Above: Danilo Perez
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Panamanian pianist and jazz composer Danilo Perez will be named a United Nations Artist for Peace, the world body announced Monday.
The appointment came due to Perez’s efforts to promote music programmes for children living in extreme poverty in Panama, and due to his “dedication to the ideals and aims of the organization,” according to Irina Bokova, director general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
He has received a number of awards for his social work in Panama, including the key to the city of Panama.
His style of music is called Pan-American jazz.
Perez will officially receive the designation in Paris at UNESCO headquarters on Tuesday.
He is currently the director of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass.