WPRO News
Several hundred Newport school children gathered at the Casino Theatre on Bellevue Avenue to celebrate International Jazz Day and to watch a performance by jazz pianist Danilo Perez.
Perez, a Grammy Award winning musician from Panama says Jazz is a music that brings people together.
“Jazz is hope, it’s a great therapy, you [wouldn’t] need so many doctors if we bring more jazz into people’s houses,” said Perez with a laugh.
The show was sponsored by Salve Regina University and the Newport Festival Foundation. The Foundation’s Education Director Deborah Ross says experiencing live music is a sensation like no other.
“They start playing a song, the kids start tapping their feet; you don’t do that when you’re sitting and listening to your music through your earplugs,” said Ross.
Perez picked up on Ross’s explanation, describing an experience during his performance.
“One of the greatest surprises of the day was when without being prompted to do anything, I started playing the piano and [the kids] got in with me in a beat; those things are magical to me, I will always remember that.”
