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Arturo “Chico” O’farrill

North America / United States / New York

Arturo “Chico” O’farrill “The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect”

Arturo O’Farrill or better known as “Chico” O’Farrill was born in Havana (Cuba) on October 28, 1921. He was the son of a recognized Jewish family whose father was an eminent lawyer whom one day decided to immigrate to the United States. Arturo undertook his studies at the Riverside Military School in Gainesville, Georgia (interned by his father).

He began to love the jazz orchestras (big bands) and within that environment he fed musically, listening to recordings of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey, so much, that in a brief time he learned to plays the trumpet and became the trumpet player of the military band as well as the several dance groups.

Years later, Chico returned to Cuba. He studied law and at the same time developed his facet as a composer, receiving a composition and harmony study with the master, Félix Guerrero. Likewise, he was also Armando Romeu Bellamar Orchestra’s member and the Isidro Pérez Orchestra, when the Son and the Mambo prevailed in the Latin music.

TRAJECTORY

From 1943 to 1947 “The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect” worked at the cabaret Montmartre. He was a member of Bellamar Orchestra, directed by Armando Romeu and integrated by Luis and Pucho Escalante, Gustavo Mas and Mario Romeu, among others. He traveled to Mexico and Europe as a trumpeter musician as well as he created the band, Los Raqueteros del Swing, being the director and trumpet.

Subsequently, he founded Los Beboppers (the first group of Cuban bop), which was presented at the Saratoga Hotel with Chico again as the director and the trumpet.

In the ‘50s decade began the successes for Chico as an arranger, working briefly for several orchestra directors, such as Gil Fuller, Noro Morales, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Benny Goodman.

In the same way, he composed his first great masterpiece “Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite” in five movements: Song, Mambo, 6/8, Jazz and Rumba Open. This masterpiece was made and recorded for the businessman Norman Granz’s label, using the Machito’s Orchestra as an accompanist and rhythmic base.

“Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite”, according to Luc Delannoy: “begins and ends with a hypnotic flute and conga duo that reflects the essence of Cuban treatment; the union of musical universes: the European (the flute) and the African (the conga).

To these two instruments is joined the oboe, followed by the trumpets, saxophones and the “Tumbao” of the double bass… After a return to swing and bebop in the fourth movement, Chico takes us to the origins of Latin jazz with a melody of clear Arabic accents, before sinking back into the universe of Afro-Cuban percussions”. Likewise, for Benny Carter, this Suite was: “The reason for the coherence of the rhythmic parts and their relationships with the solos that have their own life and independence, Masterpiece of a genius.”

In New York and following the success of “Afro Cuban Jazz Suite”, O’Farrill writes “Cuban Fantasy” for Stan Kenton, who later changes its name to “Cuban Episode”.

In 1953 he traveled to California, where he founded his orchestra that included renowned musicians such as Mario Bauzá, Doug Mettome, Jimmy Nottingham, Eddie Bert, Fred Zito, Lenny Hambro, Flip Phillips, and saxophonist Eddie Wasserman. The orchestra used the rhythm section of the Machito’s Afro-Cuban, harp and oboe. With this concept he recorded for Norman Granz, performed in Birdland (New York), and the Hat Ballroom located in Los Angeles. In this period he composed three new movements: “La Jungla”, “Contraste”, and “Rhumba Finale”, baptized as “Manteca Suite” recorded with the Jazz player Dizzy Gillespie and orchestra of 21 excellent musicians in 1954.

He returns to Cuba again in 1956 to be inspired and immediately began working for the best record companies on the island such as Panart and RCA Víctor, recording “Chico’s Cha-Cha-Cha”, adapting the Charanga rhythm to the big band format. This album is released, one more time, on compact disc by BMG during the last decade of the twentieth century. Chico also made a recording for the popular D’Aida Quartet and arrangements for Bola de Nieve and the famous Orchestra Director, Aldemaro Romero.

