Paquito D'Rivera

Born in the island of Cuba, Paquito D'Rivera began his career as a child prodigy, playing both the clarinet and the saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra.
A restless musical genius, D'Rivera formed and performed with various musical ensembles as a teenager and became one of the founding members of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, which he subsequently conducted for two years. He was also founding member and co-director of the innovative musical group Irakere, whose explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and traditional Cuban music had never been heard before. The group toured extensively throughout America and Europe.

In May of 2003, he received a Doctorate Honoris Causa in Music, from the Berklee School of Music, adding this to his numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award for his Contribution to Latin Music along with Dizzy Gillespie and Gato Barbieri.

In 1997, he received a Grammy for his highly acclaimed recording, Portraits of Cuba. A third Grammy came in 2000 for his Tropicana Nights, along with a nomination in the classical category for his Music of Two Worlds, featuring compositions by Schubert, Brahms, Guastavino, Villa Lobos, and by D'Rivera himself.

He won a fourth Grammy for his Quintet's recording of Live at the Blue Note. He was also nominated in the Classical Crossover category for The Clarinetist Vol. I.

In 2002, he won again as a guest artist on a recording of the Bebo Valdez Trio.

— Courtesy Calabash Music