In 1513,
Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama, becoming
the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean and founding the first permanent
European settlement in the Americas. Those events continue to resonate five
centuries later as Panama celebrates the landmark anniversary. On his new Mack
Avenue release Panama 500, favorite son Danilo Pérez adds his voice to the
tributes with a stunning portrait of his native land, its storied history, rich
culture and fierce struggles.
Panama
500 is Pérez' most ambitious project to date, the furthest evolution yet of
what the pianist/composer calls "three-dimensional music." His blend
of influences makes him the ideal musical chronicler of his country's history:
already a land bridge between the Americas with a vibrant indigenous culture,
Panama also began to absorb European culture into its own following Balboa's
arrival. Pérez similarly weaves together jazz and Pan-American folkloric
traditions with influences from European classical music.
"I
have been working for years to make music that has an identity very similar to
the role that Panama plays in the world," Pérez says. "It's a place
where a lot of influences from all over the world come together."
Pérez
refers to Balboa's arrival as a "rediscovery," a word that succinctly
encapsulates both the importance of his accomplishment and the controversy
inherent in European colonization. As he traces Panama's evolution over the 12
tracks on Panama 500, he gives literal voice to the indigenous Guna Indians of
Panama, who provide intermittent narration to lend their own perspective on
that history.
As
Harvard professor Davíd Carrasco writes in his liner notes, "The magical
performances in this album emerge from the encounters of indigenous shamans,
Spanish migrants of desire, the human agony of African slaves, multicultural
love, and transcendent improvisations on agony and love."
To
realize his expansive vision for this music, Pérez pulled together a host of
musicians from his various endeavors. The album features both of his
longest-running rhythm sections-trio mates Ben Street and Adam Cruz; as well as
bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, with whom Pérez works in the
acclaimed Wayne Shorter Quartet. "There's a specific spectrum of language
that I've developed with both trios," Pérez says. "With Ben and Adam,
we use Latin American vocabularies to connect closer with jazz and to expand on
the idea of clave. And with John and Brian, it's that language that we've
developed playing with Wayne over the years that is indescribable. There's a
zero-gravity component to it, where things come out of nowhere."
The
rhythmic density is compounded throughout Panama 500 by percussionists from
three different countries: Roman Díaz from Cuba, Rogério Boccato from Brazil;
and Milagros Blades and Ricaurte Villarreal from Panama. The classical
influence, as well as evidence of Pérez' commitment to education, arrives in
the form of violinist Alex Hargreaves, a former student of the Berklee Global
Jazz Institute, the globally-minded program for which Pérez serves as artistic
director.
Pérez
explains that he composed the music for Panama 500 almost as the score for an
imaginary film about the country's past and present. It opens with
"Rediscovery Of The South Sea," which serves as an overture to the
suite and loosely describes the Spaniards' journey through the jungle. Díaz'
percussion and chanting are meant to invoke the indigenous people contrasted
against the more classically influenced melody; Hargreaves later plays an
Asian-inflected melody, hinting at the connection with the East that the
opening of the Pacific would facilitate. A dense, freely improvised passage
with Street and Cruz was added, Pérez laughingly says, because "I'm sure
the Spaniards got lost many times. So we went into the studio and I told Ben
and Adam to play in that section as if they were lost in the jungle."The
track ends with the first of the Guna narrations, adding the insight of someone
who was there to witness this portentous arrival. It briefly credits the
"Great Father" and "Great Mother" with the creation of the
Earth and claims that "this immense continent was granted to us as a loan
so that we take care of it."
The
title track builds upon the rhythm of La Denesa, a traditional Panamanian
folkloric dance, and builds into a celebration of how far the nation has come.
And as with any celebration, by the end of the festivities things have loosened
up a bit. "When the piano brings the melody back," Pérez says,
"I'm trying to play like it's two o'clock in the morning and the left hand
is drunk."
"Reflections
On The South Sea" opens with an elegant contrapuntal dance between the
piano and Sachi Patitucci's cello. After the robust spirit of the previous
track, Pérez intended this piece to lend a more somber remembrance from the
perspective of the ocean itself. "It hasn't been completely easy," he
says of the isthmus' history. "It's been full of struggles as well as victories.
I always feel like the sea is the main witness to what happened. I wish we
could understand what it has to say."
Named
for the Guna term for the Americas, "Abia Yala" begins with a duet
between the piano and the native pan flute before segueing into a trio piece
with Patitucci and Blade. Both the old world/new world collaboration and the
multi-cultural aspect of the trio, Pérez says, "are striving to send a
message of hope, acceptance, respect and peace." The music, he continues,
is an extension of his work as a UNESCO Artist for Peace. "I'm working
every second to make examples of how music can become a tool for the
commonality of humanity."
"Gratitude"
is an example of the expanded clave approach developed with Street and Cruz,
and simply expresses the titular sentiment to so many of the mentors and loved
ones in Pérez' life. "I started thinking about everyone from my father and
mother to my teachers, Dizzy Gillespie to Steve Lacy to Jack DeJohnette and Roy
Haynes, all the way to Wayne Shorter, my wife, my kids. I felt so much
gratitude while I was making this record. If you look at the world there's a
lot of people not eating or living in warzones. I have the opportunity to be
here and do this, and I listen to this piece with tears coming out of my
eyes."
2014
marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal, an occasion
which Pérez marks in his three-part "Canal Suite." Largely improvised
in the studio, the piece further highlights Pérez' educational endeavors by
featuring percussionist Milagros Blades, a young student of the Panama
City-based Fundación Danilo Pérez. Another Patitucci/Blade trio exploration
follows, aptly titled "The Expedition."
A pair
of Guna narrations frames the final track, "Panama Viejo," a standard
penned by Ricardo Fábrega, whose lyrics serenade old Panama, left in
now-beautiful ruins by brutal pirate attacks. These final pieces end the suite
on a combination of reflection, reminiscence, hope and respect.
"More
than focusing on rediscovery we should focus on celebrating our histories, our
stories, our music, our culture," Pérez concludes. "My vision is to
create music that serves as a cultural passport, hopefully with Panama as the
bridge of the world."
Upcoming
Danilo Pérez Tour Dates:
*
January 17 / Panama Jazz Festival / Panama City, Panama
**
February 6-9 / Jazz Standard / New York, NY
**
February 10 / World Cafe Live / Philadelphia, PA
**
February 11-12 / Blues Alley / Washington, DC
**
February 15-16 / Scullers Jazz Club / Boston, MA
** March
9-23 / European Tour / TBA
*** May
9 / Miami International Jazz Festival / Miami, FL
May 22 /
SFJAZZ (special guest w/ Miguel Zenon) / San Francisco, CA
***
August 1 / Deer Isle Jazz Festival / Stonington, ME
August 3
/ Newport Jazz Festival (w/ Ben Street, Adam Cruz & Roman Diaz) / Newport,
RI
* = w/
John Patitucci, Adam Cruz, Roman Diaz and Alex Hargreaves
** = w/
Ben Street, Adam Cruz, Roman Diaz and Alex Hargreaves
*** = w/
Ben Street & Adam Cruz
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