From Panama: pianist-composer Danilo Pérez

As a solo artist and as a collaborator with jazz giants from Dizzy Gillespie to Wayne Shorter, Grammy Award-winning Panamanian pianist-composer Danilo Pérez has been lauded as one of the most creative forces in contemporary music for more than three decades. With jazz at its foundation, Pérez’s global music blends Panamanian roots, Latin American folk music, West African rhythms, European impressionism — promoting music as a borderless and multi-dimensional bridge among all people.

Pérez is also a social activist, humanitarian and educator. He has worked as a music educator in the United States and around the world for more than 20 years. He serves as a UNESCO Artist for Peace, a cultural ambassador for Panama and artistic director of the Panama Jazz Festival. In past years, he has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and he has received many awards for his social activism in Latin America.

As a composer, Pérez has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, Chicago Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall and the Banff Centre, among others.

For several years, Pérez has toured with his ensembles, including Children of the Light, featuring fellow Wayne Shorter Quartet members John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Pérez’s current touring project, the Global Messengers, features musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, coming together to build community through music.

Pérez appears with Children of the Light and the Global Messengers in a Symphony Center Presents Jazz concert on March 31.