Barack Obama to Host International Jazz Day Concert at White House, Featuring Danilo Perez

“One of the many perks of being the US president is that if you fancy hosting an International Jazz Day concert from your front room, you can. Barack Obama and wife Michelle have announced plans to hold a concert next month, featuring a string of musical legends including Aretha Franklin, Al Jarreau, Sting and Herbie Hancock.”

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Danilo Perez with the Wayne Shorter Quarter Live in Budapest

“The 36th Budapest Spring Festival will run for 17 days from April 6-24 and involves many of the arts, with events in classical music, opera, jazz and pop, world music, dance, theatre and the visual arts.

One of the world-recognised performers will be the Wayne Shorter Quartet (pictured), led by the American jazz saxophonist and composer with no fewer than 10 Grammy Awards to his name.”

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NPR Music Features "Danilo Pérez: A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama"

“In the greater jazz world, Danilo Pérez is a respected pianist. In his homeland of Panama, he’s a national icon and cultural ambassador, and not just for his artistry. Ever since he returned to perform in his war-torn homeland in the 1980s, he’s seen the potential for jazz to be a vehicle for social change, and spent much of his time offstage seeding this vision in the form of youth music education programs. The Panama Jazz Festival he founded, for instance, doesn’t just feature major international acts — it brings students from all sorts of backgrounds to share the stage, and funnels profits back to them.”

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The Panama Jazz Festival: An Ocean of Sonic Delights

The late afternoon sun was scorching and the music was just as hot when the 13th edition of the annual Panama Jazz Festival wrapped up after six days jammed with clinics, master classes, lectures, jam sessions and formal concerts featuring some of the jazz kingdom’s ranking royalty. Under the banner of Art, Education and Culture, Panamanian pianist Danilo Pérez’s yearly extravaganza once again delivered a well balanced menu of activities aimed both veteran and neophyte jazz fans as well as aspiring musicians from throughout the region who took advantage of the presence of master musicians to advance their skills.

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Danilo Receives Honorary Doctorate from University of Panama

El reconocido pianista, compositor y jazzista panameño, Danilo Pérez, recibió el título de Doctor Honoris Causa este miércoles de la mano del rector de la Universidad de Panamá, Gustavo García De Paredes.

The renowned pianist , composer and jazz Panama , Danilo Perez, received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa Wednesday hand rector of the University of Panama , Gustavo Garcia de Paredes.

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Chicago Tribune reviews Danilo Perez with McCoy Tyner and Geri Allen

If pianist McCoy Tyner hadn't played a note Friday night in Orchestra Hall, he would have deserved the multiple standing ovations he received.

A vastly influential pianist who long ago proved that the instrument could summon orchestral power, color and sweep, Tyner commands deep respect among jazz listeners. That he also famously collaborated with John Coltrane, most notably on the saxophonist's landmark album "A Love Supreme" (1965), has made Tyner a living symbol of a revolutionary period in jazz.

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Boston Globe Reviews Children of the Light, Live at Sanders Theatre

“Danilo Pérez rose from the piano midway through the performance of “Children of the Light,” presented at Sanders Theatre Friday by the Celebrity Series of Boston, to playfully introduce his trio mates John Patitucci (“the godfather of the bass”) and drummer Brian Blade. He then shifted gears and made a somber announcement.

“Sometimes you wonder why we behave that way,” he said, alluding to the week’s terrorist attacks in Paris and Mali, the latter having taken place that day. Pérez said they were dedicating the next song, Blade’s “Within Everything,” to all the victims. The piece proved to be a highlight of the performance, as it is on the trio’s album, also named, like the trio, “Children of the Light” — slow, meditative, deceptively simple, with an exquisite folky blues groove to it that calls to mind Keith Jarrett . . . and aptly elegiac.”

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