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HOME GAMES Hilario Duran and Caché shake up the Irie Festival at Queen’s Park Monday (August 6). Free. www.iriemusicfestival.com.
NICKNAME “They call me Hilario ‘Con Tumbao’.”
POSITION Piano and all sorts of keyboards, including accordion.Also plays clarinet in B-flat, congas and double bass.
TEAM MEMBERS Performs with different band configurations. Monday’s show features a trio with Roberto Occhipinti (bass) and Mark Kelso (drums).
ROOKIE YEAR Started playing piano by ear at age nine on a white Marshall & Wendell piano. First performance for an audience happened in high school, while Duran was studying at Havana’s Conservatory of Music. “The teachers always complained because I used to make noisy jams between classes. They’d punish me by sending me to the principal.”
LEAGUE Afro-Cuban jazz. “I’m influenced by modern jazz and contemporary harmonies, but I always follow my Cuban roots.”
STATS Selected credits include From The Heart (2006, Juno winner, Grammy nomination), Encuentro En La Habana (2005), New Danzon (2005, Juno winner), Hilario Duran & Havana Remembered (2002). Multiple National Jazz Awards.
SPECIAL TALENTS Conducts orchestras and produces recordings.
