Adam Cruz

I recently was lucky enough to be invited to see Danilo Perez's latest show at the Jazz Standard. My friend is a publicist and agent, and likes to sit right in front, and so we did.

The group featured Perez, David Sanchez, a trumpeter and alto saxist new to me, plus Adam Cruz and Ben Street. The show was called 21st Century Dizzy, which mixed original compositions with VERY modern arrangements (so much so that they might as well have been originals) of songs written by or associated with Dizzy Gillespie. Even though it was clear to me that, despite this being the last of four nights, some arrangements were a bit seat-of-the-pants or were less than assured, this was not distracting and the playing was top-notch.

The thing that most struck me was Perez's presence on the stage. He is extremely emotive, and although sometimes his shoulders lift and he seems to struggle getting out of his own way (a feeling I know well as a performer), he was arguably the most engaging member of the band.Read more