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"... embraces an amazing harmonic vision that forms a stunning hybrid of improvisational music from the west with the amazing discipline of the European classical form. An incredible work!" - CriticalJazz.com "... highly plotted, superarticulate, breezily ambitious ... a distillation of ideas developed over roughly the last 15 years ... mingling elements of classical form, jazz flexibility and Latin-American folk melody -- it’s impressive for both its design and its execution ..." - The New York Times "Pérez combines Panamanian, European, Latin-Hispanic, and Native Central American styles into a beautifully coherent musical feast, using two iconic jazz trios, strings, percussion, and native instruments, chants, and narratives ... the result is musical magic and wonder ..." - All About Jazz In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama, becoming the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean and founding the first permanent European settlement in the Americas. Those events continue to resonate five centuries later as Panama celebrates the landmark anniversary. On this 2014 release, Danilo Pérez adds his voice to the tributes with a stunning portrait of his native land, its storied history, rich culture and fierce struggles. Panama 500 is Pérez’s most ambitious project to date, the furthest evolution yet of what the pianist/composer calls “three-dimensional music.” To realize his expansive vision for this music, Pérez pulled together a host of musicians from his various endeavors. The album features both of his longest-running rhythm sections: trio mates Ben Street and Adam Cruz; as well as bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, with whom Pérez works in the acclaimed Wayne Shorter Quartet. “There’s a specific spectrum of language that I’ve developed with both trios. With Ben and Adam, we use Latin American vocabularies to connect closer with jazz and to expand on the idea of clave. And with John and Brian, it’s that language that we’ve developed playing with Wayne over the years that is indescribable. There’s a zero-gravity component to it, where things come out of nowhere. I have been working for years to make music that has an identity very similar to the role that Panama plays in the world. It’s a place where a lot of influences from all over the world come together.” - Danilo Pérez