Grammy-Winning Jazz Pianist Arturo O’Farrill Comes To Forest Park
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Arturo O’Farrill, Ivan Renta, Raul Reyes, Vince Cherico, Takafumi Nikaido, Photo by Bob Dea
By Michael Perlman
Each summer, the historic George Seuffert, Sr. Bandshell, which debuted on June 15, 1924 in scenic Forest Park, becomes a magnet for sponsored concerts featuring music and dance spanning diverse genres, living up to Queens’ nickname as “The World’s Borough.” In more ways than one, it proves that quality time shared among multigenerational families, friends, young couples, and as a community is priceless.
As the sun set on July 23, the party was just beginning thanks to the musical brilliance of the Arturo O’Farrill Quintet starring pianist, bandleader, and composer Arturo O’Farrill, a six-time Grammy winner. The concert earned a memorable spot in the hearts and minds of attendees from nearby and afar, and reinforced Queens as an anchor on the Queens Jazz Trail map, where the borough’s role as a jazz center originated in 1923. The pictorial Queens-wide map features the “who’s who” of jazz legends, where some consist of Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Clarence Williams and Eva Taylor, Bix Beiderbecke, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Miller.
“Queens has one of the richest jazz histories in New York City, and it’s an honor to help keep that legacy alive right here in Forest Park,” said NYC Parks Forest and Highland Park Administrator Portia Dyrenforth. “The Queens Jazz Trail brings the borough’s incredible jazz history to life in a way that feels personal and immediate, right in the neighborhoods where these legends once lived. The George Seuffert, Sr. Bandshell has been part of this community for over a century, and it’s wonderful to see it filled with music again each summer. Arts and culture programming like this is exactly why we do this work, as it gives people a reason to gather, celebrate their history, and connect with their neighbors.”
Arturo O’Farrill, a native of Mexico City who was raised in NYC and resides in Putnam Valley, was very enthusiastic to perform in Queens and grateful to be recognized on the Jazz Trail concert series. In an interview, he graciously shared his concert experience, background, career pursuits, and goals. He explained, “As my wife and I were coming in, we were blown away by how beautiful that park is, and when we came upon the Bandshell, we were also blown away. It’s a very idyllic setting and a beautiful bandshell that’s very simple, and it is where beautiful people can gather to hear music. I discovered a new uncharted treasure in Queens.”
Arturo O’Farrill, Photo by Bob Dea
O’Farrill shared the highlights of his evening’s repertoire and its relevance. He played “Chinas y Criollas,” a much-loved piece composed by Rob Mounsey, an acclaimed keyboardist in pop and rock. “It’s about a famous attribute for NYC, which is the diversity. One of the most interesting proliferations about New York is its Chinese-Cuban restaurants, which I have seen throughout much of Queens. I wanted to pay tribute to this incredible population, which has a historical presence. There is also a large Chinatown in Havana. We are amplified when we are diverse,” said O’Farrill.
A highlight was “To Wisdom, the Prize,” which was composed by jazz pianist Larry, who was a member of Jerry González’s Fort Apache Band. “He is one of the real heroes and mentors of that meeting place between Latin and jazz,” said O’Farrill. Another memorable piece was “Picadillo” a composition by the late great Tito Puente. “I first heard it in the hands of composer and bandleader Eddie Palmieri. We lost him recently. I loved Eddie in a way that I don’t understand. He influenced me as a musician and a human being. In the past few months, we celebrated a street co-naming on 112th Street and Park Avenue in his honor, ‘Eddie Palmieri Way.’ I wanted to celebrate not just him, but the contribution that New York has made to Latin jazz.”
A very well-known piece was “Obsesion.” “Every Cuban, Puerto Rican, Latino person has heard it. It’s a standard. It is a lot of fun, since it is a Guaguancó, a really fast rhythm that people really love,” said O’Farrill in relation to the Cuban rumba subgenre.
He references himself as “The Bad Bunny of jazz.” “We play music from all over the Americas, such as Colombian and Peruvian. We played ‘Action and Reaction,’ which was composed by a wonderful and brilliant Brazilian saxophonist, Livio Almeida. I joke around a lot, since for a reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction; the first law of physics, which is also true in social interaction of day to day life,” said O’Farrill.
A highlight was “In Whom I Am Well Pleased.” “This is one of my compositions that I love to play, since it speaks to my commitment as a student and an educator,” said O’Farrill. He is a music professor at The New School and takes great pride in achieving his Master’s from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where his focus was jazz theory and composition. He has been refining the foundation for his students for 30+ years, and taught at nearly every CUNY institution visualized. “I’m really proud of CUNY and the fact that more Nobel Peace Prize winners have come from there than almost any other institution. My piece also speaks of my pride in musicians. Sometimes people don’t realize that there is often no employment. Musicians are incredibly enough people who have studied the equivalent of a doctoral degree, and enter a freelance field with no guarantees. Musicians are extraordinary heroes. I spent a lot of my life’s work shoring up young musicians, so they can continue the traditions that my father and I and my sons had the privilege of being a part of.”
Life becomes a continuous composition. In the 1940s and 1950s, his father, Chico O’Farrill, was an acclaimed composer, arranger, and conductor who played a significant role by integrating Afro Cuban rhythms into jazz. His wife is classical pianist Alison Deane, and they take pride in their two sons, Zack and Adam, who are musicians and collaborators. O’Farrill and his wife are High School of Music & Art alumni, and their sons are graduates of LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts.
