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Arturo O’Farrill Sextet at Dizzy's Club,
Coca-Cola
by Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
New York - 1st March 2008
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Tony May's San Domenico NY
240 Central Park South
(59th St. & Broadway)
New York City, NY 10019
212.265.5959
sandomny@aol.com
www.sandomeniconewyork.com
Arturo O'Farrill Website
Arturo O'farrill - piano
Dafnis Prieto - drums
Pedro Martinez - congas & percussion
John Benitez - bass
Willie Williams - tenor saxophone
Jim Seeley - trumpet
At
Frederick P. Rose Hall
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Broadway at 60th Street
NY, NY
212.258.9595
http://www.jazzatlincolncenter.org/dccc/index.asp
Todd Barkan, Artistic Administrator
Scott Thompson, Press
I caught the finale of the second set of the
Arturo O'Farrill Sextet tonight, while waiting for the third and final set,
and this band was strong in percussive rhythms. Dafnis Prieto on drums and
Pedro Martinez on congas backed a repetitive refrain from Willie Williams
on tenor sax and Jim Seeley on trumpet. O'Farrill kept the Latin infused
clavé beat clear and accentuated. The next piece opened with soft, ethereal piano,
with Williams taking a bluesy melancholy lead. O'Farrill provided keyboard infusion
as Seeley and Williams faced each other for a dazzling duo, alternating with O'Farrill's
rapturous chords. Following this moody music was a bright, Afro-Caribbean work,
fused with straight jazz, with Pedro Martinez on Latin-styled conga rhythms. Rapid
ripples of sound emanated from combined piano, sax, and trumpet, while Jon Benitez
on bass and Prieto on drums added the explosive Caribbean beat. This sound was evocative
of a lusty mambo, as O'Farrill took off on thundering chords, with Seeley's trumpet
adding a blast of brass.
The third set brought my guest, Marco Losavio, of JazzItalia.net,
and me to a table, close to the percussion side of the band. O'Farrill dove right
into mesmerizing mambo mania, with Williams' sax blazing and Seeley's trumpet punctuating
the music with persuasive pulse. O'Farrill's theme was seamless and charismatic,
adding a honky-tonk refrain. O'Farrill rips his hands across the keyboard, as a
trio of congas, drums, and bass pulsate with tempo. This Sextet has pep and power,
with classical and Latin infusion at every corner. Without hesitation, Prieto took
a solo, with slight piano-sax ornamentations. The following piece was introduced
on piano, atonal, meandering, and impressionistic. Seeley's trumpet came in, and
next Williams' sax. The lovely, languorous melody had few frills, but a trumpet-bass-piano
trio found Benitez leading the theme. O'Farrill echoed the bass, as Martinez expanded
the sound with conga effects.
O'Farrill greeted his fans at
Dizzy's
Club, Coca-Cola, and he mentioned a few compositions on this set,
Tabla Rasa, El Salon Cubano, and Punta Deo. As O'Farrill returned
to the Steinway for Tabla Rasa, Williams took his soprano sax, and Seeley
took his trumpet, after Arturo called out a few signals in Spanish. These words
added to the beat and ambiance, with Prieto on a wooden block and Martinez forcefully
on the congas. A kicked-up mambo ensued, with O'Farrill's wild, Latin mix. At once,
I heard sound that resembled Turkish exoticism, fused brass with eerie chants, followed
by solo congas. The audience was hushed, as they focused on the slightest ripple
of congas, created with Martinez' two-finger riff. Soon, a slow, marching motif
developed, with congas, drums, and a rippling sax. More exoticism followed, with
Seeley's gripping theme, and O'Farrill attacked the keyboard as it almost burst
its seams.
..::Photo Courtesy By Roberta Zlokower::..
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Publishing Date: 06/05/2008
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