UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES
DAFNIS PRIETO
FEATURING LUCIANA SOUZA
‘CANTAR’
Friday, October 27, 2023, 7PM & 9PM Harlem Stage Gatehouse Address: 150 Convent Avenue at West 135 Street, New York, NY 10031 Phone: 212.281.9240 ext. 19 | Website: www.harlemstage.org
@harlemstage 1
@myharlemstage
ABOUT THE EVENT Last seen at Harlem Stage’s Black Arts Movement Conference in May 2023 with Henry Threadgill and Craig Taborn, GRAMMY-winning Cuban-born drummer, composer, bandleader, and 2011 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Dafnis Prieto presents the New York debut of his heralded 2022 album, Cantar, featuring songs with music and lyrics by Prieto, performed by GRAMMY-winning Brazilian-born singer Luciana Souza. Since arriving in the U.S. from Cuba in 1999, Prieto, “one of the most multidimensional artists working today” (JazzTimes), has honed his forward-looking musical vision across a range of styles and formats. In the process, he has become equally known for his composing brilliance and his electrifying drumming, comfortably exploring a wide spectrum of musical vocabularies.
PERSONNEL Dafnis Prieto Luciana Souza Peter Apfelbaum Martin Bejerano Ricardo Rodriguez
Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Music Director Vocals, Percussion Woodwinds, Melodica, Percussion, Keys Piano Acoustic & Electric Bass
ARTISTIC STATEMENT FROM DAFNIS PRIETO This is an album of songs carried by a combination of real and abstract memories, nuances and stories, displaying scenarios of cheerfulness, intimacy, and imagination. Cantar reveals the precious entangled connection of words and sounds, like words that come from far away, like melodies that come from the horizon to your ears, from deep within, from my heart to yours!
FOR LYRICS + TRANSLATIONS 1. Scan the QR code or visit https://dafnisonmusic.com/cantar to visit the Cantar landing page. 2. At the top of the page, click ‘View Lyrics + Translations.’ Cover photo of Dafnis Prieto and Luciana Souza by Ebru Yildiz 2
ABOUT THE ALBUM In this special collaboration, GRAMMY-winning Cuban-born drummer, composer, bandleader, and 2011 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Dafnis Prieto unites with GRAMMY-winning Brazilian-born singer Luciana Souza for Cantar, an album featuring songs with music and lyrics by Prieto. Since arriving in the U.S. from Cuba in 1999, Prieto has honed his forward-looking musical vision across a range of styles and formats. In the process, he has become equally known for his composing and arranging brilliance and his electrifying drumming, comfortable exploring a wide spectrum of musical vocabularies. This album reveals a new side of Prieto — lyricist. He grew up with a great love of popular songs and melodies, influenced by Cuban boleros, Los Van Van, Elis Regina, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Queen, Stevie Wonder, and more. Prieto felt inspired to create a record that would engage listeners through both music and words. He invited Souza as his collaborator, an admirer of her talents as one of the world’s leading vocalists and interpreters (she ultimately contributed lyrics on several tracks as well). The album features songs in three languages — English, Spanish, and Portuguese — and aims to reach a global audience. Prieto and Souza are joined by three masterful musicians and improvisers on the album, including Peter Apfelbaum (Woodwinds, Melodica, Percussion, and Keys), Martin Bejerano (Piano), and Matt Brewer (Acoustic and Electric Bass) (Ricky Rodriguez performs on Bass at Harlem Stage). Recorded in September 2021, the project is co-produced by legendary GRAMMY-winning producer and Souza’s husband, Larry Klein (Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Madeleine Peyroux, Walter Becker, Melody Gardot), and GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMYwinning producer Eric Oberstein (Dafnis Prieto, Arturo O’Farrill), Prieto’s collaborator for the past half decade. The project also features the work of an all-star team of engineers, including recording engineer Andy Taub (Brooklyn Recording Studio), mixing engineer Mike Marciano (Systems Two Recording Studio), and mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. Cantar is Prieto’s ninth album as a leader, and his latest release on his Dafnison Music label, which he founded in 2008. 3
BIOGRAPHIES
DAFNIS PRIETO
DRUMS, PERCUSSION, VOCALS, MUSIC DIRECTOR
From Cuba, Dafnis Prieto’s revolutionary drumming techniques and compositions have had a powerful impact on the Latin and Jazz music scene, nationally and internationally. Various awards include a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship Award; a GRAMMY Award and a Latin GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album for Dafnis Prieto Big Band Back to the Sunset in 2018; a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album for Dafnis Prieto Sextet Transparency in 2021; a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album for Absolute Quintet, and a Latin GRAMMY nomination for “Best New Artist,” in 2007; and “Up & Coming Musician of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2006. Also a gifted educator, Prieto has conducted numerous master classes, clinics, and workshops throughout the world. He was a faculty member of Jazz Studies at NYU from 2005 to 2014, and in 2015 became a faculty member of Frost School of Music at UM (University of Miami). 4