In 1958 the restless O’Farrill moved for Mexico, an essential platform for all Latin American musicians at that time. There he returned to create another special sound and appears on television as musical director of the Andy Russell singer, and there his life changed radically. He started a semi-retirement period, but never stopped creating music. At that moment, he composed his famous “Azteca Suite” for trumpeter Art Farmer, and he made history again!

In the 60s he returned to New York and makes arrangements for such important figures as La Lupe (They Call Me La Lupe); Cal Tjader (Along Comes Cal); Clark Terry (Spanish Rice); Count Basie (High Voltage); Gato Barbieri (Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata); Ringo Starr (Night and Day) and dabbled in the Rock music with David Bowie (I Know It’s Gonna Happen, Looking for Lester), and finally he was director of the Aldemaro Romero´s Orchestra.

This stage extends until the end of the 20th century, although already in the 70s, the big bands go down in history for several genres that would be manifested due to their novelty and immense popularity in the United States and around the world. The architects of the new fashion used new techniques, styles, and sounds, especially in the field of harmonization. Suddenly popular music stopped being exclusively for the ballroom and -of course- “new sound” icons appeared in the Jazz Music. For this reason, Chico O’Farrill begins working in the lucrative field of music for television commercials.

In the mid-1990s, “The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect” was contacted by American producer and Jazz director Todd Barkan with Pure Emotion, a compiled of his musical career with which he got a nomination for the 37th edition of the Grammy awards.

O’Farrill toured Europe with his orchestra in 1996 and recorded his latest album titled “Heart Of A Legend”, which contains 14 tracks, a formidable orchestra of 18 masters and a staff of international artists. The arrangements of “Heart Of A Legend”, considered for many as the best album of his career, took care by himself and the musical direction was entrusted to his son, Arturo O’Farrill Jr., a formidable pianist and heir of his legacy.

Arturo “Chico” O’farrill died on June 29, 2001, in New York City at 80 years.

Undeniably, Chico for more than half a century was a great musical creator. He was at the forefront of an innovative style that many know as Latin Jazz nowadays, which was called at the beginning with many names, such as Cuban bop, Mambo Jazz and Afro-Cuban Jazz.

Our dear “AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ARCHITECT” Until forever!

In memory of 18 years of his passing!

Balazo de Norteamérica:

Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill

“The Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect”

In memory of 18 years of his passing!

We spoke with Andrea Chaparro from Lulada Club

Lulada Club is a group composed entirely of women that plays a good number of Latin music genres such as salsa, bolero, cha cha chá, boogaloo, among others. These girls have a very interesting concept that caught our attention as soon as we checked their social networks, so we decided to get in touch with their director, Andrea Chaparro, who kindly agreed to talk to us and give us more details about the group she leads.

Name of the orchestra ”Lulada” and how it emerged

We found the name they chose for the group very curious, so Andrea went on to explain that Lulada is a Colombian drink, specifically Cali (the capital of salsa) that comes from the lulo fruit. She and her partner, who is also part of the orchestra, wanted to pay tribute to this city so important for their careers and for salsa in general.

The idea came from several sessions and rehearsals in which they were deciding what name to use, but they always knew that they wanted it having to do with Cali. In the end, they thought that ”lulada” sounded very good and mixed the term with ”club”, which originated a result that they all liked.

Why only girls?

Andrea recognizes that having a Latin female orchestra is not a novel idea, far from it. In fact, she saw this concept in Cali in several all-female orchestras that have been around for decades, so she wanted to replicate that idea.

About six or seven years ago, it was when she wanted to create an all-girl group and the opportunity was given to her in the framework of the pandemic. In Colombia, the artist had been playing with other all-male groups, but she began meeting other female musicians and instrumentalists and had the opportunity to organize a group for an event to which she and her saxophonist partner were invited.

When we wanted to know more about the selection process of the members, Andrea noted that she did a sort of search on Instagram to see their work directly, but several of the girls were brought in and recommended by other members.

Some of these girls had not had the opportunity to develop their skills because they were always underestimated in the Latin salsa scene for being female or very young, so Lulada Club has been a great opportunity for them to grow and evolve in music.

