Danilo Perez: A Modern Philanthropist

Danilo Perez has been praised for his jazz piano playing skills by Herbie Hancock (among others) and became the youngest member of Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra in 1989. However, in his new venture, he takes a break from playing the keys and instead takes on the role of composer and conductor for The Panama Suite, a 15 minute, three-movement piece of jazz that utilizes Panamanian folkloric elements along with urban sounds. The piece is being released by ArtistShare, a jazz label which funds its projects through the artists' fans contributions and in turn lets the fans participate in the creative process. All the profits made from The Panama Suite will go towards the Danilo Perez Foundation, which runs the Panama Jazz Festival, to provide education in his hometown of Panama.

1. In reading your biography, you have so many positions and endeavors in so many places I'm having a hard time figuring out where you spend most of your time. Where are you based?
I am based in Boston, Mass, and I have a team of people that work with me. Among them are my manager, who helps me manage my professional career as a performer and the coordination of the Panama Jazz Festival, and my wife and parents who help me manage my philanthropic work.

2. So, all the profits from your Panama Suite Project go to the Danilo Perez Foundation providing educational activities in Panama, your birthplace. Can you give me some more details on this philanthropic endeavor and how it relates to you personally?
I come from a family that lived in poverty for many years, and when I received a scholarship to study in the US, I promised (on a TV show actually) I was coming back to help with whatever I could. Over the years, my mentors (Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter, etc.) always reminded me of my promise by opening up their hearts and knowledge and showing me the importance of mentoring with love and understanding. They opened many doors for me and taught me to open doors for others without fear.

3. I had to notice that you hold a position as Artistic Adviser on the Mellon Jazz Up Close series at the Kimmel Center in my current city of residence, Philadelphia, and you attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, nearby the city of most of my upbringing, Pittsburgh. Do you spend much time in Pennsylvania these days?
Yes, I actually go to Philadelphia once every month or every other month, so Philadelphia is the city I work in the most after Boston and Panama City.

4. I found it interesting that you received a degree in electronics. What exactly did you specialize in and do you ever try to incorporate electronics into your music?
I received a bachelor in electronics from the Artes y Oficios's School in Panama City, Panama. I have incorporated some electronics in my music throughout the years, but I would like to experiment a lot more with it in the future.

5. Your music on The Panama Suite Project is much more syncopated and rhythmically complicated than a lot of jazz out there. How is that to pull off with a Big Band, as it's executed very well on the composition?
It was actually very difficult to perform this piece. The first time we recorded it live in Chicago, we did not have enough rehearsals therefore we could not play it well, so we did not release that recording. I tried playing it three times in Panama and could never play it right. Finally, a couple of years later, I decided to record it with faculty and students from Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, and realized Boston was the ideal place I could perform this piece since I teach in both schools and most of the people that performed the piece were my students and/or friends, and they know my compositions very well, and understand the language. Many of them are students I have taught for years and are literate in the jazz and Latin idioms. Take the pianist (Gabriel Guerrero), for example, he is a Colombian student I have taught for more than five years how to interpret and read this kind of music, so for him it is difficult, but doable.