Dubbed “one of the strongest saxophonists in New York” by the New York Times, Puerto Rico native Miguel Zenón has visited Minneapolis before, with David Sanchez and most recently with the SF Jazz Collective at the Dakota. This will be his first appearance as leader of his own quartet which features Luis Perdomo on piano, Hans Glawischnig on bass, and Henry Cole on drums. Following the Dakota gig, altoist Zenón and his quartet will be in Boston at Sculler’s (June 8^th), at the Triple Door in Seattle (June 13^th), and at Yoshi’s in Oakland (June 14-15).

In his native San Juan, Zenón studied saxophone at the famed Escuela Libre de Musica. Exposed to Charlie Parker and other jazz legends while in high school, he didn’t begin formal jazz studies until he received a scholarship from the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival to study at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. At Berklee he received the Berklee Best Scholarship Award, the Frederic Cameron Weber Award, and a grant from the Corporation of Musical Arts. Meanwhile, he gained professional experience with drummer Bob Moses' Mozamba and the Either/Orchestra. After graduating from Berklee in 1998, Zenón received a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Danilo Perez, Dick Oatts, Dave Liebman, George Garzone, and Bill Pierce; he earned his Masters in Saxophone Performance in 2001.

In his young career, the 28-year-old alto sensation has performed and/or recorded with such artists and groups as David Sanchez, Danilo Perez, William Cepeda's Afrorican Jazz, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, The Guillermo Klein Big Band, The Mingus Big Band, The David Murray Big Band, Charlie Haden, Branford Marsalis, Ray Barretto, and Edward Simon, among others. In the spring of 2004 he was selected to help form “The SFJAZZ Collective,” a project created by the San Francisco Jazz Festival and which played to sell-out crowds at the Dakota in late April. This spring and summer, Zenón is touring with his own quartet, and with groups led by Edward Simon and Charlie Haden.

As a leader, Miguel Zenón has released three recordings: Looking Forward (Fresh Sound/New Talent) was selected by both The New York Times and TomaJazz Magazine as one of the top 10 Jazz CDs of 2002. In 2004, he released Ceremonial as one of the first artists signed to the new Marsalis Music label. Now, with the just-released Jibaro, the winner of the 2004 Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll for “Alto Saxophone Deserving Wider Recognition” takes his explorations of native Puerto Rican music to a new level, “a perfect example of his astonishing concentration” (Andrew Gilbert, Jazz Times).

Accompanying Miguel Zenón on the new recording and on tour, pianist Luis Perdomo performed at the Dakota this spring with the Ravi Coltrane Quartet. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Perdomo began his professional career at age 12, playing on Venezuelan radio and television. He moved to New York to study at the Manhattan School of Music, later becoming a student of Sir Roland Hanna when he pursued graduate studies at Queens College. In addition to leading his own group and playing with the Miguel Zenón Quartet, Perdomo plays with John Patitucci, Ravi Coltrane, Brian Lynch, Claudia Acuña, Ray Barretto’s New World Spirits, and Ralph Irizarry’s Timbalaye. In his own trio, he typically collaborates with such jazz stars as Jeff "Tain" Watts, James Genus, Hans Glawischnig, and Jeff Ballard. Perdomo recently released his first recording as leader, Focus Point (RKM Records). Noted Ben Ratliffe (New York Times), “Luis Perdomo plays serious, analytical music, wrapped in complexities of rhythm…”

Bassist Hans Glawischnig was born in Graz, Austria, the son of a pianist/educator. He enrolled in the Academy of Music in Graz as a violin student at age six, switching to electric bass at 13 and then to the acoustic bass, which became his primary instrument. After finishing high school, Glawischnig attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and enrolled in graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music. In 1995, he was invited join Bobby Watson's Urban Renewal band on the recommendation of fellow student Stefon Harris; a stint with Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau soon followed. The following year he joined Ray Barretto’s New World Spirit Ensemble, and subsequently worked with Paquito D'Riviera, Stefon Harris, Claudio Roditi, Phil Woods, Claudia Acuna, Mark Murphy, and David Sanchez, among others. As a leader, Glawischnig has released Common Ground on Fresh Sound/New Talent (2003).

Drummer Henry Cole has been keeping busy playing with modern leaders of Latin jazz, including Paquito D’Riviera, David Sanchez, Luis Perdomo, and of course Miguel Zenón.

Over the next ten days, these four music monsters come together in Minneapolis (June 6-7), Boston (June 8), Seattle (June 13) and Oakland (June 14-15). Find out why all the buzz that followed the SF Jazz Collective’s tour was about Miguel Zenón!

Photo by Don Berryman

“…he has established himself as an invaluable new voice on the scene, a player bristling with ideas and blessed with committed collaborators capable of exploring his difficult compositions. He stands out not just for the quality of his sound--lithe and quicksilver, vulnerable yet poised. It's the capacious nature of his music, with each original piece revealing new dimensions of a seemingly infinite sonic universe governed by invisible but inexorably logical rules.” –Andrew Gilbert, Jazz Times

Miguel Zenón and his quartet will be at the Dakota in Minneapolis June 6-7, two sets each night at 7 and 9 pm; www.dakotacooks.com. For information about the performance at Scullers in Boston on June 8^th, visit www.scullersjazz.com. The quartet will be at the Triple Door in Seattle, June 13^th (www.thetripledoor.net), and then Yoshi’s in Oakland, June 14-15 (www.yoshis.com). Learn more about Miguel Zenón at the artist’s website, www.miguelzenon.com