Song for Chico (Zoho Records), Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra’s 2008 release that pays tribute to the pianist’s bandleader father, the late Chico O'Farrill, has been named Latin Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. The organization, an international collective of more than 400 writers, editors, photographers, broadcasters, filmmakers, educators and media professionals, handed out its annual awards, covering more than 40 categories, on Tuesday, June 16th, at the Jazz Standard in New York.
“Winning the Jazz Journalist award is a beautiful thing,” said O’Farrill upon learning of the honor. “To receive acknowledgment from the nation’s best journalists in the arts is a deep honor that we don’t take lightly.” The JJA award follows Song for Chico's win, earlier this year, of the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. Said JJA’s Howard Mandel, “Arturo O’Farrill’s recording with his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra exemplifies the best of Latin jazz, with its complicated but propulsive and instantly engaging rhythms, dramatic and memorable melodies, colorful arrangements, expertly tight ensemble playing and exciting solos. The album sounds thoroughly up-to-date and also seems likely to be enduringly timeless. It's fun to listen to, and probably to dance to (though I haven't yet tried). It's good for the ears, the mind, the body and the spirit. It’s jazz that flows from and with the rich tradition of Afro-Caribbean music, which has been a winning combination since the beginning, when Jelly Roll Morton stipulated that good jazz must partake of a Latin tinge.”
The second release by the Orchestra, following 2005’s Grammy-nominated Una Noche Inolvidable, Song for Chico spotlights eight brassy vamps, among them O’Farrill’s take on “Caravan,” the classic most often associated with Duke Ellington; the swinging “Song for Chico,” written by Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto; and two of Chico’s own compositions, the mambo-tempo “Cuban Blues” and the moody, bluesy ballad “The Journey.”
Song for Chico received universal acclaim from jazz scribes upon its release. JazzTimes magazine raved that Arturo O’Farrill “pays homage to the elder’s brand of post-war Latin jazz while bringing to it a decidedly modern sass,” while All Music Guide noted, “Chico O’Farrill would be very pleased with this outstanding date by his talented son Arturo.”
Arturo O'Farrill
Born in Mexico and raised in New York City, Arturo O’Farrill boasts a career that stretches back some three decades. Having built his chops working with such jazz greats as Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Carla Bley and Lester Bowie, he became the music director of Chico’s Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra in 1995. Arturo began recording as a leader later in that decade, and has also contributed music to the soundtracks of several major films. O’Farrill has also served as a jazz educator, teaching master classes, seminars and workshops throughout the world.
Since 2007, O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra have worked under the auspices of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, a not-for-profit organization created by O’Farrill and committed to making Afro-Latin music accessible to all audiences.
“Winning the Jazz Journalist award is a beautiful thing,” said O’Farrill upon learning of the honor. “To receive acknowledgment from the nation’s best journalists in the arts is a deep honor that we don’t take lightly.” The JJA award follows Song for Chico's win, earlier this year, of the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. Said JJA’s Howard Mandel, “Arturo O’Farrill’s recording with his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra exemplifies the best of Latin jazz, with its complicated but propulsive and instantly engaging rhythms, dramatic and memorable melodies, colorful arrangements, expertly tight ensemble playing and exciting solos. The album sounds thoroughly up-to-date and also seems likely to be enduringly timeless. It's fun to listen to, and probably to dance to (though I haven't yet tried). It's good for the ears, the mind, the body and the spirit. It’s jazz that flows from and with the rich tradition of Afro-Caribbean music, which has been a winning combination since the beginning, when Jelly Roll Morton stipulated that good jazz must partake of a Latin tinge.”
The second release by the Orchestra, following 2005’s Grammy-nominated Una Noche Inolvidable, Song for Chico spotlights eight brassy vamps, among them O’Farrill’s take on “Caravan,” the classic most often associated with Duke Ellington; the swinging “Song for Chico,” written by Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto; and two of Chico’s own compositions, the mambo-tempo “Cuban Blues” and the moody, bluesy ballad “The Journey.”
Song for Chico received universal acclaim from jazz scribes upon its release. JazzTimes magazine raved that Arturo O’Farrill “pays homage to the elder’s brand of post-war Latin jazz while bringing to it a decidedly modern sass,” while All Music Guide noted, “Chico O’Farrill would be very pleased with this outstanding date by his talented son Arturo.”
Arturo O'Farrill
Born in Mexico and raised in New York City, Arturo O’Farrill boasts a career that stretches back some three decades. Having built his chops working with such jazz greats as Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Carla Bley and Lester Bowie, he became the music director of Chico’s Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra in 1995. Arturo began recording as a leader later in that decade, and has also contributed music to the soundtracks of several major films. O’Farrill has also served as a jazz educator, teaching master classes, seminars and workshops throughout the world.
Since 2007, O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra have worked under the auspices of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, a not-for-profit organization created by O’Farrill and committed to making Afro-Latin music accessible to all audiences.
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