Ignacio Berroa Joins DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble in May 6 Concert

It will be an exciting night of Latin Jazz as DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble and director Dr. Matt Shevitz presents “A Night of Latin Jazz,” featuring internationally renowned drummer Ignacio Berroa, on the McAninch Arts Center’s Belushi Performance Hall stage 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 6. The great Dizzy Gillespie, one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, called Berroa “the only Latin drummer in the world, in the history of American music that intimately knows both worlds: his native Afro-Cuban music as well as Jazz.”

The concert will feature Gillespie’s classic Afro-Cuban song “A Night in Tunisia.” Joining Berroa and the ensemble are College of DuPage Artists-in-Residence Andy Schlinder (sax), who has performed with many jazz luminaries and is a familiar performer at leading Chicago area jazz venues; Tim Coffman (trombone) who has performed with Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, Tito Puente, Al Jarreau and many others; Quentin Coaxum (trumpet) hailed for his “polished style and crystallized creativity” (Chicago Jazz Magazine); and Lara Driscoll (piano) known for “understated arrangements and meltingly delicious voicings” (DownBeat).

Director Shevitz shares, "Having an internationally renowned musician like Ignacio Berroa join the band is truly a thrill. His artistry and musicianship will be a treat for students and audience members to experience. I'm particularly looking forward to hearing him play the music of Chucho Valdes and Dizzy Gillespie!"

On the day of the performance, Friday, May 6 Berroa will hold a free masterclass for area jazz students from 4:30-5:45 p.m., in MAC Room 140. Berroa will discuss the history and evolution of Afro-Cuban music, examining and illustrating the ways in which Afro-Cuban rhythms have shaped jazz, and vice-versa addressing how certain African groups left their marks on the evolution of Afro-Cuban music. Students are encouraged to bring their instruments. The masterclass is free, but you must sign up in advance to attend. To sign up for the masterclass, please email shevitzm@cod.edu.

Born in 1953 in Havana, Cuba, Berroa began his musical education at the National School of Arts and continued at Havana’s famed National Conservatory. He began his professional career in 1972, and, by 1975, was Cuba’s most sought-after drummer. He left Cuba in 1980 to pursue his passion, American Jazz music during the Mariel Boatlift and settled in New York City. He soon met the Cuban musician Mario Bauzá, who introduced him to legendary Jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer, Dizzy Gillespie. In 1981, Gillespie invited Berroa to join his quartet, creating a musical association that would last until Gillespie’s death in 1993.

In 2007, Berroa formed his own quartet, and, on his very first recording as a leader, received a Grammy nomination, as well as the Danish Music Award for Best International Jazz Album. A leading innovator in the blending of Afro-Cuban and American jazz styles, Berroa was included on the 2011 Blue Note Records Compilation CD, “Jazz Drumming Legends,” which features some of the most renowned drummers in jazz history. In 2014, he released the critically acclaimed “Heritage and Passion” followed by the 2017 release of his trio album “Straight Ahead from Havana,” featuring standard tunes from the “Golden Era of Cuban popular music.”

Berroa has also shared his talent and knowledge as an author and renowned educator, having presented numerous clinics, master classes, and residencies at many of the most prestigious universities and institutions in the US and abroad. Berroa is the 2022 recipient of the Jazz Educational Network Award, LeJENds of Latin Jazz.

Shevitz, a jazz saxophonist, is assistant professor of music, leading the jazz ensembles at COD. He has been an in-demand musician in Chicago for nearly 20 years. Throughout his music career he has performed alongside internationally-renowned jazz musicians including Dick Hyman, Ignacio Berroa, Howard Levy, Frank Capp, Randy Sandke, Ken Peplowski, Byron Stripling, and Frank Wess as well as blues/roots rock guitarist Eric Lindell and Ropeadope Records artists Spare Parts., Shevitz has performed at such festivals and clubs as the Jazz in the Park Festival (in Milwaukee, Wisconsin), the Waterfront Blues Festival (Portland, Ore.), the Chicago Blues Festival, Lollapalooza, the House of Blues in Chicago, and as a featured artist for Oregon Festival of American Music (in Eugene, Ore.),and the Modlin Center for the Performing Arts (Richmond, Va.). Shevitz has published articles analyzing transcriptions of great jazz solos as well as jazz theory and effective practice habits. In 2009 Matt received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble performs programs throughout the academic year as well as numerous off‐campus performances. The ensemble has accompanied guest artists such as Fareed Haque, Jens Lindemann, Victor Garcia, and Mark Colby, is a frequent presence at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival, has performed at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, and in 2004 was recognized by the United States House of Representatives for its work on behalf of the Armed Forces Children’s Education Fund. Its repertoire spans more than a century of large jazz ensemble compositions, including original work from members of the ensemble.

DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble presents its spring concert 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 6 in the Belushi Performance Hall at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage. Tickets are $7. For tickets or more information, visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Sunday, 12 noon to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to performance.