Lulada Club and Andrea Chaparro — This is the whole group, Lulada Club

She considers that they have all fit together very well with the group and understand each other perfectly most of the time, which is why she considers that they have been very fortunate to find each other and join their professional lives.

Andrea and Lulada Club in New York

At the moment, all of the members of Lulada Club live in New York and have no plans to move to any other place, since their greatest opportunities have been given to them in this city.

She does say that they are completely open to the possibility of touring both nationally and internationally whenever they find it possible. Indeed, at present, they already have many invitations to attend concerts and festivals in many other cities in the United States, but they will not base the orchestra anywhere else.

Both Andrea and the rest of the girls feel that their biggest audience is there and many people in positions of power are seeing what they are doing and taking them into account. People, club owners and event organizers have received them with open arms and have taken them into account for events of all kinds.

One such event is SummerStage on August 2, whose main attraction will be the maestro Eddie Palmieri, who will be offering one of the last concerts of his career after announcing his retirement. It is a great honor for the girls to be able to open for this world-renowned artist who has contributed so much to salsa and Latin music since his beginnings.

The news about their participation in the event made them very happy and feel that all their hard work has paid off.

Andrea Chaparro on stage with Lulada — Andrea Chaparro singing on stage

Genres played by Andrea and Lulada Club

As we have mentioned at the beginning of this edition, there are several Latin genres played by Lulada Club such as salsa, cha cha chá or boogalo, but each one has its own audience.

In that sense, Andrea said that they play a lot of hard salsa for dancers and classical music coming from the clubs in Cali. There are certain songs that can never be out of their repertoire such as ”Llorarás” by Oscar D’ León, ”La rebelión” by Joe Arroyo, ”Brujería” by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, among others.

In cases where we get a quieter audience, we can play a bolero or cha cha chá, but everything will depend on the reaction of those present to our performance,” said Andrea on this subject.

In terms of their original songs, they have two recorded and their names are ”La Palma” ”Lulada ya llegó”, which has been very well received by those who have heard it.

Undoubtedly, Lulada Club has a lot to offer to the audience and fortunately festival organizers and club owners are realizing the great potential of this group, and every day that passes they are taking more into account in their lineups.

Musical director of VibraSÓN Jake Jacobs is here

VibraSÓN is a musical group that makes life in the state of California, specifically in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has become one of the best options for festivals and nightclubs seeking fresh sounds in terms of salsa, swing and Latin music in general.

I was pleased to know about this great orchestra, its members and sound thanks to its work at Charley’s LG, Bar and Nightclub where Eduardo Guilarte, our editor, was working and directing everything related to the lineups and musical programming for Latin music nights, more specifically on Tuesdays.

When I made contact, the person who was kind enough to reply was musical director of VibraSÓN. Jake Jacobs, who at the same time works as a producer, percussionist and backing vocalist.

Jake Jacobs from VibraSÓN — Jake Jacobs, musical director of VibraSON

Talk with Jake Jacobs from the group VibraSÓN

Jake Jacobs comes from a very interesting background. His first contact with music took place with his father and uncle, both of whom were professional musicians, but Jake says he has always been interested in this world.

He studied classical piano and music theory at the University of Illinois and took some jazz piano lessons in his passage through the University of California. During these years, the musical director spent roughly 13 hours a day practicing with this instrument to master it as well as possible.

With time, he became interested in Latin music and dance, which also led him to take dance classes at university. With that knowledge acquired up to that moment, he went to visit New York and his trip coincided with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (an event held annually in New York and other states to celebrate Puerto Rico and its traditions in the United States).

This event inspired Jake so much that he returned to the Bay Area with the intention to switch his dance classes to salsa classes. He became so good that he began to teach salsa dance classes himself to numerous students interested in learning these rhythms, something he has been done for over 20 years in widely recognized clubs and dance studios.

He used to provide these classes twice a week at the Cocomo Club, which was very important at the time and attracted more than 600 people every day. When bands performed live, the future leader of VibraSÓN began to know musicians, who, in turn, gave him music lessons and his first opportunities to play in bands.

