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Sam Olluver

Brazilian Dreams, a Ray Charles tribute and a sizzling sextet are being served up in three great acts

PAQUITO D'RIVERA, John Scofield, Terence Blanchard: it is not only their respective instrumental skills that set these jazz giants apart, but also their individual moulding of diverse musical styles that have won them international respect.

Having to choose between them is not really an option for Hong Kong jazz fans - attendance at all three events is a must.

There can be few jazz exponents like Paquito D'Rivera  who is as happy winning awards for his single-reed playing as he is turning out original compositions - and not only in the jazz genre.

With his roots grounded in the classical clarinet, D'Rivera has also stamped his personality on to an impressive range of classical genres, including three chamber pieces which he recorded with cellist Yo-Yo Ma  in 2003.

Hailed as a child prodigy on both clarinet and saxophone in his native Havana, D'Rivera later enjoyed a spell as a conductor of modern Cuban orchestral music before forming Irakere,  his Latin American band.

Established principally in reaction to the stifling atmosphere of Fidel Castro's political regime, Irakere took the world by storm  by skilfully blending the best of jazz, rock and classical music with traditional Cuban sounds.

D'Rivera also fell in love with Brazilian music 40 years ago and that initial intensity has never waned. Brazilian Dreams, the Grammy-winning project which he brings to Hong Kong on March 10 and 11, provides the perfect vehicle for blending his instrumental quintet with the beguiling vocal quartet of the New York Voices.

Like the legendary Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 before them, the New York Voices have established themselves as leaders of this vocal art form and taken it to new heights.

The combination of Brazilian sensuality and D'Rivera's  sensibility is guaranteed to captivate. The jazz master's magnetism is summed up by America's National Public Radio: 'Some artists are so personable that the moment you hear them, you love them. That's Paquito D'Rivera.'

Guitarist John Scofield presents a contrasting programme with his tribute to Ray Charles on February 24 and 25. This will be no lightweight packaging of Charles's legacy of gems. Scofield has been a major influence in jazz for the past decade, but his earliest memories of Charles go back more than 40 years when he first heard Hit the Road, Jack on the radio. These early experiences of an artist of deep soulfulness and chameleon style were never to be forgotten.

In the intervening years, Scofield has rubbed shoulders with jazz legends such as Herbie Hancock, Gerry Mulligan, Chick Corea, Miles Davis and Gary Burton. It is not surprising that his style cannot be filed under one heading. Scofield pushes the boundaries of fusion, rock and blues, driven by improvisation.

In his Ray Charles tribute, Scofield is superbly supported by the varied backgrounds of his band members who bring a collective diversity to the rethinking of Charles's classics. Each number receives a distinctive recreation in the hands of the five players. Dean Bowman(vocals), Ruben Rodriquez (bass), Steve Hass (drums) and the multi-keyboard virtuoso Gary Versace, take each of Scofield's arrangements about as far as they can  go.

What could be bland copies of standards instead become magical makeovers.  Each performance is tantalisingly unpredictable, confirmed in Scofield's own words: 'It's a never-ending quest and adventure. The more improvised it is, the better. It's different every night.'

Terence Blanchard, one of the hottest jazz trumpeters around, rivals D'Rivera for versatility. Not only is he a seasoned jazz executant and composer, Blanchard also has more than 30  film scores to his credit.

But performing jazz remains central to his life, and his shows often transform intuitively into a  shared musical conversation with the audience. He  has a reputation for  crafting every number to perfection, stretching it until every nuance has been exhausted, often through his hallmark pinched notes, high-lying slurs and quasi-vocal wailing.

Drawing from his New Orleans roots and  the 15 years he spent as a revitalising force on the New York jazz scene, Blanchard is bringing his eclectic musical personality to Hong Kong for one show only on February 18.

Supporting members of his sextet are Brice Winston (saxophones), Lionel Loueke (guitar and vocals), Aaron Parks (piano), Derrick Hodge (acoustic/electric bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums), all renowned in their own right for their  skills and acknowledged by Blanchard for their 'very fluid way of playing'.



Legends who make all that jazz