As a composer, Prieto has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands ranging from duets to big bands, including the distinctively different groups featured by nine acclaimed recordings as a leader: About The Monks, Absolute Quintet, Taking The Soul For a Walk, Si o Si Quartet-Live at Jazz Standard, Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio, Triangles and Circles, Back to the Sunset, Transparency, and Cantar. In 2022 Prieto premiered a new work for Latin band and string orchestra — Tentación — performed by People of Earth with the Louisville Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, and the Britt Festival Orchestra. He has received new works commissions, grants, and fellowships from Chamber Music America; Princeton University; Jazz at Lincoln Center; Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum; National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures; Jerome Foundation; East Carolina University; Painted Bride Art Center; Meet the Composer; WNYC; the Louisville Orchestra, the Britt Festival Orchestra, New Music USA, Hazard Productions, and People of Earth; and the Metropole Orkest. Prieto has performed at many national and international music festivals as a bandleader presenting his own projects and music. Since his arrival to New York in 1999, Prieto has also worked in bands led by Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdés, Bebo Valdés, Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Eddie Palmieri, Chico and Arturo O’Farrill, Dave Samuels & The Caribbean Jazz Project, Jane Bunnett, D.D. Jackson, Edward Simon, Roy Hargrove, Don Byron, and Andrew Hill, among others. In 2016 Prieto published the groundbreaking analytical and instructional drum book, A World of Rhythmic Possibilities. In 2020 he published Rhythmic Synchronicity, a book for non-drummers inspired by a course of the same name that Prieto developed at the Frost School of Music. Prieto is the founder of the independent music company Dafnison Music. He endorses: Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Latin Percussion, Evans Drumheads, and Vic Firth Sticks.
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BIOGRAPHIES
LUCIANA SOUZA
VOCALS, PERCUSSION
GRAMMY winner Luciana Souza is one of Jazz’s leading singers and interpreters. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Ms. Souza’s work transcends traditional boundaries around musical styles. Ms. Souza has performed and recorded with Herbie Hancock on his GRAMMY winning Album of the Year, River - The Joni Letters, and with Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bobby McFerrin, Maria Schneider, Danilo Perez, Guillermo Klein, John Patitucci, Miguel Zenon, Donny McCaslin, The Yellowjackets, and many others. Ms. Souza has been a prominent soloist on important new works by composers Osvaldo Golijov, Derek Bermel, Patrick Zimmerli, and Caroline Shaw, performing with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and A Far Cry.
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Ms. Souza has been releasing celebrated recordings since 2002, including her six GRAMMY nominated records Brazilian Duos, North and South, Duos II, Tide, Duos III, and The Book of Chet. Her critically acclaimed ninth recording for the Sunnyside label, The Book of Longing, presented her settings of poems by Leonard Cohen, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Christina Rossetti. Storytellers was Ms. Souza’s 2020 release recording, a collaboration with arranger Vince Mendoza and the WDR Big Band Cologne honoring Brazilian storytellers in music. Ms. Souza’s latest release is Cometa, with the Brazilian Jazz Ensemble, Trio Corrente. It features Brazil’s top Jazz piano trio and Luciana Souza celebrating samba composers such as Dorival Caymmi and Paulinho da Viola, as well as original compositions by the trio and Ms. Souza. Luciana Souza began her recording career at age three with a radio commercial. She spent four years on faculty at Berklee College of Music, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Composition. Ms. Souza earned a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory of Music and taught for four years at Manhattan School of Music. She has conducted master classes all over the world and was a fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2020 to 2023. Ms. Souza is currently on the faculty at UCLA, CalArts, and USC, in Los Angeles. Ms. Souza has twice been named Best Female Jazz Singer by the Jazz Journalists Association, in 2005 and 2013. In 2022, Luciana Souza received a New Jazz Works Grant by Chamber Music America, with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Fund. She lives in Los Angeles, CA, with her husband and their son.
