Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO)

Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO)
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
  • country:USA
  • region:New York City
  • style(s):Big Band, Afro Jazz
  • label:Blue Note Records
  • type:Small Ensemble, Big Band, Large Ensemble
  • instrumentation:instrumental, percussion, brass, salsa and latin band, piano
  • artist posted by:Afro Latin Jazz Alliance

The multi Grammy-award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO), led by pianist, composer, and Artistic Director Arturo O’Farrill, blends the drama of big band jazz, the culture of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the world’s most accomplished solo musicians. Fifteen years of critically acclaimed performances internationally have firmly established the ALJO as a standard-bearer.

Their innovative repertoire pushes the genre forward, reflecting Arturo’s dual sensibilities of contemporary, improvisational jazz, honed by his work with the likes of Carla Bley, Lester Bowie and Dizzy Gillespie, with the Latin Jazz traditions pioneered by his father, the legendary Chico O’Farrill. ALJO has collaborated with and performed the compositions of noted artists like Antonio Sanchez, Miguel Zenon, Dafnis Prieto, Randy Weston, Letieres Leite, Michele Rosewoman, Lionel Loueke, Papo Vazquez, Vijay Iyer, and many others, including Arturo himself.

The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (ALJE), is a smaller format group of the ALJO. Their repertoire pulls both from that of the orchestra as well as material composed for the smaller format, in particular drawing from special projects and collaborations like the upcoming “Raices & Corrientes – The Arabic Roots of Afro Latin Jazz” with Moroccan Composer and Vocalist Malika Zarra and their existing partnership with Malpaso Contemporary Dance from Cuba, with whom they have often performed