Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Arturo O'Farrill: Live in Brooklyn

Arturo O'Farrill: Live in Brooklyn

By AAJ Staff
June 8, 2005
View read count

This Latin-flavored live date (recorded in August, 2003 at Brooklyn's Up Over Jazz Café) features the pianist son of Chico O'Farrill—now a successful forty-something small and big bandleader in his own right—in a relatively straight-ahead trio setting with bassist Andy Gonzalez and drummer Dafnis Prieto. There's no mistaking the liveness or spontaneity of invention here, and while you might expect these New Yorkers of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent to light a few bonfires along the way, they stick to a relatively cerebral and controlled path. That's not to say the clave doesn't run through much of this material, but its rhythmic aspects tend to be understated, and swing is just as important.

Gonzales' "Vieques" works a light, syncopated groove organized around a hinge-like bass motif; two Carla Bley pieces explore dramatic insistence and reflective withdrawal. Listen to an extended eleven-minute version of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" for rich, swirling undercurrents and group interplay. The much softer Silver and Ellington ballads tend to drag a bit, sounding at times over-intellectual, but Monk's very perky "Well You Needn't" closes out the set with hearty enthusiasm from all, including plenty of off-kilter, bouncing ricochets.

Overall these performances are very crisply recorded, revealing considerable maturity and strength from each player, but parts come across a little cold and dry.

Track Listing

Vieques; Walking Batterie Woman; Peace; Footprints; Utviklinsang; In a Sentimental Mood; Well You Needn't.

Personnel

Arturo O'Farrill

piano

Arturo O'Farrill: piano; Andy Gonzalez: bass; Dafnis Prieto: drums.

Album information

Title: Live In Brooklyn | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Zoho Music

About Arturo O'Farrill

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Free Style
< Previous

Neophonic Impressions
Next >

Arturo O'Farrill Concerts

Oct 3 Sat

Arturo O'Farrill Quintet

Blues Alley
Washington, DC

Oct 4 Sun

Arturo O'Farrill Quintet

Blues Alley
Washington, DC

Oct 4 Sun

Arturo O'Farrill Quintet

Blues Alley
Washington, DC

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.