Jazz Articles about Bobby Porcelli

Gino Amato: Latin Crossroads

by Richard J Salvucci
October 24, 2024

The urge to take advantage of a successful commercial genre never really dies. Back in the 1960s, a studio orchestra nominally assembled by bandleader Glen Gray released a recording, Sounds of the Great Bands in Latin (Capitol, 1964). It took tunes like “Early Autumn" or “A String of Pearls" and added a “Latin" flavor with jazz enhancements. No doubt, this was an early recognition of the success of Cal Tjader. The vinyl may or may not have done well, but ...

Arturo O'Farrill: Four Questions

by Jerome Wilson
September 2, 2020

Surprisingly this set marks the first time Arturo O'Farrill has recorded a set of solely his own compositions. It was worth the wait because this music, played by his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, really demonstrates the cinematic sweep and variety of his writing. The set is constructed around two topical extended works. The first, “Four Questions," is based on four questions about the struggle for human rights and personal dignity first posed by African-American author W.E.B. DuBois in ...

Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra: Four Questions

by Jack Bowers
May 25, 2020

The Four Questions addressed by composer / pianist Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra on its latest album were first posed in 1903 by W.E.B. DuBois in his book The Souls of Black Folk and are answered herein by the esteemed educator / historian / social activist Dr. Cornel West. For the record, the questions are “what does integrity do in the face of adversity and oppression, what does honesty do in the face of lies and deception, what does ...

Bobby Porcelli Quintet at The Turning Point Cafe, NY

by David A. Orthmann
May 21, 2008

Bobby Porcelli Quintet The Turning Point Café Piermont, New York April 14, 2008

Every jazz fan knows the pitfalls of attending a casual club gig. The leader confers with the band and calls a string of too familiar tunes. A musician looks--and plays--as if he or she would prefer to be elsewhere. An hour-long set is comprised of seemingly endless solos by everyone on the bandstand. Sometimes it all adds up to nothing ...