DAFNIS PRIETO: SI O SI QUARTET

Si o Si Quartet
Dafnis Prieto, drums
Manuel Valera, piano and melodica
Charles Flores, acoustic and electric bass
Peter Apfelbaum, tenor and soprano saxophone, melodica, and percussion

Presented in partnership with KUT Music

In a season that boasts Afro-Cuban music elder statesman Chucho Valdés, Texas Performing Arts is excited to also offer the present and future of Afro-Cuban jazz. Recently named a MacArthur Fellow, and perhaps the most impressive drummer to enter the jazz scene in the past decade, Cuban- born Dafnis Prieto’s world rhythms exhibit a forceful yet flexible sense of groove derived from traditions of Afro Caribbean hand percussion and polyrhythmic post-bop. The music is truly unique, blending sounds from diverse cultures into music that is both euphoric and intelligent.

The Si o Si (Yes or Yes) Quartet features longtime Prieto collaborators Manuel Valera, Charles Flores, and Peter Apfelbaum, who are also core members of Preito’s popular sextet. This multifaceted quartet delivers an orchestral richness to match its rhythmic complexity and breathtaking energy.