is a virtuoso pianist with technique to spare, who flavors his tunes with the spice of Caribbean rhythms and jazz harmonies. Drawing inspiration from Santo Domingo and New York City, Mr. Camilo is composer who straddles the line between classical and latin jazz music. His first piano concerto was commissioned by Leonard Slatkin and was performed by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in 1998.
Alfredo Rodriguez, born in Havana, Cuba in 1985 and celebrated around the world by his spectacular performances, defected from Cuba to the United States in January 2009. Upon his arrival in America Quincy Jones, the great music producer and impresario, took Mr. Rodriguez under his wing and is working with him on his debut world-wide recording. Mr. Rodriguez performed in the Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in July 2009 for the unveiling of the JAZZ ROOTS series.
Created by Larry Rosen, JAZZ ROOTS is a series that traces the evolution of jazz, the uniquely American musical genre, based on the premise that the drums that came from Africa at the time of slavery are the roots-- the musical DNA-- for all of the music of the Americas. In conjunction with each concert, the AT&T Performing Arts Center works with area schools and universities to provide students with rare opportunities to work with and learn from the jazz greats performing in the JAZZ ROOTS series.
All performances will take place in the AT&T Performing Arts Center Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. Tickets for Piano Latino range from $25 to $125 and can be purchased online at www.attpac.org; or via phone at 214.880.0202. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Box Office at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora Street (Monday through Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm; Sunday 11 am – 4 pm). For more information and video clips visit www.jazzroots.net.
About the AT&T Performing Arts Center:
The AT&T Performing Arts Center, a new multi-venue Center for music, opera, theatre and dance will open in October 2009, completing the 25-year vision of the Dallas Arts District. The Center will provide multi-state-of-the-art facilities woven together by an urban park covering more than ten acres to create a dynamic cultural destination that will be unparalleled in the world. The Center will feature the following:
- The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed in a modern horseshoe configuration, will seat 2,200 (with capacity up to 2,300), designed by Foster + Partners.
- The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre will serve as a gateway to the Dallas Arts District from the downtown Dallas business center and will seat 600, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas.
- The completely new Annette Strauss Artist Square will be the Center’s outdoor entertainment venue, designed by Foster + Partners.
- The City Performance Hall will provide main stage production space for many of Dallas’ smaller performing arts organizations, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
- The Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park will unify the venues within a lush urban oasis and will create a dynamic cultural destination in downtown Dallas, designed by Michel Desvigne.
- Two underground parking areas that will accommodate more than 850 vehicles.
The Dallas Fort Worth Lexus Dealer Association is the title sponsor of the Center’s Lexus Broadway Series, the official vehicle of the Center and its resident companies, the official valet sponsor and the naming rights holder for the Center’s two underground parking areas. More information on the AT&T Performing Arts Center is available at www.attpac.org.
Contact:
Maria May
AT&T Performing Arts Center
214.978.2834
maria.may@attpac.org