At the Bandshell, O’Farrill played alongside Ivan Renta on tenor saxophone. “I feel he’s one of the greatest saxophonists in the world today. He played with a virtual ‘who’s who’ of jazz and Latin superstars,” said O’Farrill. Another member of the quintet was percussionist/conguero Takafumi Nikaido. “He is a gentleman of Japanese descent who plays with all the soul, power, and grace of an Afro Cuban,” he said. Also spotlighted was Vince Cherico, a drummer that O’Farrill has been working alongside for nearly 30 years. He explained, “I’ve performed on stage with him worldwide. He performs Afro Latin music in a very natural way. He comes from a long line of drummers.” Performer Raul Reyes is among the great bassists who descended from Cuba. “People don’t realize that Cuba has one of the highest levels of trained musicians in the world. It’s incredible how people who have generally been impoverished created such a rich history of education in the arts,” explained O’Farrill, who noted pianists, trumpet players, and bassists as a case in point.
Takafumi Nakaido on conga, Photo by Bob Dea
O’Farrill explained a particularly memorable moment of the evening. “A highlight was when I asked people to participate by learning patterns from each layer of drumming in the piece, ‘Picadillo.’ I broke up the audience into four groups. They not only participated with gusto, but got up and danced. I loved it when children also participated, since sometimes they’re uptight around adults, but they danced and felt the freedom. To see that many people dancing and enjoying that moment of unity, is certainly beyond words.” Referring to being given a rather short life, he said, “Our goal is to help bring dignity and joy to human beings, regardless of what they are experiencing.”
Advice was offered to aspiring young singers seeking a music career. He recalled life as a struggling musician with no guarantee. “The great actor Alan Cumming said it best when asked what it was like to receive a Tony Award: ‘If you don’t love your craft when you’re waiting on tables to support it, you won’t love it when you’re on stage accepting a Tony Award.’ Finding joy in the struggle is as important as finding joy in the reaping of the rewards of a career in music. Make as much joy in singing as you can before you get successful. If you understand that the joy happens because of your love of the craft, then you’ll be okay. Find the joy regardless of where you are at in your career.” Afterall, love and joy are what audiences respond to.
O’Farrill reminisced the origins of his musical journey, along with his influences, and is grateful that he was born into a musical household. “It was expected that I’d follow in my father’s footsteps. I had music lessons by the time I was six. When I was twelve, I discovered my father’s record collection and pulled out a recording by (trumpeter and bandleader) Miles Davis, and fell madly in love with Herbie Hancock, who was playing on the record. From that point on I was smitten, and could see no other life for myself.” His career unraveled in the decades that followed, and he reflected upon it by stating, “I figured out early in my life that the recipe for my happiness is to play music I love, with people I love, for people I love.”
Raul Reyes, Ivan Renta, Vince Cherico, Photo by Bob Dea
O’Farrill owes gratitude to avant-garde jazz legend and composer Carla Bley for discovering him, with whom he spent years traveling. A big break transpired when he was approached by artistic director Wynton Marsalis to create an orchestra for Jazz at Lincoln Center as of 2002, leading to the launch of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. “I was lucky to discover a path towards consistently playing music for a living. I was blown apart with the idea that this joy could be expressed on the piano,” he said.
O’Farrill continues to share his gift as a creative visionary who developed Casa Belongó, a 20,000-square-foot state-of-the-art performance space, music education, preservation, and cultural hub in East Harlem, which broke ground in February.
Stepping behind the scenes, performances at the Bandshell materialize after a creative and proactive team effort. He explained, “You start writing grants months or years in advance, and you work with people who are really committed.” The Queens Jazz Trail series became a reality thanks to the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, Flushing Town Hall, and the Louis Armstrong House Museum in partnership with NYC Parks, and sponsors Howard Gilman Foundation, Resorts World NYC, Northwell Health, Maspeth Federal Savings, and AARP New York.
O’Farrill feels inspired by the Queens Jazz Trail and said, “There’s a magic in the water in that part of the world that produces great musicians, festivals, and people, and wonderful parks. I have to be a good steward of the privilege of being part of the Queens Jazz Trail.” He linked the past to the recent past. “I remember visiting the Louis Armstrong House long before they built a center. I was profoundly impressed by the commitment that Louis Armstrong made to his neighborhood and Queens. There’s more than money at the beginning of these ventures. There’s a dream and an art commitment. What I loved about this particular concert was the connection to community. Queens has a history of incredible jazz musicians from there, living there, and returning.” Besides historic figures, he referenced contemporary greats such as electric bassist and composer Marcus Miller, and jazz and fusion drummer and composer Omar Hakim, with whom he had the pleasure to perform.
Looking out from the Bandshell into the audience in scenic Forest Park, Photo by Bob Dea
O’Farrill hopes to continue entertaining audiences throughout Queens. “I would be thrilled to perform at Forest Hills Stadium,” he said. On the horizon is “Spirits from Both Sides: Arturo O’Farrill x Vincent Hsu” on August 15 at 8 PM at Flushing Town Hall, a concert that he is particularly proud of. He and his band will collaborate with a Taiwanese musician. He explained, “We will be celebrating Afro Taiwanese and Afro Cuban Jazz. I spent much of my life exploring the global connections of culture. In my journey, I found out that the music we call jazz is a global experiment. It was brought here through a terrifying reality called slavery, but even that has exposure to cultural roots from the Middle East to the East Asia. People who were brought here against their will had influences from all over the world. The upcoming concert is a further expression of my belief that we are globally connected as a human race. We rise together.”
