O’Farrill Seeks Converts to Father’s Afro-Cuban Music
“For Chico O’Farrill, who focused on composing and orchestration as a bandleader instead of forging a solo career, the broad name recognition won by peers like Parker, Gillespie and John Coltrane, proved elusive.
“My father didn’t quite get his due,” Arturo O’Farrill said. “I always felt he was one of the great composers of the genre, not just in Latin jazz. His commercial success wasn’t quite what it should have been.”
Arturo O’Farrill took over the Afro-Cuban Orchestra from his father in 1995. He thought the band’s visibility problem had come to an end when Wynton Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, offered the group concert dates and a promotional boost.”
John McCain courting Daddy Yankee?
I’ve heard it all now!
“… Saturday, after returning to Washington, he huddled with a most unexpected celebrity: Latin pop king and reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, whose songs (which at times can be raunchy) have topped the music charts.”
Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble
Caribbean music and jazz have had close connections from the beginning of the last century. Composers and soloists from Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington to Chick Corea have been inspired by Juan Tizol, Chano Pozo and Mongo Santamaria. Gillespie widened the scope in the 90s with his United Nations Orchestra and in Chicago, the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble (CALJE) continues the multinational quest by incorporating Afro-Cuban Jazz, Brazilian Jazz, Flamenco, Central American and Peruvian folkloric rhythms into their compositions while staying true to Latin Jazz traditions. The CAJE was founded by Mexican born trumpeter/composer, Victor Garcia and Nicaraguan born pianist/composer, Darwin Alejandro Noguera.
Musica Latina 