GLOBAL | LOCAL MUSIC SERIES:
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
June 15, 7 pm, PS21 Pavilion Theater
8:15 pm: Post-Show Reception, Q & A with Arturo O’Farrill
ABOUT GLOBAL | LOCAL I:
The multi-Grammy winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) led by pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill, blends the drama of big band jazz, the richness of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world’s most accomplished instrumentalists.
For nearly twenty years, the ALJO has enchanted audiences around the globe with their interpretations of music by Tito Puente, Frank “Machito” Grillo, Chico O’Farrill, among other jazz legends, and expanded the boundaries of the genre by commissioning and premiering new work from Antonio Sánchez, Miguel Zenón, Dafnis Prieto, Guillermo Klein, Pablo Mayor, Michele Rosewoman, Emilio Solla, Papo Vázquez, Vijay Iyer, Arturo himself, and other composers. The orchestra melds the dual sensibilities of Arturo’s love of contemporary, improvisational jazz and the Latin Jazz traditions pioneered by his father, the legendary Chico O’Farrill.
ALJO’s 2023 release, Fandango At The Wall In New York, was awarded the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album, their eighth, and The New Yorker singled the orchestra out as “a powerhouse outfit whose precise section work is enhanced by thrilling soloists.”
PATHWAYS Artist Workshop: Pursuing his passion for sharing the vital musical traditions of Afro-Latin jazz with a wide audience and, especially, aspiring young musicians and enthusiasts, on Saturday, June 15, at 2 pm, O’Farrill will lead a percussion workshop for school-age children on the Pavilion Theater main stage, in partnership with Kids 4 Harmony.
For inquiries, please contact clare@ps21chatham.org
GLOBAL | LOCAL: Musical Worlds Meet at PS21
Our new season-long series features musicians from across the world and from our backyard. The series examines the intersection of two ideas: the continuing need to open our minds to international art and perspectives, and the growing importance of local community, place, and togetherness in an increasingly decentralized and digitized world. PS21 resides in a hotbed of creativity—the Hudson Valley—and many of its finest musicians will be presented alongside world-class international acts in this summer-long series.
ARTURO O’FARRILL
Arturo O’Farrill, pianist, composer, and educator, was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. He played piano in the Carla Bley Band and performed as a soloist with Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Belafonte, and others. In 2007, he founded the nonprofit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance to promote the performance, education, and preservation of Afro Latin music.
Arturo traveled to Cuba with the original Chico O’Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra in 2010, the first time his father’s musicians had returned to the O’Farrill homeland, and he continues to travel to Cuba regularly as an informal cultural ambassador, working with Cuban musicians, dancers, and students, and bringing local musicians from Cuba to the US and American musicians to Cuba.
A Blue Note recording artist, Arturo has received commissions from Meet the Composer, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Philadelphia Music Project, The Apollo Theater, and many others. His music has also been commissioned and adapted as scores for Ballet Hispanico, the Malpaso Dance Company, Evidence Dance Company, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company.
