Cuban Jazz Drummer Dafnis Prieto Declares His Independence

In the short time innovative drummer Dafnis Prieto has lived in the U.S., his indomitable spirit behind the trap set has elevated his instrument to sonic realms few ever thought possible. Now he's seizing control of his music career by launching his own label, Dafnison Music. Striking out on his own translates into more freedom to experiment and Prieto's wasted no time.

On his indie label debut, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Prieto proclaims his self-liberation and expands his vision from his previous quintet formation to a sextet ensemble that includes saxophonists Yosvany Terry and Peter Apfelbaum, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, pianist Manuel Valera, and bassist Yunior Terry. While the new format opens up the playing field for Prieto, the resulting album is anything but loose. Prieto's compositions are precise, tightly-crafted, and edgy --but he doesn't sacrifice the music's fluidity, demonstrating a knack for constructing complex narrative lines inhabited by polyrhythms and counterpoint melodies.

A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Prieto has played with an array of different groups since his arrival in New York in 1999 -- a Who's Who list that includes some of the most relevant jazz players in the U.S. One of his first jobs was with Henry Threadgill's band Zooid. It was a match made in heaven: Threadgill, one of the most recognized names of the jazz avant-garde, writes meticulously accented music. Since then, Prieto has worked with Claudia Acuña's band, melding straight-ahead jazz and traditional South American rhythms like the Venezuelan joropo and the Argentine chacarera. He's also played in Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Chico O' Farrill's Afro-Cuban Jazz Project, with pianists Andrew Hill and D. D. Jackson, bassist John Benítez, trumpeters Brian Lynch, Roy Hargrove, and Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and vibraphonist Dave Samuels.

Prieto is known for his pliable, hyperkinetic drumming, energetic sense of groove, and impeccable timing. His synthesis of jazz and indigenous forms are informed by a collation of various Afro-Cuban hand percussion traditions, post-bop idioms, and the avant-garde. Prieto's last two discs, About the Monks and Dafnis Prieto Absolute Quintet were released by Zoho Music; his new disc can be purchased on cdbaby.com.