Born in Havana, Cuba, this four-time Grammy Award-winning saxophone, flute and clarinet virtuoso, who has recorded over 30 solo albums, is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his achievements as a classical composer. He will perform at the CAC with his jazz ensemble.

D'Rivera co-founded the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and served as the band's conductor for two years. In 1973, he co-founded Irakere, a highly popular Cuban-jazz ensemble whose explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and traditional Cuban music had never before been heard. The band toured extensively throughout the Americas and Europe and, in 1979, was awarded the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Ensemble. Since seeking asylum in the United States in 1981,he has toured the world with his ensembles--the Paquito D'Rivera Big Band, the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet and the Chamber Jazz Ensemble.

In 1988, he was a founding member of the United Nations Orchestra, a 15-piece ensemble organized by Dizzy Gillespie (JM) to showcase the fusion of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. In 1991, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Carnegie Hall for his contributions to Latin music, and that same year he worked with James Moody (JM), Slide Hampton (JM), Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Arturo Sandoval, Steve Turre and others on the Grammy Award-winning Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra.

D'Rivera was named a NEA Jazz Master in 2005.

NEA Jazz Masters on Tour is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts sponsored by Verizon in partnership with Arts Midwest. Additional support is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through a grant to Chamber Music America. This concert is a co-presentation of the Contemporary Arts Center and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc. with support from Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Tulane University.