ABOUT THE ARTIST
Since arriving in the U.S. from Cuba in 1999, Dafnis Prieto has been fearless in his vision, playing and writing across styles, always with a forward-looking eye. Prieto has composed for numerous configurations — trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, and big bands — amassing a catalog of more than 50 original works featured on more than 10 albums. His compositions, known for their grace and subtlety, mixing lush melodies with polyrhythm, range from classical chamber music to Latin jazz, the community in which he’s built his reputation as a trailblazing artist. He earned the prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship (the “Genius” grant) in 2011; his citation noted that his “rhythmically adventurous compositions combine a range of musical vocabularies” and that he “transposes elements from his Afro-Cuban musical heritage onto a jazz drum kit.”