ARTURO O’FARRILL

     Arturo O’Farrill was born on June 22, 1960 in Mexico City and grew up in New York City. Educated at the Manhattan School of Music and the Brooklyn College Conservatory, O’Farrill performed with the Carla Bley Big Band from 1979 through 1983. He then went on to develop as a solo performer and sideman with a wide array of artists including Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Papo Vasquez, The Fort Apache Band, Lester Bowie, and Harry Belafonte. In 1995, O’Farrill agreed to direct the band that preserved much of his father’s music, Chico O’Farrill’s Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, which has been in residence at New York City’s Birdland for the past few years as well as touring worldwide.

     Besides recording two albums as a leader for Milestone Records, Bloodlines and A Night in Tunisia, he has appeared on numerous records, including the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed movie Calle 54. A widely respected educator, O’Farrill states, “I’m always looking for opportunities to transcend international or racial boundaries.” He has participated in numerous Jazz at Lincoln Center events, including a January 2000 lecture on the Latin Jazz Rhythm Section and the 2001 Awards Gala & Benefit Concert “The Spirit of Tito Puente,” where he accepted the annual J@LC Artistic Achievement Award on behalf of his father.