What an evening of excellent jazz! Danilo Perez was the headliner of several shows at Scullers Jazz Club last weekend, and we were fortunate to be in the audience for one of those shows.

Danilo Perez

Danilo is Panamanian and divides his time these days between Boston and Panama; Boston is very lucky to have him at least part of the time. On his own, Danilo is a global performer!

When Danilo announced the band members, he told us their nationalities – I recall Brazil, Cuba, and Honduras, and I know there were others. It reminded me at the universality of the language of music.

The band was composed of many pieces, especially on the smallish stage. Danilo is a pianist, and I loved watching his hands glide across the keys. There was a drummer (who I believe is Adam Cruz), percussionist (whose first name is Roman), bass, guitar, saxophone (for a couple of numbers), and violin (which isn’t the first instrument that comes to mind when I think about Latin jazz). There could have been more as well!

Danilo’s saxophonist

Danilo’s band

Danilo’s band

This was a CD release show; I would recommend purchasing “Panama 500” to add to your jazz collection.

The show opened with the Berklee Global Jazz Institute and I really enjoyed their brief set. What struck me most about them was the Israeli harmonica player.  Yes, a jazz harmonica player. We spoke with him after the show – he’s about to embark on a European tour with Danilo. He made the harmonica sound almost like a violin at times. Very impressive!

Berklee Global Jazz Institute

A wonderful performance was enjoyed by all!