Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra: The Offense of the Drum Motéma

Arturo O'Farrill, pianist, composer, band-leader and son of jazz legend Chico, inherited his father's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and he uses it to mine the rich seams of music that run through New York City's Cuban and Puerto Rican communities. But the conversation between traditional Latin forms and the wider musical community is ongoing, and O'Farrill proves here that he isn't afraid to let contemporary influences into the music. The Offense of the Drum is hard-hitting social commentary, but it's a fist in a velvet glove, a infectiously grooving polemic delivered by a top-drawer New York big band, with guests including Colombian harpist Edmar Casteñeda, pianist Vijay Iyer and turntablist DJ Logic. afrolatinjazz.org