A Bite From The Apple - Nueva York - TA: New Yrok

Latin Beat Magazine, Oct, 1999 by Vicki Sola

It was a most memorable afternoon recently when Arturo O'Farrill appeared as guest on my radio program. We discussed many things, including his first solo release, Blood Lines (Milestone), and his upcoming performances at West Broadway's Caviarteria.

O'Farrill spoke of his using two bassists, Andy González and George Mraz, on his new release, explaining, "My concept was to play Latin music in a simple, typical style. It's also a jazz album, so I brought in Mraz." O'Farrill voiced high praise for another player on his production, saying, "I think the anchor behind the album is the incredible Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, who is probably one of the few people in the world -- I think there are three or four -- who can really switch and maintain Latin identity in jazz...he has that salsa."

Jerry González plays also in the album, as well as O'Farrill's good friend Papo Vásquez, who wrote two tunes and also collaborated with O'Farrill on another. O'Farrill is responsible for most of the arrangements on Blood Lines. Vásquez wrote the arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona's Siboney, a classic that pianist O'Farrill characterizes as representing "the soul of Cuba." "I tried to give it a very laid back slant, very loving and tender," he added.

Arturo O'Farrill, the eponymous son of legendary composer, arranger, and conductor Chico O'Farrill, currently serves as musical director for his father's band, Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Band, which will be celebrating this month its two year mark as Birdland's regular Sunday band. Members include Papo Vásquez, Andy González, Michael Phillip Mossman, Roland Guerrero, Joe González, and on drums, either Robbie Ameen, Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, and Phoenix Rivera. "Week in, week out," O'Farrill says, "this band, this same group, is swinging heavily... it consists of good practitioners of the craft."

O'Farrill has been quoted as saying that "there is nothing like a big band." When I asked him to elaborate, he explained, "In terms of decibel level, you don't need a thousand mikes. The power is there. It comes from the air, the lips, from physical movements...something gets lost in the process of amplification. With a big band, you can hear clarity and detail because of the acoustics involved."

He added that in Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music, "there isn't a real precedence for Machito, Mario Bauzá and the truly 18 to 20-piece big band. For that to be in existence right now, and maintained to the high level is truly a privilege and honor for me to be part of and to direct, especially because the music of Chico is so profound. Every night I marvel at what we're playing. When it swings, it's got the marvel of the construction, the intellect of Chico, the beauty, the power, and the grace of the swing of this Afro-Cuban [music]...I just get goose pimples."

The reverence, admiration, respect, and love that he feels for his father was evident throughout our interview. I was extremely moved.

"What was it like," I asked, "growing up the son of Chico O'Farrill?"

"We had people in my house at all hours," O'Farrill replied, adding that he didn't know at the time that such visitors were musically special. "I didn't realize at the time that they were Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Miguelito Valdés, Mario Bauzá, Jon Hendricks. I didn't know them as world-famous, world-class musicians. I knew them as very interesting people with very strange behavior patterns, which I found extremely interesting," he laughingly commented.

When did he realize that his own dad was a "big shot"? "I started doing jingles at an early age," O'Farrill began to declare, "and periodically some of the jingle players -- studio musicians, by the way, are also my heroes because they're incredible musicians -- and every now and then, one of them would say, 'Arturo, do you know who your father is? He's a great man, a great arranger!' When people whom I respected started telling me that, I said, Wow, he must be really heavy!"

The younger O'Farrill was born in Mexico City and grew up in New York City. Did his father wish for his children to become involved in the business? Arturo replied that his mother had clipped a Downbeat article from the fifties where Chico O'Farrill stated emphatically that he would not like to see his children as musicians. The younger O'Farrill, now a father of two young sons, shares this sentiment, but adds: "You can't control this stuff. Once it's in your blood, it's out of control." Hence Blood Lines, I concluded. We both nodded, laughing.

Chico O'Farrill wrote and arranged for Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Glen Miller, Dizzy Gillespie, and Machito, the latter of whom played a profound role in what was to be a poignant turning point in the young Arturo's own musical career.

"I love Machito. To me he is an angel, a Godsend. He was the person who really gave me an opportunity to play," he said. "I was a bicycle messenger in New York City, about 16 or 17. I was playing professionally, but nowhere, in no big circle. It was one of those days. It was raining hard, and I had smacked my knee against a side rearview mirror," he recalled, with pain actually visible on his face. "I was crying, at the side of the road, just miserable. I picked myself up and started back on my route delivering packages and letters...and I ran into Machito and [his wife] Hilda. Macho asked, 'What are you doing out here? Forget it, man. You're gonna play with my band!' He took me to play with Dizzy at the Monterey Jazz Festival, to conduct his band. Macho was for me one of the greatest, biggest hearts in any field of show business and humanity."