Cuban Pianist Elio Villfranca with 19-Piece Afro/Cuban Orchestra Palacio de la Rumba

06apr8:30 pm11:00 pmCuban Pianist Elio Villfranca with 19-Piece Afro/Cuban Orchestra Palacio de la RumbaExperience Cubanissimo!8:30 pm - 11:00 pm Price:$40/$35

Event Details

“An inspired and visionary musician” Wynton Marsalis

Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist/composer Elio Villafranca’s native Cuba comes alive when he performs with the dynamic 19-peice Afro-Cuban orchestra Palacio de la Rumba. Promising fiery; passionate Cuban jazz, cha cha chá, rumba and more, The Entertainment Quarter’s spectacular Trackdown Studio is transformed into a vibrant social club for one spectacular evening.

About Elio Villafranca

Born in the Pinar del Río province of Western Cuba, Villfranca was classically trained in percussion and composition at the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. In 1995 he relocated to the U.S where he has worked extensively in the jazz and Latin jazz scenes throughout the US. Since his debut album “Incantations/Encantaciones” ranked amongst the Top 50 albums of 2003 (JazzTimes), the Steinway artist has received a multitude of accolades including Jazz Corner’s Pianist of the Year (2008), BMI Jazz Guaranty Award (2008) and the NFA/Heineken Green Ribbon Master Artist Music Grant (2008). In 2010 he was nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Album (2010) and in 2014 received the Swing Award at Jazz at the Lincoln Centre. Last year, he was among five pianists chosen by Chick Corea to perform at the first Chick Corea Jazz Festival, also receiving the Sunshine Award which recognises excellence in the performing arts, education, science, and sports of the various Caribbean countries, South America, Central America, and Africa. His music has been described as “passionate” and “a new application of ancient ways” by jazz legend Chick Corea, while internationally celebrated trumpeter and Artistic Director of Jazz at the Lincoln Centre, Wynton Marsalis, professes to having been “profoundly moved” by the Cuban composer’s vision and musicianship. Currently based in New York, Villafranca is a faculty member at both Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music and resident professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.

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Price

$40/$35

Time

(Friday) 8:30 pm - 11:00 pm

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