NEW YORK (www.michelcamilo.com) - Last year, Michel Camilo was looking forward to having things slow down for a while. Then he won a GRAMMY and in January released his first-ever solo recording to astounding critical acclaim. 'Now I don't know when it's going to let up,' said the Latin jazz piano virtuoso and composer. 'I'm not complaining though. I'm thrilled to have so many opportunities to share my music with fans all over the world.'

Camilo launches his World Tour on April 5th with a series of dates at New York's jazz shrine, the Blue Note. It is a schedule packed with a diversity of venues, musical collaborators and genres. 'Some weeks we'll be playing intimate jazz clubs for a couple of hundred people, and other weeks we will be playing huge festivals,' said Camilo.

Critical raves for Camilo's latest Telarc release 'Solo' have been building for months. Downbeat magazine called it 'exhilarating,' and Dave Gelly from London's The Observer wrote: '(Solo) is a revelation'.

For an artist who likes to 'mix things up,' 2005 is shaping up to be an exciting challenge. The year began with three sold-out performances in Spain with Camilo performing the music of George Gershwin with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. 'It's wonderful to be swimming in all these different worlds … solo, duo, trio, big band and symphony,' Camilo said. 'To go from the intimacy of a solo performance to the explosiveness of the big band to the technical challenge of symphony performances is a thrill for me. All of my sounds will be there, compressed into one year.'

Highlights will include concerts in Zurich, Istanbul and Vienna, performances with his 17-piece big band in the Canary Islands, festival appearances in Holland and Germany, and a special concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where Camilo will be performing his own 'Concerto for Piano & Orchestra' with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Camilo will also be performing at the recently opened Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York on June 17th, as part of the JVC Jazz Festival.
The complete Michel Camilo tour listing is on the web at http://www.michelcamilo.com.