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In recent years a tidal surge of extraordinary Caribbean musicians has transformed the American jazz scene. And near the beginning of that wave, from the Dominican Republic, was pianist and composer Michel Camilo. He returns to SFJAZZ for an intimate solo performance.

A virtuoso whose lightning two-handed runs and bravura rhythmic attack leave audiences shaking their heads in amazement, Camilo came to prominence shortly after settling in New York City in 1979. He has been widely recognized for his astounding technique, with a doctorate from Berklee, a Latin GRAMMY Award for the 2000 Verve album Spain and a 2004 GRAMMY in the Best Latin Jazz Album category for Live at the Blue Note.

Camilo’s high-profile collaborators over the years include Dizzy Gillespie, Michael Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Gary Burton, Tomatito, Anthony Jackson, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Dave Weckl and dozens more, and he has astounded SFJAZZ audiences as part of the summit meeting of Carribean pianists with Chucho Valdés and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, uniting on several occasions in recent years in tribute to the iconic Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.

For this incendiary evening of solo piano, Camilo will draw from his deep repertoire of originals, standards, and Afro-Cuban classics.