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

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Free Style
< Previous

Neophonic Impressions
Next >

Arturo O'Farrill Concerts

Oct 4 Sat

Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Ensemble

California Center For The Arts, Escondido
Escondido, CA

Oct 9 Thu

Arturo O'farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

ShapeShifter Plus
Brooklyn, NY

Oct 10 Fri

Arturo O'farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

ShapeShifter Plus
Brooklyn, NY

Nov 14 Fri

Ephrat Asherie Dance With Arturo O'Farrill

Zellerbach Theatre
Philadelphia, PA

Nov 15 Sat

Ephrat Asherie Dance With Arturo O'Farrill

Zellerbach Theatre
Philadelphia, PA

May 8 Fri

Arturo O’Farrill: Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble

Zellerbach Theatre
Philadelphia, PA

May 9 Sat

Arturo O'Farrill

Tilles Center Concert Hall
Brookville, NY

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.