By Scott Yanow | Published September 2021
To celebrate the first anniversary of the “ALJA Digital Village” program, 10 compositions taken from more than 50 online concerts by the Arturo O’Farrill Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra have been released as Virtual Birdland. To the band’s great credit, the music sounds like it was recorded live rather than remotely.
O’Farrill’s “Gulab Jamon” opens the set with dense and rather wild ensembles occasionally leavened by a classical fanfare. The celebratory Moroccan dance music of “Pouvoir” has the orchestra joined by the voices of Malika Zarra and includes a fine solo from trombonist Mariel Bildsten, and the prominent congas of Keisel Jimenez. “Desert” is a modern-day caravan with trombonist Rafi Malkiel and trumpeter Seneca Black leading the way, while Larry Willis’ “Nightfall” takes one through the excitement and occasional danger of an urban jungle.
Virtual Birdland: Gulab Jamon; Pouvoir; Desert; Nightfall; Ana Mashoof; Samba For Carmen; Alafia; En La Oscuridad; Cimarron; Para Los. (68:15)
Personnel: Adam O’Farrill, Seneca Black, Bryan Davis, Walter Cano, Rachel Therrien, Kai Sandoval, trumpet, flugelhorn; Rafi Malkiel, euphonium; Mariel Bildsten, Abdulrahman Amer, Xito Lovell, Ben Barnett, trombone; Earl McIntyre, bass trombone, tuba; James Rogers, bass trombone; Alejandro Aviles, Adison Evans, Roman Filiu, Ivan Renta, Jasper Dutz, Jeremy Powell, Livio Almeida, Larry Bustamante, woodwinds; Arturo O’Farrill, piano; Bam Bam Roriguez, bass; Vince Cherico, drums; Keisel Jimenez, congas; Carly Maldonado, percussion; Malika Zarra, voice (2); Gili Sharett, bassoon (3); Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulafi, guitar, vocal (4); Sulaiman Mayouf Mejally, Dbdulaziz Al Hamli, Abdulwahab Al-Hamil, Khaled Bunashi, Ghanem Salem, percussion (4); Paquito D’Rivera, alto saxophone (5); Richard Miller, guitar (5); Everton Isidoro, Gustavo Di Dalva, percussion (7).
Ordering Info: zohomusic.com