Jake Jacobs with VibraSÓN — Jake Jacobs and the other members of VibraSÓN

Apprenticeships and classes with great musicians

One of the most impressive credentials that Jake can have is to have studied with some of the best musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area such as Edgardo Cambón, Karl Perazzo, Michael Spiro, Louie Romero, among others.

Evidently, all these luminaries have taught the producer much of what he knows and applies today, but he ensures that it was not easy to learn from so many ”teachers” at the same time, in both dancing and music performance.

Ensures that some of the most important things he learned have to do with technique and tips to be applied such as how to play the drums, the notes at the right times, silences and much more.

He points out that they all taught him valuable and important things, which are still very useful to this day. One of those great lessons was to practice and practice until he achieved the sounds he wanted, especially in Latin music.

VibraSÓN

Finally, in 2014, Jake decided it was time to put into practice everything he learned and create his own musical group with his own original details. This is how VibraSÓN came about.

The origin of his band’s name came from Luis Morales, one of its members. It is based on vibraphone, which is not widely used by the orchestras from the San Francisco Bay Area, but by the dancers and by this new group in their performances. As for the end of the name, it comes from ”son cubano”, a typical genre of the island Jake likes very much.

Although Club Cocomo unfortunately closed the following year, that didn’t stop VibraSÓN from making its way and becoming one of the most demanded groups in the Bay Area in recent years.

One of the things that Jake thinks makes his group unique is that there are very few people who use the vibraphone and, due to his training as a dancer, he is always looking to make the most appropriate music for that part of the audience for whom dancing is very important.

Jake Jacobs in San Francisco — Jake Jacobs performing on stage in San Francisco

How Jake and VibraSÓN read the crowd

For Jake and the rest of the band, it is very important to read the crowd and see how people react to the music they play at any time. They pay a lot of attention to the dance floor to see what works and what doesn’t with the people they play for that night.

Having played at clubs such as Charley’s, Bar Fluxus, La Peña Cultural, The Cigar Bar and Space 500, they have prepared a very generous repertoire for each performance. Just as they have written original music, they have also dedicated themselves to perform covers of the most buzzed-about artists in recent times in certain contexts, something that worked out for several orchestras when they need to draw on these resources to entertain the audience.

This wide repertoire that they now enjoy is what has allowed them to make diverse shows with lots of variety so that those present never get bored, even if they usually go to the same place.

Another thing they tend to do is add new arrangements and change genres to the covers they do so that they do not sound exactly like the originals and they can inject some of their essence, even if they are not songs written or sung by them originally. ”Even if they are covers, we always try to add our original arrangements so that the dancers enjoy them that much more” said Jake.

They have also learned to connect with the audience and know what the dancers and the general public want in order to give them exactly what they want. And they did not learn this overnight, but have observed in detail what other orchestras do to imitate what is good and useful.

Jake and VibraSÓN on stage — VibraSÓN performing on stage

Tours and future plans of VibraSÓN

At the end of the interesting talk, Jake told us that, for now, they only plan to record new music and other activities that are comfortable for all the members, since many of the musicians are in other orchestras and record for other people, so it is too complicated for them to tour with VibraSÓN. In addition to that, several of them have small children to care for, so it is impossible for them to travel for a long time.

He is so considerate because he always tries to keep the same members and preserve the unity of the group above all else. It has worked for them, as they have managed to made a name, which will continue to become popular over time.

“Djane Shina” a passion turned into reality

Since I can remember my passion is music expressed in all its forms, I was always surrounded by family and friends musicians, who contributed to increase my love for it, said Djane Shina.

My surnames Rojas Salazar, both symbolize flavor; rumba; happiness; love; humility and dedication, with my families I learned everything I know about the rhythms especially Salsa, my parents Jaime and Ligia, my 5 brothers, my uncles and cousins are a part of what I am today …. “Djane Shina, the queen of Salsa.

Djane Shina a Passion Turned into Reality

Shinaury Thais, the queen, because that’s what my mother called me (R.I.P), the queen of the house, the little monkey among her monkeys.

