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Danilo Pérez unites with Global Messengers for new album Crisálida

By 2022/01/07

Danilo Pérez

Credit:Raj Naik & Luke Severn

Grammy-nominated pianist, composer, educator and activist Danilo Pérez has shared a new single in anticipation of his latest album Crisálida. This will be Pérez’s 12th album as a leader. Crisálida comprises two four-part suites: La Muralla (Glass Walls) and Fronteras (Borders). The recording features his international group called the Global Messengers, made of alumni from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, of which he’s the founder and artistic director. Alongside his wife, Chilean vocalist and saxophonist Patricia Zarate, the Global Messengers feature talents from all over the world including Iraqi-Jordanian violinist Layth Sidiq, American vocalist Farayi Male, Greek laouto player Vasilis Kostas, Palestinian cellist Naseem Alatrash and percussionist Tareq Rantisi. Greek vocalist Eirini Tonrnsaki also makes a guest appearance on the album’s first single, Monopatia (Pathways).

Establishing himself as a master from a young age, Pérez has recorded or toured with many jazz giants including Joe Lovano, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Wynton Marsalis, Tito Puente, Gary Burton, Steve Lacy and Wayne Shorter. Through his experiences collaborating with Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra and as a sideman on various projects, Pérez developed upon his Panamanian roots, drawing from influences of Latin American jazz, folk, West African rhythms and European impressionism throughout his critically acclaimed solo career.

For Danilo Pérez, music has always been a means of intercultural exchange and a medium for personal empowerment and social change. Crisálida, translated from chrysalis, represents Pérez’s vision for this new album — starting conversations and fostering awareness among a global community to address the many social issues of today.

“I envision Crisálida as a protected space where we all come together, whether we’re addressing immigration issues, climate change, environmental justice, science, interconnecting different art forms,” explains Pérez in a press statement. “We need to work together to build our new crisálida, which, to me, is the emotional, mental and physical state of protection in our early development.”

In Crisálida, Danilo and the Global Messengers aim to illustrate the power music has to not only bring together cultural experiences but also draw attention to the responsibility we all have as global citizens.

Here’s the full track listing:

La Muralla (Glass Walls) Suite: Rise from Love
La Muralla (Glass Walls) Suite: Monopatia (Pathways)
La Muralla (Glass Walls) Suite: Calling for the Dawn
La Muralla (Glass Walls) Suite: Muropatía
Fronteras (Borders) Suite: Adrift
Fronteras (Borders) Suite: Al-Musafir Blues
Fronteras (Borders) Suite: Kalesma (True Calling)
Fronteras (Borders) Suite: Unknown Destination

Danilo Pérez’s Crisálida will be released March 18 via Mack Avenue.