Background
He was born in Santa Clara, Villa Clara Province, Cuba.
composer conductor university professor jazz musician
He was born in Santa Clara, Villa Clara Province, Cuba.
He is a 2011 MacArthur Fellow. "His arrival in the United States. has been compared to that of an asteroid hitting New New York" Indeed, within a short period of time Prieto"s revolutionary drumming techniques had a powerful impact on the Latin and jazz music scene, locally and internationally. He is a recipient of various awards, including the 2011 MacArthur Fellowship Award and Up & Coming Musician of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2006.
Prieto was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2007 Latin Grammy Awards.
He has also received new works commissions, grants, and fellowships from Chamber Music America, Jazz at Lincoln Center, East Carolina University, Meet the Composer and the Doris Duke Foundation. Also an educator, Prieto has conducted numerous master classes, clinics and workshops.
A resident of New York City since 1999, he has played in numerous bands, including those led by
He has performed at many national and international music festivals as a sideman and as bandleader including various of his own project and music As a composer, he has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands, ranging from duets to his "Small Big Band" and including the different groups featured on his recordings as a leader: Dafnis Prieto About the Monks, Dafnis Prieto Absolute Quintet, Dafnis Prieto Sextet – Taking the Soul for a Walk, Dafnis Prieto Si o Si Quartet – Live at Jazz Standard and Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio.
Discography (as bandleader).
Since 2005, he has been a member of the music faculty at New York University in New York City, New New York