Hilario Duran Trio

One of the world’s most innovative creators of Afro-Cuban music and Latin Jazz.

“Hilario Durán is an unparalleled pianist, as well as being a composer and arranger of the first order…one of the greatest Cuban pianists of the 20th century”. —Chucho Valdés

Hilario Durán is a mature piano virtuoso, who chooses the adventurous and orchestral approach to his instrument, influenced by his rich experience as composer and arranger. His trio with double bassist Roberto Occhipinti, the anchor of many classical, latin and jazz ensembles, and Mark Kelso, one of the world's best Latin drummers, fuses jazz with essential Cuban rhythms.

In the seventies Durán was Chucho Valdés' chosen successor in Cuba's most modern big band, Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. In the eighties he worked with Arturo Sandoval and Dizzy Gillespie, and since then he has toured the world with his own bands, and also performed with musicians as varied as Michel Legrand, Paquito D'Rivera, Jane Bunnett, Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez and Michael Brecker.

Hilario won the Canadian Juno and National Jazz Awards several times, is a

Grammy Award nominee and was recipient of the 2007 Chico O’Farrill Lifetime

Achievement Award. In 2009 he was named one of the 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians.

Duran’s formal music training, combined with a deep understanding of traditional Cuban music, as well as a love for jazz, allowed him to play a key role in the integration of Afro-Cuban music and jazz. Aside from the trio, he leads his own 20-piece Latin Jazz Big Band and was featured recently as a guest soloist and arranger by the WDR Big Band Cologne in a program of his own compositions.

The Hilario Durán Trio's seasoned musicians bring both spirit and soul to musical expression and while playing together their talents are released with explosive force. A true working trio, they have toured extensively in the US with notable performances in Rochester, Cleveland, New Orleans and New York