Michel Camilo
(born April 4, 1954) is a pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is known as a great jazz, Latin and classical pianist with superb technical ability, and has played and recorded with many world-famous musicians. Michel lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, and Art Tatum.
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MICHEL CAMILO TICKETS
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Background
Michel was born into a musical family and as a young child showed great aptitude for the
accordion that his parents gave him. Although he enjoyed the accordion, it was his grandparents'
piano that sparked his interest the most, so at aged 9 he asked his parents to buy him one. Their response was to first send him to the
Elementary Music School, part of the
National Conservatory, and then a year later to grant his wish.
The formal system of the music school taught Michel to play in the classical style, and by age 16 he was playing with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. Michel comments on his first encounter with the sounds of jazz, in an with the All About Jazz website:
”The first time I heard jazz was when I was 14 and a half. I heard the great Art Tatum on the radio playing his solo piano rendition of 'Tea for Two.' That immediately caught my ear. I just wanted to soak it in, to learn to play that style. Then I found out it was jazz.”
Michel studied for 13 years at the National Conservatory, and whilst developing his strong classical abilities was also heavily influenced by the
bop tradition, and by the contemporary jazz of
Herbie Hancock,
Keith Jarrett and
Chick Corea. His influences at this time also included
Horace Silver,
Errol Garner, and the
ragtime music of
Scott Joplin.
When the
Harvard University Jazz Band visited the Dominican Republic and heard Michel at a jam session, the bandleader encouraged him, 'You should be in the States', and so the idea was planted. In 1979 Michel moved to
New York to study at
Mannes College and at The
Juilliard School, and broke onto the international stage in 1983 when
Tito Puente's pianist was unable to make a concert at the
Montreal Jazz Festival. On a recommendation, without hearing him, Tito asked Michel to play. Cuban reedman
Paquito D'Rivera was in the audience, and immediately offered him a place in his band. For four years Michel toured internationally with Paquito, and recorded two albums with him.
Michel's emergence as a star in his own right began around 1985, the year he debuted with his trio at
Carnegie Hall. In that same year he toured Europe with Paquito D’Rivera’s quintet, and recorded his first album,
Why Not?
, for Japan’s
King
label.
Suntan in Trio
had a trio with
Anthony Jackson on the bass and
Dave Weckl on the drums. In 1988 Michel debuted on a major record label,
Sony, with the release of
Michel Camilo
, which became a bestseller and held the top jazz album spot for ten consecutive weeks. Special guests joined in with Michel, like percussionist Sammy Figueroa and tap dancer
Raul. Other bestselling albums followed and so did the accolades, including a
Grammy and an
Emmy. Michel's collaborative 2000 album with
flamenco guitarist
Tomatito Spain
won Best Latin Jazz Album in the first
Latin Grammy Awards.
As well as being an outstanding performer, Michel is a talented composer and has written scores for several Spanish language films including
Los Peores Años de Nuestra Vida
and the award-winning
Amo Tu Cama Rica
.
Michel tours extensively, and lectures in Europe, the US, and in the
Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. He holds several honorary degrees, a Visiting Professorship and a Doctorate at
Berklee College of Music, and has been honored in his home country by being named a Knight of the Heraldic Order of Christopher Columbus, and being awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Duarte, Sanchez & Mella.
Association with other musicians
Michel's regular trio lineup for many years was his long-term friends
Anthony Jackson on
contrabass guitar and El Negro (Horacio Hernandez) on
drums.
Charles Flores has occupied the trio's bass seat since their Grammy winning album
Live at the Blue Note. Lately Michel has drummer
Dafnis Prieto as part of his trio. This new trio with Charles and Dafnis will be featured on the April 2007 upcoming release
Spirit of the Moment.
Other notable musicians he has played with include
Tito Puente,
Paquito D'Rivera,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Toots Thielemans,
Airto Moreira,
Chuck Mangione,
Stanley Turrentine,
Claudio Roditi,
Nancy Alvarez,
Mongo Santamaria,
George Benson,
Eddie Palmieri,
Jon Faddis,
Gonzalo Rubalcaba,
Lew Soloff,
Tania Maria,
Jaco Pastorius,
Patato,
Randy Brecker,
Michael Brecker,
Chuck Loeb,
Giovanni Hidalgo,
Guarionex Aquino,
Wynton Marsalis,
Katia and Marielle Labèque,
Dave Valentin,
Flora Purim,
Delfeayo Marsalis,
Chucho Valdés,
Joe Lovano,
Herbie Hancock,
Tomatito,
John Patitucci,
David Sanchez,
Hiromi,
Cachao,
Marcus Roberts,
Steve Gadd,
Danilo Perez,
Gary Burton,
Billy Taylor,
Dave Weckl,
Hilton Ruiz,
Roy Hargrove,
Romero Lubambo,
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen,
Lenny Andrade,
Bireli Lagrene,
Marian McPartland,
Leonard Slatkin,
Arturo Sandoval Aisha Syed Castro.
Discography
- 1984 - French Toast (album)
(w/ French Toast)
- 1985 - Why Not?
- 1986 - Suntan/In Trio
- 1988 - Michel Camilo
- 1989 - On Fire
- 1990 - On The Other Hand
- 1991 - Amo Tu Cama Rica (Soundtrack)
- 1993 - Rendezvous (The Michel Camilo album)
- 1994 - One More Once
- 1996 - Two Much (Soundtrack)
- 1997 - Hands of Rhythm
(w/ Giovanni Hidalgo)
- 1997 - Thru My Eyes
- 2000 - Spain
- 2001 - Calle 54 (Soundtrack)
- 2002 - Piano Concerto, Suite & Caribe
- 2002 - Triangulo (album)
- 2003 - Live at the Blue Note
- 2005 - Solo
- 2006 - Rhapsody In Blue
- 2006 - Spain Again
- 2007 - Spirit of the Moment
(April 24, 2007)