Dafnis Prieto

Superb musicianship from every member of this ensemble of soloists under the visionary leadership of Dafnis Prieto. How lucky are we to hear them just before they head into the studio to record on Monday and Tuesday!

Let's imagine a dialectic between digital and analog musical experiences. Live performance is analog. Auto-tune and algorithm-selected playlists are digital.

Last night's opening night at Jazz Standard was analog at its richest and most riveting. To see the interaction among the musicians, to hear a broadened tonal spectrum that includes wonderfully fluent baritone sax and bass trombone, to feel the rhythmic complexity and taut strength of professionalism (and to smell and taste the chopped BBQ on a just-right skillet of mac & cheese) was profoundly joyful. Memories for a lifetime were co-created!

Mentors were there (including Henry Threadgill, a hero of creative music and Pulitzer Prizewinner).

Go, if your schedule allows!

I saw Dafnis Prieto and his Big Band at the Jazz Standard in January. My hopes were somewhat high that it would be very good. My pre-assessment wasn't close. It was fantastic. About 13 horns and every seat played great. Killer bass player, great pianist (and his long-time friend), but when lightning strikes .... the sum of the parts was exponentially greater than the individuals. The combination of Big Band and latin jazz was perfect!

It was a rare moment of music that was uplifting each and every bar. Dafnis is not only a great player. And he is an amazing player. He leads the band in a quiet powerful way that is rare.

I was with 2 friends and we had one of the best musical experiences in many years. I started as a horn player and still do some playing and so I have so much respect for awesome music and musicians who need to play more than they need to make money.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!