Some musicians cross paths repeatedly during the course of their career, resulting in a variety of artistic paths. Musicians often meet on the bandstand through pure circumstance. When they play in the same location over the course of several years, they undoubtedly spend time on gigs, building at least some camaraderie. Musicians that play in the same genre run into each other through a variety of situations. They might play in a festival, they might open a large concert for a major act, or they might share the same gig, giving them a relationship. These types of casual crossings sometimes result in good music, but they rarely provide the long-term collaborations that fuel memorable performances. Other musicians simply find each other through shared interests and background, creating an artistic chemistry that cannot be broken. The come from the same set of influences, similar upbringings, or common cultural backgrounds. They develop similar artistic visions that push each other into greater heights. They learn each other’s performance approaches, finding new ways to support and inspire their peer. They learn each other’s phrasings and anticipate upcoming improvisational ideas. Any sort of artistic bond helps build a stronger musical community, but the latter type of collaboration often drives musicians to do great things.

Saxophonist Yosvany Terry and drummer Dafnis Prieto are two artistic peers that share a good deal of common traits. Both musicians grew up in Cuba during the Fidel Castro era with a limited access to musical genres and styles; their love for jazz and American popular music was a hard earned passion. These two musicians both received extensive classical trainings at some of Cuba’s finest conservatories, exposing them to a wide range of compositional techniques and highly refined technical abilities. At the same time, their hearts remained in jazz and they worked hard to learn the music on top of their regular studies. They both created unique identities on their instruments and found work with some of the island’s best jazz musicians. They came together in one of Cuba’s best jazz groups, Columna B, and applied their shared knowledge during some truly amazing performances. The two musicians found their way to United States shores at different times, but their impact was profound in similar ways. During their time in the States, they’ve proven themselves as interesting performers, insightful composers, influential bandleaders, and rising stars of the Latin Jazz world. Although they’ve both built impressive careers as leaders, they often support each other as sidemen. Both musicians have built a collaboration that has helped them grow and turned them into fantastic leaders, sitting at the forefront of the future Latin Jazz world.

These two musicians had already shown a great deal of influence in the music world – upon each other and upon the greater Latin Jazz scene – the future only holds more potential. Today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix focuses upon the incredible music being performed by these two artists. The first clip finds them performing together, as part of Terry’s band. The second video features Terry exclusively and the third scene captures Prieto’s Si o Si Quartet. Check out all three videos – you can see the future of Latin Jazz streaming through these clips. Enjoy!

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Yosvany Terry & Dafnis Prieto Performing Together

Yosvany Terry & Band Performing At the San Jose Jazz Festival

Dafnis Prieto Si o Si Quartet

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Want more from Yosvany Terry? Check out some of his albums:

Metamorphosis

Twisted Noon

Want more from Dafnis Prieto? Check out some of his albums:

Si O Si Quartet Live At Jazz Standard NYC

Taking the Soul for a Walk

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Do you have a video to contribute to satisfy our weekly Latin Jazz video fix? If so, send it in – it’s time to feed our addiction. I’m looking for live performances, from any context. I’ll most likely be posting one video per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz videographers, musicians, and fans – let’s share some of our memorable videos! Get my contact info HERE

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix: Jovino Santos Neto
Album Of The Week: Taking The Soul For A Walk, Dafnis Prieto Sextet
Album Of The Week: The Source In Between, Elio Villafranca Quartet
Jazz Now: 5 Latin Jazz Albums From The Present Moment

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