Arturo O’Farrill’s The Offense Of The Drum Liberates

STAR PIANIST/COMPOSER/BANDLEADER/EDUCATOR ARTURO O’FARRILL AND

THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA DEBUT on MOTEMA MUSIC WITH 

THE OFFENSE OF THE DRUM

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FEATURING 28 TYPES OF PERCUSSION AND SPECIAL GUESTS VIJAY IYER,

DONALD HARRISON, RAPPER CHILO, DJ LOGIC, EDMAR CASTAÑEDA & MORE

 

GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist, composer, bandleader and educator Arturo O’Farrill personifies the stereotype of a busy, fast-talkin’ New Yorker from Brooklyn with big dreams. He also personifies success, as somehow he keeps achieving these dreams with the help of his mighty and much awarded Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO). Their música nueva creative vision converges on their debut for the Harlem-based, GRAMMY® Award-nominated independent innovator label, Motéma Music —- The Offense of the Drum.

My artistic vision is to bend what the world knows as Afro Latin jazz over the acoustic horizon. Música nueva is that new direction for us, and it emerged from collaborations with the great artists and friends on The Offense of the Drum. Everything we do is about access and border crossing – making music, informing its creation with music of the world, making it available to all generations and making it a great experience. Ultimately I’m here to tell and share stories, and drums have been the center of storytelling for centuries in Afro Latin cultures. That means the drum can be seen as offensive to anyone trying to control people’s freedom of expression. 

The Offense of the Drum examines the role of the drum as a vehicle for resistance and liberation and is the result of O’Farrill’s restless curiosity, deep musical knowledge, adventurous creative spirit and of his friendships with fellow musical innovators. The recording joins elements of the música nueva aesthetic: an 18-piece big band; a harpist; turntables; jagged-edged percussion; and vocals. The connective tissue among these seemingly disparate parts is the drum – 28 percussion instruments from almost every corner of the globe: taiko from Japan; djembe from Africa; barriles and bombas from Puerto Rico; tumbadoras from Cuba; bombos from Colombia; cajons; maracas; bongos; shekeres; claves; cowbells; cuicas; tambourines; timbales; and turntables.

Also featured are multi-genre special guests: Vijay Iyer (piano), DJ Logic (turntables), Edmar Castañeda (harp), Christopher “Chilo” Cajigas  (spoken word), Donald Harrison (vocals, alto sax), Antonio Lizana (vocals, alto sax), Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (tenor sax), Pablo Mayor (guest conductor,maracas), Samuel Torres (guest conductor, cajon), Miguel Blanco (guest conductor), Jason Lindner (guest conductor), Pablo O. Bilbraut (percussion), Ayanda Clarke (djembe), Jonathan Gómez (percussion), Nestor Gómez (percussion), Hiro Kurashima (taiko drum) and Uri

Sharlin (accordion). Joining with the stars of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, each player brings unique flavor to this international Latin jazz party that shows where Cuba meets New Orleans, Spain, South America and Africa – all regions that gave birth to the jazz aesthetic.