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Paquito D'Rivera Biography

Paquito D’Rivera was born in 1948 in Havana, Cuba. Long before D’Rivera grew up to become one of the era’s most talented Latin jazz musicians, he began studying music while growing up in Cuba, performing as young as the age of ten with the National Theater Orchestra. After studying at the Havana Conservatory of Music, he joined the Cuban National Symphony, but by the late 1970’s, Paquito was growing increasingly frustrated with the limitations on his talents in the communist country.

While touring through Europe in 1981, D’Rivera applied for asylum at the American Embassy in Spain. After moving to New York, where he was reunited with other family members who had already defected from Cuba, he began to work in the city’s prestigious jazz clubs and concert halls. Very quickly, Paquito D’Rivera became one of the area’s most notable jazz musicians, and so entered the studio to record his first album.

Paquito Blowin was released in 1981 to critical acclaim and great fanfare. By the time Mariel arrived in 1982, D’Rivera had become somewhat of a sensation, and he has remained as such ever since. Paquito D’Rivera’s albums, of which there are dozens, have earned him more than ten Grammy awards, in both the Latin and Classical categories. Notable works recognized by the Grammys include: Song for Maura (2014), Panamericana Suite (2011), Funk Tango (2008), “Merengue” (2004), Brazilian Deams (2003), “Historia del Soldado” (2003), Tropicana Nights (2000), Portraits of Cuba (1996), and “Irakere” (1979.)

Paquito D’Rivera continues to perform and record. His most recent work, “Jazz Meets the Classics,” recorded with the Paquito D’Rivera Sextet, arrived in 2014.