I was born on October 28th, caraqueña and caraquista, I am from the most beautiful parish “23 de Enero” in the Mirador sector, and even though I only lived there for 2 years I always kept its essence, in February of 73 we moved to my beloved town ‘La Victoria’ in Aragua State, to the urbanization Las Mercedes, in the most salsa area that exists “Madera 15”, named after the Madera Group of San Agustin.

I grew up surrounded by neighbors all music lovers and parties, almost all organized by my brothers at home, Vinyl parties, which scratched so much to put them and to leave them out of their cover, a girl surrounded by people with different orchestral tastes but all of Salsa, there I learned to dance, sing and play instruments, were unique moments, to see those gatherings and end up picking up and cleaning everything so my parents would not be upset.

As soon as I grew up and became a teenager I took charge of the parties as Djane Shina inviting my people and their friends, who became my brothers in life and now my fans.The sound systems were several, one better than the other as the years passed, and manipulated by me, I began to share my tastes and my ability to put people to enjoy a whole night, the “Pioneer” equipment was everyone’s, I took it to every house I could, along with my LPs and cassettes, and at the time the CD case.

A very nice experience as a Djane because people knew that when I was one of the guests at their meetings I took control of the music, always as a contribution to the celebration, there was never any charge, as I said at the beginning this is my passion and I do it from my heart.

When I was a child I practiced the cuatro, I was in the show band of my school “Unidad Educativa Colegio Brito” directed by the teacher Carlos Gonzalez, I started with the cymbal, followed by the grenadier, then the redoblante to finish with the trombone.I

Received lessons with my teacher Williams Puchi (R.I.P), it should be noted that my greatest inspiration to play this instrument was my brother Oscar Bauter Salazar, military musician, and for me, the best trombonist in Venezuela.

Djane Shina de La Victoria para el Mundo

When I was 18 years old, apart from sports (athletics, cycling, aerobics and power), I practiced percussion with my friends and teachers Humberto Rodriguez and Boris Pedra, playing the congas, bongo, timbal, and minor percussion clave, maracas, güiro, among others, here my inspiration was my beautiful uncle Oscarcito Rojas, for me the best conguero in the country.

Throughout my life I saw the formation of different orchestras and salsa groups by my brothers and neighboring friends, in them I participated in rehearsals and learned a lot to sing, over the years I could participate and organize groups of Christmas music and bagpipe as a soloist and with the minor percussion in the companies where I worked.

My life has always revolved around music and art and in the midst of that, wanting to be a professional musician I became a graduate in Business Administration, I had two beautiful daughters Yaima and Victoria, which are my greatest pride and motivation to move forward bringing happiness to the world with my talent.

Currently Shinaury Thais Rojas Salaza Lcda. in Business Administration works as a Publicist in the digital newspaper “Salsa Escrita”.

Shinaury Rojas

Contact: +058 4244009655

Shinaury Rojas (shina

Cali Fairs 2019

What you should know before arriving in Cali

Cali is the capital of the department of Valle del Cauca, located on the Colombian Pacific. Located at 1,018 meters above sea level, its average temperature is 32 degrees, with a dry climate for most of the year.

The climate of the city is hot most of the day, so it is advisable to wear fresh clothing and elements to protect yourself from the sun.

The city is one of the main economic and industrial centers of Colombia, in addition to being the main urban, cultural, economic, industrial and agrarian center in the southwest of the country and the third nationally.

Cali Fairs - Flyer — Cali 2019 Fairs Flyer

The number of inhabitants according to the result of the last census is 2,420,013 inhabitants, which makes it the third most populous city in the country.

The Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport is located just 35 minutes from the city center.

Salsa is the musical genre that is most listened to in the city; but there are places for all kinds of musical tastes.

The dancers from Cali are recognized for the speed of their movements and there are academies where classes are taught for tourists.

Aguardiente is the typical drink of the region. To consume it, it is recommended to eat first and hydrate well.

A variety of beers, local rum and imported spirits are also available.

It is essential to try the local delicacies: Lulada, marranitas, pandebonos, cholados, chontaduros and shampoos.

