Danilo Pérez joins the Yamaha Artist Roster

Pianist and Educator to Participate in Distance Learning event at Berklee College of Music on April 4th, 2013

Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. (YASI) is pleased to announce the signing of GRAMMY® Award winner Danilo Pérez to its international Artist roster. "We are honored to welcome a pianist who is known not only as an exemplary performer, but also as an excellent composer, an innovative educator and a global humanitarian.  Danilo represents the consummate Yamaha Artist—he continually inspires audiences through his virtuosity, creativity and imaginative collaborations, while at the same time he wholeheartedly devotes himself to furthering music education throughout the world, as the ultimate mentor and role model for the next generation of musicians," says YASI director Bonnie Barrett.

Says Pérez on joining Yamaha's roster, "While I was originally drawn to the extraordinary sound of Yamaha's pianos, I became doubly excited as I learned more about the artistic and educational opportunities provided by their innovative distance learning technologies, RemoteLesson® and RemoteLive®. When you pair these instruments with the ability to connect with musicians and audiences instantly, anywhere around the world, the possibilities are truly limitless." 

Since signing with Yamaha, Mr. Pérez has played the company's flagship grand piano, the CFX, on two recordings: with the Wayne Shorter Quartet on their recent critically acclaimed release, Without a Net (Blue Note) and also on his second, forthcoming Mack Avenue Records album (set for release in fall 2013). He has also played the piano on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, and the Kennedy Center.

In signing to the Yamaha Artist roster, Pérez joins an elite group of pianists who are known not only as extraordinary musicians, but also as ambassadors for the music they play.  Yamaha Artists are supported by a state-of-the-art Piano Salon on New York's Fifth Avenue, where they are provided with a wide range of professional services, representing an unparalleled commitment to the music industry and an invaluable resource for musicians worldwide. Yamaha Artist Services New York joins Artist Services centers in Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Seoul, and Taipei, providing a global network of support for all artist needs.

RemoteLesson
On April 4th, Pérez will partner with Yamaha to introduce its groundbreaking RemoteLesson technology to his home institution, the Berklee College of Music. Already known as an innovative educator, Pérez will move to the forefront of the distance learning movement, when he teaches a lesson live, in real time, between Boston and Detroit.

RemoteLesson links up to four acoustic Disklavier pianos over the Internet, anywhere in the world. When Disklavier pianos are linked, the artist or student performs not only on his own piano but on the remote pianos as well. Every articulation, dynamic shading, and incremental pedal movement is captured by the local piano, transmitted over the Internet, and flawlessly reproduced on the remote instruments.

RemoteLesson lesson can be used simultaneously with video conferencing software, such as Skype, thus enabling the local and distant pianists to see and speak with each other as well as to play each other's instruments. RemoteLesson is actively used for individual instruction, long distance auditions, master classes, and even concert performances.

About Danilo Pérez
Pianist, composer, educator and social activist, Danilo Pérez is among the most influential and dynamic musicians of our time.

Born in Panama in 1965, Pérez started his musical studies when he was three years old with his father, a bandleader and singer. By age ten, he was studying the European classical piano repertoire at the National Conservatory in Panama. After receiving his bachelor's degree in electronics in Panama, he studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. From 1985-88, while still a student, he performed with Jon Hendricks, Terence Blanchard, Claudio Roditi and Paquito D'Rivera. Quickly established as a young master, he soon toured and/or recorded with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie (with the trumpeter's United Nations Orchestra, 1989-1992), Wayne Shorter, Steve Lacy, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Tito Puente, Wynton Marsalis, John Patitucci, Tom Harrell, Gary Burton, and Roy Haynes.

In 1993, Pérez turned his focus to his own ensembles and recording projects, releasing eight albums as a leader, earning a GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY® nominations for Central Avenue (1989), Motherland (2000) and Across The Crystal Sea (2008). Additionally, Pérez released Providencia, his debut Mack Avenue Records album in August of 2010. The album was also nominated for a 2011 GRAMMY® Award in the category of "Best Instrumental Jazz Album."

Pérez, who continues to lead his own trio, featuring Ben Street and Adam Cruz, and remains a member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, has also served as Cultural Ambassador to the Republic of Panama and Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF. He has received a variety of awards for his musical achievements, activism and social work efforts and currently as UNESCO Artist For Peace, Artistic Director of the Panama Jazz Festival, Artistic Advisor of the Jazz Up Close series at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Board Member at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, and Artistic Director of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute at Berklee College of Music. His second Mack Avenue Records album will be released in fall 2013.

For additional information please contact Hilary Jansen at Yamaha Artist Services, 212/339-9995 x227, hjansen@yamaha.com, and www.yamaha.com/yasi.

For media information regarding Danilo Pérez please contact Jordy Freed at DL Media, 610/667-0501, jordy@dlmedia.com

For more information on recordings upcoming dates, please visit www.mackavenuerecords.com and www.daniloperez.com