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BIOGRAPHIES PETER APFELBAUM
WOODWINDS, MELODICA, PERCUSSION, KEYS
Born in Berkeley, California and based in Brooklyn since 1998, multi-instrumentalist and composer Peter Apfelbaum is best known as leader of the genre-mashing big band, Hieroglyphics, which he formed in high school in 1977. The ensemble attracted international attention in the 1980s for its unique fusing of elements of world music with the aesthetics of the jazz avant-garde and has remained Apfelbaum’s primary vehicle for composing throughout his career. In 2013, he formed the electronica-based, vocal-driven sextet Sparkler, which released its debut EP, I Colored It In For You, on Bill Laswell’s MOD Technologies label in 2017. Apfelbaum has worked with leading figures in contemporary music, including the late Don Cherry, Kronos Quartet, Cecil Taylor, Harry Belafonte, Omar Sosa, and Phish. He currently performs with Dafnis Prieto’s various bands and Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra. Since 2017 he has been an Artistic Director of the Woodstock, NY-based Creative Music Studio.
MARTIN BEJERANO PIANO
Acclaimed Latin GRAMMY-nominated pianist, composer, and educator Martin Bejerano has performed/recorded with numerous jazz luminaries, including his 20 year association with jazz drumming legend Roy Haynes, Christian McBride, Dave Holland, Pat Metheny, Ignacio Berroa, and Dafnis Prieto, performing at nearly all of the major jazz clubs, festivals, and concert halls around the world. He is featured on over 25 recordings, including his most recent Latin GRAMMY nominated album #CubanAmerican, and numerous other GRAMMY nominated albums. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and commissions from organizations including Chamber Music America, Dranoff 2 Piano Foundation, Bacardi, and the University of Miami, where he is a tenured professor and head of the jazz piano studio. 8
RICARDO RODRIGUEZ
ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC BASS
Bassist Ricardo Rodriguez is part of the jazz scene in NYC, which embraces the entire scope of contemporary music. Besides being an in-demand jazz bassist, he can be found playing contemporary, Afro-Caribbean, folkloric, and pop music. Rodriguez studied classical bass and composition at the Conservatory of Music in Puerto Rico. In addition to his work with Branford Marsalis, Ray Barretto, David Sanchez Quartet, Miguel Zenón Band, Ignacio Berroa Quartet, Claudia Acuña, Magos Herrera, Wayne Escoffery Quintet, The Rodriguez Brothers, Kenny Werner/David Sanchez Quartet, and his own Quintet, he has also worked with Michel Camilo’s Trio and Big Band, The SNL Band (on Saturday Night Live), Arturo O’ Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Donny McCaslin Trio, The 90 Miles Project with Stefon Harris, Samuel Torres Band, Vincent Herring/ Eric Alexander Band, and Jamie Baum Septet, among others.
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OUR SUPPORTERS
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council. Harlem Stage’s Programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 10
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES
YASSER TEJEDA & DJ SABINE BLAIZIN (OYASOUND)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 8PM GET TICKETS AT HARLEMSTAGE.ORG
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CALENDAR
BUY TICKETS TO 4 OR MORE PERFORMANCES AND GET 40% OFF!
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
Use discount code HS40 at checkout.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023
Tickets must be purchased in a single transaction. Excludes tickets to April 27 Benefit Concert and June 3 Annual Gala.
ON & ON: JOSÉ JAMES SINGS BADU UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES PABLO MAYOR’S FOLKLORE URBANO ORCHESTRA OCTOBER 13 – 14, 2023
E-MOVES RONALD K. BROWN/ EVIDENCE
OCTOBER 20 – 21, 2023
CRAIG HARRIS TONGUES OF FIRE (in a harlem state of mind)
DECEMBER 1, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES YASSER TEJEDA & DJ SABINE BLAIZIN (OYASOUND) DECEMBER 9, 2023
WATERWORKS EMERGING ARTISTS SHOWCASE FEATURING SHANTELLE OCTOBER 27, 2023 COURVOISIER JACKSON, UPTOWN NIGHTS HANNAH LEMMONS AKA LATIN MUSIC SERIES LEMMONS, BOBBY MORGAN, DAFNIS PRIETO MARY PRESCOTT & FEATURING LUCIANA SOUZA KALÍ RODRÍGUEZ-PEÑA CANTAR JANUARY 26, 2024
NOVEMBER 3, 2023
IN THE COURT OF THE CONQUEROR BY GEORGE EMILIO SANCHEZ IN COLLABORATION WITH VISUAL ARTIST PATTY ORTIZ NOVEMBER 10, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES + CARNEGIE HALL CITYWIDE FLOR DE TOLOACHE
UPTOWN NIGHTS IAN ISIAH + KIMBERLY NICHOLE
FEBRUARY 23, 2024 UPTOWN NIGHTS AN EVENING OF CHAMBER MUSIC PRESENTED WITH SUGAR HILL SALON & CONCERT ARTISTS GUILD
*Note: All presentations subject to change as COVID-19 conditions evolve.
