Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra - Fandango at the Wall A Soundtrack for the United States - Fandango at the Wall: A Soundtrack for the United States, Mexico and Beyond (RESILIENCE MUSIC ALLIANCE 2018)

Arturo O’Farrill Journeys to the U.S.-Mexico Border

to Erase Artificial Dividing Lines to Envision a Future

of Inclusion and Collaboration Between Nations

Fandango at the Wall:

A Soundtrack for The United States, Mexico and Beyond –

Available September 28 on Resilience Music Alliance

Inspired by the Fandango Fronterizo Festival,

O’Farrill and Kabir Sehgal Bring Together the

Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra with over 60 Musicians

including Mandy Gonzalez, Regina Carter, Akua Dixon,

Antonio Sanchez & Young People’s Chorus of New York

Arturo O’Farrill

From the barrage of “breaking news” alerts on the 24-hour news cycle to the incessant buzz and chirp of social media, there’s no shortage of reminders of the things that divide us: walls being built, lines being drawn, the notion of “difference” being wielded as a political weapon.

That’s what makes an artist like Arturo O’Farrill such an important voice for these times. As a pianist, composer, bandleader, educator, activist, and founder of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, O’Farrill has dedicated his life to not only crossing artificial borders but to erasing them in his wake. With his latest project, Fandango at the Wall, O’Farrill has created a stunningly ambitious and profoundly moving work that showcases the rich fruits that can grow from common ground.

Fandango at the Wall, due out September 28 via Resilience Music Alliance, is the brainchild of O’Farrill and his longtime collaborator and GRAMMY® Award-winning producer, Kabir Sehgal. The project brings together brilliant voices from a variety of cultural and musical traditions to tear down a variety of walls that isolate us – physical, musical, or cultural. The piece was inspired by Jorge Francisco Castillo, a musician and retired librarian who has organized the Fandango Fronterizo Festival for the past decade. The annual event gathers son jarocho musicians on both sides of the border wall between Tijuana and San Diego for a celebratory jam session.

“I found that idea so touching and elegant in its activism,” O’Farrill recalls. “I held it inside my soul and spoke to everyone I could about my hope to join the Fandango Fronterizo and record at the border, bringing special guests and making it a true collaboration.”

O’Farrill’s esteemed Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Castillo’s son jarocho musicians came together at the border, joined by a more than 60 gifted musicians representing both sides of that divide as well as several of the countries targeted by President Trump’s travel ban: Broadway singer-actress Mandy Gonzalez (Hamilton, In the Heights); jazz greats Regina Carter (violin), Akua Dixon (cello), and Antonio Sanchez (drums); multi-talented Mexican violin trio The Villalobos Brothers; son jarocho greats Patricio Hidalgo, Ramón Gutiérrez Hernández, and Tacho Utréra; French-Chilean rapper-singer Ana Tijoux; Iraqi-American oud master Rahim AlHaj and his trio; Iranian sitar virtuoso Sahba Motallebi; and many others.

“Thinking about this awful, awful moment in history – not just American history but world history – I wanted to confront the darkness that has overcome all our lives,” O’Farrill says. “Faced with such stupidity and mediocrity, why not at least try to do something valuable? My first thought was to bring not just great artists but also people from marginalized nations. We understand that humanity and community are so much stronger than cultural constructs, physical walls, or geo-political borders. We saw this in action: we saw our people fall in love with their people and become one people.”

A bestselling author, investment banker, and military veteran, Sehgal helped transform O’Farrill’s long-held dream into a reality despite the logistical and political hurdles. Ultimately the project took on three forms: this astoundingly gorgeous album of music; a book on the history of the troubled U.S.-Mexico relationship with a foreword by renowned historian Douglas Brinkley and an afterword by former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young; and an in-production documentary focusing on the lives of the son jarocho musicians.

“It falls upon private citizens and individuals to promote cross-border friendship and rapprochement,”
Sehgal writes in his liner notes. “And that is ultimately the goal of Fandango at the Wall: to bring the people of the United States and Mexico together through music. After all, we don’t just share a border but families and friends, histories and futures. Our countries are interconnected, and our fates are interlinked.”

What is most striking about the music of Fandango at the Wall is that for all of the anger, frustration and strife that fueled its creation, it is an intensely joyous celebration that exults in the universal language of music. That notion has become a cliché, but it’s one that O’Farrill has always thrived on making vividly and unpredictably real. Hence the surprising hybrid of approaches on display: not just a mélange of world musics, but virtuosic jazz and striking contemporary classical approaches.

“It’s not just geopolitical borders that offend me,” O’Farrill explains. “It’s also cultural construct borders – the idea that there’s a high music and a low music, a high culture and a low culture. The belief that folk music isn’t as impressive or as important as jazz, or that Middle Eastern music isn’t valid because it’s not born in America. I wanted to destroy these walls, and in fact I found out that the presence of borders and walls and constructs serves an incredible purpose – it unites us in opposition even more than it divides us.”

