Dafnis Prieto – Sí o Sí Quartet

Hailing from Cuba, the GRAMMY-winning and Latin GRAMMY-nominated drummer, composer, and MacArthur Fellow Dafnis Prieto’s revolutionary drumming techniques and compositions have had a powerful impact on the music landscape – nationally and internationally.

As a composer, Prieto has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands; ranging from duets to big bands, including the different groups featured in his ten distinctive recordings as a leader, including About The Monks, Si o Si Quartet: Live at Jazz Standard NYC, Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio, and 3 Sides of the Coin.

A gifted educator, Prieto has also conducted numerous master classes, clinics, and workshops around the world. He was on the jazz studies faculty at New York University from 2005 to 2014, and in 2015 joined the faculty of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where he directs the esteemed Frost Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Prieto’s tenth album, 3 Sides of the Coin, marks the studio return of his acclaimed Sí o Sí Quartet (“Yes or Yes Quartet”), a jubilant cohort comprising Peter Apfelbaum on woodwinds, Martin Bejerano on piano, and Ricky Rodríguez on electric bass; brought together to commemorate both the bandleader’s quarter century in the United States and his 50th birthday.

Dafnis Prieto Website
(Ticket Includes 5% City of Santa Cruz Admission Tax)