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MARCH 1 – 2, 2024
ETERNAL SPIRIT: VIJAY IYER & FRIENDS CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF ANDREW HILL MARCH 22 – 23, 2024
STEW HIGH SUBSTITUTE FOR THE DREAD LECTURER: BARAKA JONES IN DUB MARCH 29 – 30, 2024
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED ARTIST COMMISSION AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE banyan seed APRIL 19 – 20, 2024
APRIL 27, 2024
PIANOS FOR DUKE REIMAGINED: FEATURING JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM & FRIENDS BENEFIT CONCERT MAY 3 – 4, 2024
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED ARTIST COMMISSION TAMAR-KALI BLACK DAMASK CARL HANCOCK RUX, LIBRETTO MAY 17 – 18, 2024
E-MOVES nora chipaumire ShebeenDUB
E-MOVES BILL T. JONES/ ARNIE ZANE COMPANY
JUNE 3, 2024
APRIL 26, 2024
JUNE 14 – 15, 2024
PIANOS FOR DUKE REIMAGINED: FEATURING JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM & FRIENDS
HARLEM STAGE 40TH ANNIVERSARY GALA E-MOVES CAMILLE A. BROWN & GUESTS: BLACK JOY FEATURING WORKS BY CAMILLE A. BROWN, CHLOE DAVIS, JUEL D. LANE, MAYTE NATALIO, RICKEY TRIPP & MALEEK WASHINGTON
SCAN THIS CODE TO LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS. Lead support for Harlem Stage’s 40th Anniversary Season is provided by the Mellon Foundation. 13
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ABOUT HARLEM STAGE Harlem Stage is the performing arts center that bridges Harlem’s cultural legacy to contemporary artists of color and dares to provide the artistic freedom that gives birth to new ideas. For 40 years our singular mission has been to perpetuate and celebrate the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture. We provide opportunity, commissioning, and support for artists of color, make performances easily accessible to all audiences, and introduce children to the rich diversity, excitement, and inspiration of the performing arts. We fulfill our mission through commissioning, incubating, and presenting innovative and vital work that responds to the historical and contemporary conditions that shape our lives and the communities we serve.
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Board of Directors Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President Jamie Cannon, Vice President Michael Young, Secretary Mark Thomas, Treasurer Angela Glover Blackwell Jenna Bond Jamila Ponton Bragg
JoAnn K. Chase LaChanze Patricia Cruz Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes Jenette Kahn Rebecca Robertson Tamara Tunie
Staff MANAGEMENT Eric Oberstein, Managing Director
OPERATIONS Rodney Bissessar, Director of Operations Lamont Askins, Operations Associate Acey Anderson Sr., Maintenance
DEVELOPMENT Shamar Hill, Director of Development Shanté Skyers, Associate Director of Development Julianna Friedman, Development Manager
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION NCheng LLC, Accountants/Advisors Jake Lee, Partner Aaron Lam, Supervising Senior Accountant
PROGRAMMING Carl Hancock Rux, Associate Artistic Director/ Curator-in-Residence Sarah McCaffery, Programming Manager and Associate Curator Maurice Ivy, Programming Associate
CONSULTANTS Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/ Claudia Kaufman, Insurance Arts Education Consultants: Sobha Kavanakudiyil, Sierra Ray & Wendy Rojas Blake Zidell & Associates, Public Relations Briguel, Digital Video Services DAS, IT Consultant Derrick Saint Pierre/Snugg Studios, Digital Video Services Intrepid Digital, SEO Services JCA, Inc.: Database Consulting Jess Medenbach, Digital Video Services LCM/247, Digital Video Services Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants Madison Consulting Group, Matthew Laurence Manchester Benefits, Greg Martin Marc Millman, Photography Robyn L. Stein, Rl Stein Group, Development Consultant Charles Whelan, The Whelan Group Incorporated
Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director & CEO
MARKETING Deirdre May, Senior Director of Digital Content and Marketing Andre Padayhag, Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer EDUCATION Jordan Carter, Education & Community Engagement Manager PRODUCTION Amanda K. Ringger, Director of Production Anna Adams Stark, Production Coordinator Clarence Taylor, Lighting Op Orlando Alvarado, Audio Engineer David Barrett, Julio Collado Deck, Lighting, & Audio Crew
USHERS Nobar De leon, Toma Carthens, Andy Garcia, Robert Gibbins, Fabian Franco