The end of February roared like a lion, at least inside the Holland Music Club, where the jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera played—his first time in Omaha—February 28.
It was a concert that came together like a dream for Andy Cassano, O-pa vice president for programming and education, who wanted to find a Latin jazz artist on the level of last year’s performer Chucho Valdez.
“When I was looking for another Latin jazz artist to come to Omaha, I was looking at who had not been here before,” Cassano said. That thought set about a whirlwind of activity. “It’s funny, on exactly the same day his agent sent out a newsletter I just happened to see, Pete Madsen from the jazz program at UNO called and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if Paquito played here?’”
O-pa President Joan Squires wholeheartedly supported this effort. “He’s one of the greatest jazz artists today. To be able to hear him at the Holland is extraordinary,” she said.
Cassano noted that the whole process took about a year, but to those in attendance Friday night, it was well worth it. The 16-time Grammy Award-winning artist, who came to America from his native Cuba in 1980, arrived onstage promptly at 7:30 p.m. He first joked about the previous week’s sub-zero weather, saying, “that’s why they sent us, in here it going to be hot.”
Joining D’Rivera that night were pianist Alex Brown, trumpeter Diego Urcola, bassist Oscar Stagnaro, and drummer Mark Walker. The quintet played several known tunes, such as the set opener of “Chick,” D’Rivera’s tribute to pianist Chick Correa.
Correa wasn’t the only famous jazz musician D’Rivera honored that night. In 1977, D’Rivera met Dizzy Gillespie in Cuba, and the two formed a friendship that resulted in D’Rivera being a founding member of Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra. During the set, D’Rivera and his band played “A Night in Inglewood,” which D’Rivera wrote right after Gillespie died. True to form, D’Rivera and his band improvised and flowed into piece after piece from Gillespie’s discography during this tribute. Crowd favorites included “Salt Peanuts” and “Night in Tunisia.”
The show also included “Miriam” by Bebo Valdes, and several other jazz songs. Although most known for his Latin jazz, D’Rivera is also noted for his classical compositions, having won a Grammy Award in 2004 for “Merengue, ” a chamber composition he recorded with Yo Yo Ma. In fact, D’Rivera 70-year career in music has had an impact on all the genres he’s played in, and Friday night’s set included the second movement in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major, which Rivera said was “the most famous clarinet piece,” joking that it was actually a blues piece, and that Mozart must actually have been from New Orleans.
The set ended promptly at 10 p.m., and the band walked off the stage to a well-deserved standing ovation.
“I have to say this is one of the best (performances) I’ve ever heard at the Holland Center,” Squires said.
D’Rivera’s stay in Omaha included a talk at Latino Center of the Midlands Feb. 27, and performing as a featured guest artist at the University Nebraska at Omaha Jazz Festival March 1.
