
Paquito D’Rivera -Beef, Beans and Benny (Goodman)
From Classical Music Happy Hour by WNYC, WQXR
May 20, 2026 · 28 min · Episode 12
About this episode
Paquito D’Rivera discusses his musical journey and performs in-studio.
Paquito D’Rivera is composer, saxophonist and clarinetist whose work spans classical, jazz and latin music. Born in Havana, Cuba, D’Rivera started his career playing with the National Theater Orchestra at the age of 10 and has been on stage for seven decades. During their chat, Paquito and Manny discuss what beef and beans have to do with Benny Goodman playing Carnegie Hall, what kind of music teacher his father was, and all things clarinet. He also joins Manny for an in-studio performance of one of his compositions. In our game, Manny and Paquito decide if a sound is made by a musical instrument or an animal.
People in this episode
Host: Manny
Guest: Paquito D’Rivera
Topics covered
- classical music
- jazz
- Latin music
- interview
- performance
- music education
Keywords
- Paquito D’Rivera
- Benny Goodman
- Carnegie Hall
- saxophonist
- clarinetist
- music teacher
- performance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: National Theater Orchestra
Places: Havana, Cuba, Carnegie Hall
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