Artist page

Paquito D'Rivera is a Cuban saxophone, flute, and clarinet player, as well as a band leader, born on June 4, 1948, in Havana, Cuba. The son of saxophone player Tito D'Rivera, he began playing the saxophone at the age of five. At 19, he debuted with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba and founded the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna the same year (1965). He later formed Irakere, combining jazz, rock, and traditional Cuban music. In 1981, D'Rivera exiled to the United States, where he collaborated with American musicians and, in 1988, founded The United Nations Orchestra with Dizzy Gillespie. He also established his own bands, the Paquito D'Rivera Big Band and the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet. He is married to a singer, producer, and manager.

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