A restless musical genius during his teen years, Mr. D’Rivera created various original and ground-breaking musical ensembles. 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, classnd traditional Cuban music never before heard, Irakere toured extensively throughout America and Europe, won several Grammy nominations (1979, 1980) and a Grammy (1979).
Paquito D'Rivera's first recognition as a solo artist by The Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) came in 1996 with the highly acclaimed recording Portraits of Cuba. Since then, Mr. D'Rivera has received many recognitions as an artist and composer. Funk Tango, the first release of D’Rivera’s new label, Paquito Records, recently won his 9th GRAMMY for "Best Latin Jazz Album" in 2007. An 8th GRAMMY came in 2005 for Riberas, for "Best Classical Recording" with the Buenos Aires String Quartet. He also won a GRAMMY for "Best Instrumental Composition" in 2004 for his “Merengue” as performed by the distinguished cellist Yo-Yo Ma. In 2000, D'Rivera's Tropicana Nights received a GRAMMY. That same year, he received a nomination in the classical category for his Music of Two Worlds, featuring compositions by Schubert, Brahms, Guastavino, Villa Lobos, and Mr. D’Rivera himself. In 2001 the Latin Recording Academy awarded a GRAMMY for his Quintet’s recording of Live at the Blue Note along with a nomination in the Classical Crossover category for The Clarinetist Vol. I. In 2002, he won again as a guest artist on the Bebo Valdes Trio's recording El Arte Del Sabor.
The National Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences paid tribute to Mr. D'Rivera with their Annual Achievement In Music Award for his "outstanding body of work" along with Dizzy Gillespie and Gato Barbieri. Paquito D'Rivera is the first artist to win Latin GRAMMY's in both Classical and Latin Jazz categories (2003), for Stravinsky’s Historia del Soldado (L'Histoire du Soldat) and Brazilian Dreams with the New York Voices. The other historic recipient who has won duo GRAMMY's in both Classical and Jazz categories is Wynton Marsalis. Additionally, he has been awarded two Doctorate Honoris Causa in Music degrees; May, 2003 from the Berklee School of Music and May, 2008 from the University of Pennsylvania.
D’Rivera is a recipient of the National Medal for the Arts, presented at the White House by President George W. Bush in 2005 and was named one of the 2005 NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) Jazz Masters. In both 2004 and 2006, the Jazz Journalists Association honored Mr. D’Rivera as the Clarinetist of the Year. In March 2007 he was honored with the Living Jazz Legend Award in a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. 2008 awards include the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) President’s Award, and the Frankfurter Musikpreis.
Classical Music and Ensembles
While Paquito D'Rivera's discography includes over 30 solo albums in Jazz, Bebop and Latin music, his contributions to classical music are impressive. They include solo performances with the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony, 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 Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, and the St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, among others. A 2008 tour of Japan includes Mr. D’Rivera conducting and performing Mozart concerti; the Concerto in A Major for Clarinet and Orchestra, and the Concerto in E flat Major for Piano and Orchestra. Additionally, D'Rivera tours worldwide with his ensembles: the Chamber Jazz Ensemble, the Paquito D’Rivera Big Band, and the Paquito D’Rivera Quintet. In 2005, he began touring with guitar duo Sergio and Odair Assad, in "Dances from the New World." 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 Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall, September, 2003.
A gifted author, Mr. D’Rivera’s book, My Sax Life, was published in Spain by the prestigious literary house, Seix Barral, and contains a prologue by Guillermo Cabrera Infante. Acclaimed by the public and critics alike, the English edition was released by Northwestern University Press in November 2005. Mr. D’Rivera’s reading of his book is available in Spanish by Recorded Books, LLC on both the Internet and in libraries. His novel Oh, La Habana is published in Spain by MTeditores, Barcelona and is also available in Spanish by Recorded Books, LLC.
In 1999, and in celebration of its 500 year history, the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares presented Paquito with a special award recognizing his contribution to the arts, his humane qualities, and his defense of rights and liberties of artists around the world. The National Endowment for the Arts website affirms "he has become the consummate multinational ambassador, creating and promoting a cross-culture of music that moves effortlessly among jazz, Latin, and Mozart."
Website :- www.paquitodrivera.com
