Son of the Cuban composer Chico O’Farrill, the pianist Arturo O’Farrill leads the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, a multiple Grammy-winning New York big band and flag-bearer of contemporary Latin jazz. This live concert, filmed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam on 8 July 2016, brings the full ensemble together: a saxophone section, trumpet and trombone desks, bass, drums and Afro-Cuban percussion (bongos, congas). A high-quality recording, the video highlights the richness of the arrangements, between the mambo and cha-cha-cha tradition and ambitious jazz writing, in the lineage of Tito Puente and Machito whom the orchestra revisits. The soloists’ improvisations converse with the powerful brass riffs, while the Afro-Caribbean rhythm section lays down an irresistible pulse. At North Sea Jazz, one of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals, the orchestra demonstrates the full vitality of the large Latin format. An essential full concert for fans of Afro-Cuban jazz, big band and live orchestral energy.
Personnel & credits
- Arturo O'Farrill — piano, direction
- David Bixler — saxophone alto
- David DeJesus — saxophone alto
- Chad Lefkowitz-Brown — saxophone ténor
- Iván Renta — saxophone ténor
- Larry Bustamante — saxophone baryton
- Section cuivres (trompettes, trombones) + basse, batterie, bongos, congas