Another border torn down by Sehgal and O’Farrill was the one between the pristine conditions of the recording studio and the thrilling festivities of the Fandango Fronterizo. Fandango at the Wall flows seamlessly between both settings, with five sessions undertaken in recording studios and outdoors at a live session straddling the border with music freely crossing back and forth.

“The most terrifying thing about being human is the fear of other people,” O’Farrill concludes. “Very few people have the freedom of spirit to embrace things they don’t understand. So I really love the idea that Mexican families who enjoy jarocho music will be introduced to the virtuosity of Regina Carter, or that hardcore jazzheads will discover Patricio Hidalgo. I’m hoping that people will listen to this album and whether or not they understand the words or enjoy the music, they’ll take a moment to think about human beings that are not like them.”

“Fandango at the Wall is ultimately a project of convergence,” Sehgal writes. “I hope that as you listen to this music, you’ll hear the possibilities of what the relationship between the United States and Mexico can become. And that we as artists and activists continue to create the world in which we want to live.”

Disc 1

1 Welcome to the Tijuana-San Diego Border de Arturo O’Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra 1:05

2 Xalapa Bang! de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Gregg August, Antonio Sánchez, Larry Bustamante 5:50

3 El Maquech de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Antonio Sánchez, Regina Carter, Rafi Malkiel, Alexa Tarantino, Akua Dixon 7:11

4 Somos Sur de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Frank Cohen, Abdulrahman Amer, Ana Tijoux 5:25

5 El Pijul de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Villalobos Brothers 5:15

6 Amor sin Fronteras de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Mandy Gonzalez, Regina Carter 4:10

7 Intro to Conga Patria de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra 0:48

8 Conga Patria de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Ivan Renta, Rafi Malkiel, Ramón Gutiérrez Hernández, Patricio Hidalgo, Fernando Guadarrama Olivera, Tacho Utrera, Wendy Cao, Jacob Hernandez, Alfredo Herrera (Godo), Gabriel Garcia 5:45

9 Invisible Suite: Invisible Cities de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Regina Carter 7:34

10 Invisible Suite: Free Falling Borderless de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra 6:20

11 Invisible Suite: Invisible Beings de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Gregg August, Vince Cherico, Seneca Black 5:15

12 Intro to Fly Away de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra 0:33

13 Fly Away de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Rahim AlHaj Trio 8:29

14 Giulia de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Ramón Gutiérrez Hernández 2:05

15 Bemba y Tablao de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Patricio Hidalgo 3:01

16 Identidades Mestizas de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Fernando Guadarrama Olivera 2:33

17 Cielito Lindo de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Regina Carter, Jorge Francisco Castillo, Humberto Flores 2:27

Disc 2

1 Welcome to the Fandango by Jorge Castillo de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra 2:36

2 El Siquisiri de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Jorge Francsico Castillo, Tacho Utrera, Wendy Cao 6:59

3 El Cascabel de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Ramón Gutiérrez Hernández, Fernando Guadarrama Olivera, Patricio Hidalgo, Tacho Utrera, Wendy Cao 6:28

4 Tabla Rasa de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Rahim AlHaj, Sahba Motallebi, Sourena Sefati, Jim Seeley 7:54

5 Cupido de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Ramón Gutiérrez Hernández 2:52

6 Hummingbird Blues de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Zenen Zeferino, Claudia Montes, Julia Del Palacio, Alejandro Aviles 4:00

7 La Bamba de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Ramón Gutiérrez Hernández, Patricio Hidalgo, Fernando Guadarrama Olivera, Tacho Utrera 2:24

8 Jaiicasosebaim Noone de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Jim Seeley, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Ivan Renta 7:28

9 Guanabana de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra 2:19

10 Minotauro de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Antonio Sánchez, Alejandro Aviles 7:28

11 La Morena de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Fernando Guadarrama Olivera, Ramón Gutiérrez Hernández 5:46

12 El Pájaro Cú de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Patricio Hidalgo, Tacho Utrera, Wendy Cao 2:37

13 Up Against the Wall de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Patricio Hidalgo, Alexa Tarantino, Ivan Renta 5:06

14 Las Patronas de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Patricio Hidalgo 3:03

15 Son de las Poblanas de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Fernando Guadarrama Olivera 3:46

16 Line in the Sand de Arturo O'Farrill, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. Mandy Gonzalez 2:44

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Allan Harris - The Genius of Eddie Jefferson (RESILIENCE MUSIC ALLIANCE 2018)

With his gruff, gravelly voice, his penchant for hep cat diction, and the serpentine bebop turns of his vocalese creations, the late Eddie Jefferson might not seem the ideal match for a classic romantic crooner like Allan Harris. The Brooklyn-born singer has previously paid homage to the songs of Billy Strayhorn and Nat King Cole, repertoire that seems like a more ideal fit.

