Zenón and Perdomo – from Puerto Rico and Venezuela, respectively – recorded two volumes of El Arte del Bolero as a platform to explore the traditional Cuban bolero, the quintessential Latin American love song of their parents and grandparents, from a jazz perspective and in a duoal format.
“Our countries are very similar in terms of the musical taste and the kind of music that goes on,” said Zenón. “I tried to find ways to connect the two worlds – the world I grew up with and the world that brought me further into jazz music,” Zenón said. The duo’s understated and gorgeous jazz interpretation on El Arte del Bolero Vol. 2 earned them the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.
Melding their jazz sensibilities with the original spirit of the music, Zenón and Perdomo deliver alluring, forward-thinking performances while keeping the songs center stage. “The Latin-American Songbook is so vast and varied that it naturally lends itself to limitless explorations,” says Zenón in the liner notes.
“We purposely looked beyond the Caribbean (exploring composers from México, Venezuela and Panamá, for example) because we wanted to emphasize the point that these songs deserved to be explored and recognized for what they are, beyond labels, categories and regionalisms. Just beautiful music that is a joy to perform and listen to.”
Melding their jazz sensibilities with the original spirit of the music, Zenón and Perdomo deliver alluring, forward-thinking performances while keeping the songs center stage. “The Latin-American Songbook is so vast and varied that it naturally lends itself to limitless explorations,” says Zenón in the liner notes. “We purposely looked beyond the Caribbean (exploring composers from México, Venezuela and Panamá, for example) because we wanted to emphasize the point that these songs deserved to be explored and recognized for what they are, beyond labels, categories and regionalisms. Just beautiful music that is a joy to perform and listen to.”
The Groton Hill Wind Ensemble, an auditioned ensemble of motivated middle and high school-age woodwind, brass, and percussion players from Central and Eastern Massachusetts, joins Zenón and Perdomo on several selections during the concert – a unique opportunity for the students, and a first for the duo.
“Playing with the Groton Hill Wind Ensemble makes this concert special because this is something we haven’t done before,” Zenón commented.
“The opportunity to have this music amplified by the ensemble and getting to work with them on repertoire that we know very well as a duo, but that we’ve never really explored with a larger ensemble, is going to be a special treat for us and hopefully for the audience too.”
As a seasoned educator – and colleague of Groton Hill Wind Ensemble director Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr. at MIT – Zenón will spend the afternoon before the concert along with Perdomo working closely with Harris’s ensemble students– an experience that both he and the education wing of Groton Hill Music Center view as essential to the growth of young musicians.
“I’m from a different generation, so from my perspective, I try to emphasize things that I feel are important to me and highlight why it’s important to develop certain skills to get to a level of artistry where we can transcend.”
As a student at Berklee College of Music in the 1990s, Zenón benefitted from the mentorship of seasoned artists and now embraces opportunities like these to share his accumulated skills and wisdom with younger students.
“You know, when those opportunities come to help someone out, to open doors, to take someone under your wing and provide advice or direction,” he said, “of course, you do it because it feels good to help other people, but it’s your responsibility to look out for other musicians and mentor them just like you were mentored.”
The concert will be held in Groton Hill’s world-class, acoustically tuned Concert Hall on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $45 including fees at grotonhill.org/tickets.
This is one of several workshop and performance opportunities with award-winning musicians that Groton Hill offers its ensemble students throughout the year. Each guest artist brings their unique and defined perspective to music making, exposing students to new ways of thinking both on and off the stage. Learn more about the Groton Hill Wind Ensemble.
Grammy® winner, Doris Duke Artist, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Miguel Zenón is one of a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, Zenón has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between jazz and his many influences. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has released seventeen albums as a leader. He has worked with luminaries and organizations such as The SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Perez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Joey Calderazzo, Steve Coleman, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band, and Bobby Hutcherson. Zenón has given hundreds of lectures and master classes at institutions all over the world and is a faculty member in the Music & Theater Arts Department at MIT, as well as the current Visiting Scholar for the Harmony and Jazz Composition Department at Berklee College of Music.
Originally from Venezuela, Grammy® winning pianist, composer, arranger and educator Luís Perdomo moved to NYC in the early 90s and has since established himself as one of the most in-demand musicians on the scene. He has recorded and/or performed with Ravi Coltrane, David Sanchez, Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Tom Harrell, John Patitucci, Ray Barretto, Brian Lynch, Robin Eubanks, Dave Douglas, David Weiss and The Cookers, David Gilmore, Ralph Irizarry & Timbalaye, Henry Threadgill and Steve Turre. He has collaborated with Miguel Zenón for 20 years. Perdomo has performed at festivals and venues in over 50 countries and has released nine recordings as a leader. He has also appeared on over 200 recordings as a sideman including, most recently, two Grammy nominated albums: Ravi Coltrane’s Spirit Fiction and Miguel Zenón’s Sonero. In 2002 he earned the 2nd Grand Prix at the 3rd Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition in Paris.