by Don Berryman
On Saturday, December 6th, the Grammy winning duo of Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo will perform two shows at Berlin jazz club in Minneapolis. This gives us a rare opportunity to hear these internationally acclaimed musicians in an intimate club setting.
In 2021, Zenón and Perdomo were nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album for their collaboration album El Arte Del Bolero. In 2024, the duo won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2.
Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1976, is one of the most celebrated jazz artists of his generation. Recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship at the age of 31, he’s also a Guggenheim Fellow and was named a 2024 Doris Duke Artist.
Pianist Luis Perdomo was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1971. He has collaborated with Miguel Zenón for 20 years. Perdomo has performed at festivals and venues in over 50 countries and has released nine recordings as a leader. He has also appeared on over 200 recordings as a sideman including four Grammy nominated albums.
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. In the El Arte Del Bolero liner notes, Miguel said, “We chose compositions from the Bolero era that we could just play right away, without giving it a second thought: songs from the times of our parents and grandparents that somehow stuck around long enough for us to get to know them and truly love them. They are all as essential to our development as the music of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk, but perhaps even more familiar. When we play these songs, we can hear the lyrics in the back of our minds—something that provides a very deep connection, one that is hard to replicate in any other situation. It really is almost beyond familiar. These songs are part of us.”
Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón and pianist Luis Perdomo reunited on El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2 which is more expansive. As Miguel says in the notes: “The Latin-American Songbook is so vast and varied that it naturally lends itself to limitless explorations. We purposely looked beyond the Caribbean (exploring composers from México, Venezuela and Panamá, for example) because we wanted to emphasize the point that these songs deserved to be explored and recognized for what they are, beyond labels, categories and regionalisms. Just beautiful music that is a joy to perform and listen to.”
I can agree that it is a joy to listen to and I am excited that they are bringing this music to Minneapolis. I encourage everyone to make reservations early because these shows are bound to sell out.
December 6th with shows at 6:30 and 8:30
Berlin
204 North First Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Click here for tickets
link to original Jazz Police article: http://www.jazzpolice.com/archives/19426