If you arrive in Cali at the time of the Fair, it is best that you prepare to live six of the best days of your entire life; where the music, the dance, the gastronomy and the warmth of the Caleños will make you fall in love with this city which they call “La Sucursal del Cielo”.

Cali has a massive transportation system called MIO, which has routes designed to cover the entire city; but you can also get around in taxis. The minimum race has a cost of $4,700. ($1.5)

Places to visit in Cali:

1. Calima Gold Museum

It is an archaeological museum dedicated to the Calima culture located in the historic center of Cali.

2. Boulevard of Colombia Avenue

Also known as the River Boulevard for being located on the banks of the Cali River.

It is a boulevard located in the historic center of the city, in whose surroundings are the Ermita Church, the Coltabaco Building (architectural heritage), the Municipal Administrative Center, CAM; the Puente España, the Jorge Isaacs Theater, among others.

This pedestrian space has become one of the most visited sectors of the city due to its traveling art shows.

3. The Tertulia Museum

It is a museum of modern art and has the most important collection of works on paper in the country.

4. Alameda Park

It is a space for family integration that has become a great cluster of gastronomy, music and dance.

5. Caliwood Museum of Cinematography

It stands out for its emblematic collection of cinematographic, photographic and phonographic devices, which show the evolution of the filming and film exhibition equipment used in Colombia.

6. La Merced Religious Complex

Religious complex located in the place of foundation of the city of Santiago de Cali.

It is made up of the main nave of the church dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy (patron saint of the city), the auxiliary chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Remedies and the Lateran Christ, the religious convent, the museum of religious art and the archaeological museum.

7. Pance River and Health Park

It is one of the most frequented natural places by the inhabitants of Cali.

From the town of Pance to the area known as the Vorágine there are a good number of restaurants and recreational parks.

8. Sebastian de Belalcázar viewpoint

It has a monument that pays homage to the conqueror Sebastián de Belalcázar, who founded the city in 1536.

9. San Antonio neighborhood

Its richness lies in its urban landscape and in the daily expression of its inhabitants, custodians of the oral traditions that gave the city its identity.

It is the cradle of a varied gastronomic offer and fashion shops, as well as religious devotion and the sweet tradition of flower pots on the last weekend of June when the Flower Pot Festival is celebrated.

10. Christ the King

It is the monument that dominates and protects the city with open arms. It is 26 meters high and is located on Cerro Los Cristales.

11. Granada and El Peñon

These neighborhoods are renowned for their hotels, shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs, with something for everyone.

12. The Cat of the River

It is one of the sculptural works of different artists located on the banks of the Cali River.

The Cat is the work of Hernando Tejada. A series of complementary sculptures can also be found accompanying the cat, called Las Novias del Gato.

Cali fairs - events — Other events in Cali

Events to return to Cali

Macetas festival

It is part of a local tradition that celebrates the bond between godparents and godchildren. Every year, during the last days of June, cultural activities, exhibitions and sales of pots, made with sugar candies, are held.

Dance Biennale

It is a festival dedicated to the music of Pacific folklore that takes place in the month of August. It seeks to highlight composers, musical groups and music researchers of Afro-Colombian origin. Gastronomy, clothing and handicrafts are some of the components of this multicultural meeting.

Petronio Álvarez Pacific Music Festival

Event that aims to stage theater shows at a local, national and international level, during the month of October.

World Salsa Festival

National and international companies arrive in the dance capital in November to show the country the best of contemporary, urban and folkloric expression.

Cali fairs - event flyer — Other events at the Cali Fairs

Cali International Theater Festival

It takes place in Cali every year in the month of September and recognized orchestras and all the salsa schools in the city participate, accompanied by dance academies from other cities and abroad that are represented by around 5,000 dancers.

During the festival, workshops, talks and academic meetings are held around salsa.

Cali Exposhow

It is the most important beauty, health and fashion event in Colombia, it takes place annually in the month of October and brings together important local and international designers and exhibitors.

Information: https://feriadecali.com.co/sobre-cali