Until embarking on the project that became The Genius of Eddie Jefferson, Harris would have agreed wholeheartedly with that assessment. “In my wildest dreams I never imagined I’d tackle Eddie Jefferson’s material,” he admits. “But once I started to sit down with his material and delve into what he was singing, it blew all of my stereotypes and prejudices out the window. How wrong I had been over the years not to give this incredible genius credit.”

Not only did Harris discover the depth of Jefferson’s estimable talents and innovations, but he found his own way into Jefferson’s idiosyncratic takes on the classic solos of jazz giants like Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins. The Genius of Eddie Jefferson, due out May 4 on Resilience Music Alliance, is an ideal blend of Harris’ rich, beguiling baritone and Jefferson’s bantering cool. The album follows Harris into adventurous new territory, at once embracing the challenge and making these bop classics as embracing and celebratory as his takes on jazz standards and swooning ballads.

Harris didn’t take the plunge alone. Though he’d previously covered Jefferson’s most famous piece, “Moody’s Mood For Love,” he needed to plunge deeply into the singer’s catalogue and methodology. Harris worked closely with pianist Eric Reed (Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride) and GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Brian Bacchus (Gregory Porter) to immerse himself in the tricky contours of Jefferson’s work. “It was daunting,” Harris says. “Sometimes it seemed like I was taking a master class at MIT. But I wanted to grow as a jazz vocalist -- I’ve done the American Songbook. No one has really tackled a full project of Eddie Jefferson’s with the type of voice that I have, and I wanted to get it exact.”

It helps to have a band that can provide the ebullient swing and fierce chops that can drive the tunes that Jefferson built his creations upon, and Reed assembled an ideal one: bassist George DeLancey (Houston Person, Tia Fuller), drummer Willie Jones III (Roy Hargrove, Arturo Sandoval), and tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore (Kevin Eubanks, Freddie Hubbard). The band is joined by special guest saxophonist Richie Cole, who worked closely with Jefferson in the singer’s final years, up to the night of his tragic death outside Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit.

“To have Richie Cole there was a blessing from above,” says Harris. “His knowledge of what Eddie was doing was paramount because he was right there beside him. He not only gave me a pat on the back that was sorely needed, but he gave me a few pointers and a kind of permission to open things up a little bit to what I’m about.”

In his liner notes, writer and musician Greg Tate compares Jefferson to such pioneering hip-hop lyricists as KRS One and Public Enemy’s Chuck D, poets of the vernacular who could combine urban jargon and socially pointed messages. Harris agrees, saying, “Eddie Jefferson used the guise of his street language to create some really wonderful English literature on that stuff. Because his voice was so streetwise and rough, until you really listen to him in depth you don't understand that he was very erudite in his lyrical value. He didn't just rely on nursery rhyme rhythms and prose. He really dealt in some really hip street stuff.”

He also celebrated the jazz musicians whose work he was repurposing, often painting musical portraits of these legends through his lyrics, as on the album’s opening track, “So What.” Following the lines of Davis’ classic solo, he recounts a famous incident in which both the trumpeter and then-sideman John Coltrane left the stage mid-performance, deciding they needed a bit of extra rehearsal before resuming the show. Harris’ rendition is soulful and warm, vividly capturing the vintage nightclub atmosphere.

For all his protestations, Harris has no problem with bringing the grit and funky edge to Horace Silver’s “Sister Sadie” and “Filthy McNasty,” or tearing his way through a blistering Lester Young solo on “Lester’s Trip to the Moon.” At the same time, he brings a heartbreaking tenderness to the classic “Body and Soul” and a down-home blues to “Memphis.” He courses along with bop vitality on Dexter Gordon’s lively “Dexter Digs In” and Charlie Parker’s gymnastic runs on “Billy’s Bounce.” His romantic soul emerges on Duke Pearson’s lament “Jeannine,” while Cole’s “Waltz for a Rainy Bebop Evening” is a wistful reflection on the music’s rich legacy.

Despite his initial reluctance, taking on Jefferson’s oeuvre has made an indelible mark on Harris as a singer. “This has tainted me,” he says. “This feels so good, like reaching a high. Doing Eddie Jefferson’s music has taken me out of the arena of being just the guy singing jazz standards in front of a smoking band, to feeling like a part of the band. It would be hard now for me to turn back.”

1 So What 3:59

2 Sister Sadie 4:09

3 Dexter Digs In 3:31

4 Billy's Bounce 3:53

5 Body and Soul 4:30

6 Jeannine 4:18

7 Filthy McNasty 3:29

8 Lester's Trip to the Moon 3:51

9 Memphis 3:54

10 Waltz for a Rainy Bebop Evening 5:17