Paquito D’Rivera’s Funk Tango Quintet

with the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival Big Band

Buy Tickets
Sunday, June 1 at 7 pm
Flynn MainStage
$39, $32, $25

Paquito D’Rivera, clarinet & alto saxophone; Mark Walker, drums; Alan Yavnia, piano; Oscar Stagnaro, bass; Diego Urcola, trumpet; Burlington Discover Jazz Festival Big Band, musical director, Alex Stewart; special guest Ray Vega, trumpet

“[His] virtuosity beams forth from the first note of any performance.”

—The New York Times

Multitalented, energetic and prolific, Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera is celebrated for his artistry in Latin jazz as well as his commissions as a classical composer. Hailed as a child prodigy in his native Cuba, he was a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra and created various original and ground-breaking musical ensembles. After seeking asylum with the American Embassy in 1981, he began gaining recognition as a musical phenomenon, garnering praise for his extraordinary abilities in bebop, classical and Latin/Caribbean music and amassing a discography of more than 30 solo albums. D’Rivera embraces myriad styles and rhythms—tangos, sambas, choros, habaneras and boleros—with ease and subtlety, and his ebullient performances have enthralled audiences worldwide. Named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, D’Rivera has received the National Medal for the Arts, a Living Jazz Legend Award, and eight Grammy® awards—the most recent for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2008 with Funk Tango (Paquito Records), a New York Times Critic’s Choice.

The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival Big Band, under the musical direction of UVM professor Alex Stewart, brings together the creative energies of seasoned professionals and new, fresh up-and-comers in the Vermont jazz scene. The Big Band also welcomes special guest trumpeter Ray Vega who will join the UVM faculty in the fall. These Green Mountain greats will join D’Rivera for an unforgettable evening of fierce Latin jazz.

Learn more about Paquito D’Rivera.