Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Watch full SFJAZZ concerts filmed in HD on-demand: sfjazz.org/athome
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About this clip:
Pianist, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill and his Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble perform the Gabriel Alegria composition “El Sur” during their performance on September 28, 2025, part of the SFJAZZ 2025-26 Season and broadcast on Fridays Live.
Watch many other performances on SFJAZZ At Home: SFJAZZ.org/AtHome
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About this concert:
At the center of a jazz dynasty that encompasses Havana, New York, Mexico City and borderlands physical and metaphorical, GRAMMY Award-winning piano virtuoso, composer and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill proudly carriers the 21st century’s Latin jazz flame in his fingers. He leads his dynamic eight-piece Latin Jazz Ensemble for this SFJAZZ debut.
The son of Latin jazz arranger and bandleader Chico O'Farrill and father of trumpeter Adam and drummer Zachary O’Farrill, Arturo honed a vibrant Pan-American approach with his GRAMMY-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
He built his sterling reputation on the international jazz scene through this work with Carla Bley, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, and Jerry and Andy Gonzalez’s Fort Apache Band, and worked widely with his father in addition to stellar work as a bandleader that has yielded nearly 20 acclaimed recordings.
He’s also thrived as a composer with high-profile commissions like his vibrant score for the world premiere of Arielle Smith's acclaimed 2024 San Francisco Ballet production of Carmen.
O'Farrill's latest album, Mundoagua: Celebrating Carla Bley, includes Bley’s last recorded work, 2018’s “Blue Palestine.” It was Bley who discovered O’Farrill as a 19-year-old pianist and hired him for her big band from 1979-83, an experience that set him on an adventurous path defining the progressive edge of Latin jazz for the past three decades.
PERSONNEL:
Arturo O'Farrill: piano
Ivan Renta: tenor saxophone, flute
James Seeley: trumpet
Rafael Malkiel: trombone
Raul Reyes: bass
Vince Cherico: drums
Carlos Maldonado: percussion
Keisel Jimenez: percussion
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Follow us on Instagram:
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
If you enjoy the videos and concerts SFJAZZ posts every week, you can support this work by becoming an SFJAZZ Member.
Members enjoy full access to SFJAZZ livestreams and our library of on-demand concerts featuring the greatest jazz artists in the world, early access to tickets at the SFJAZZ Center, exclusive events, discounts, and more! More information is available at the link below.
Become an SFJAZZ Member today: sfjazz.org/join
Watch full SFJAZZ concerts filmed in HD on-demand: sfjazz.org/athome
Love these videos? Support by becoming an SFJAZZ Member: sfjazz.org/join
About this clip:
Pianist, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill and his Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble perform the Gabriel Alegria composition “El Sur” during their performance on September 28, 2025, part of the SFJAZZ 2025-26 Season and broadcast on Fridays Live.
Watch many other performances on SFJAZZ At Home: SFJAZZ.org/AtHome
--
About this concert:
At the center of a jazz dynasty that encompasses Havana, New York, Mexico City and borderlands physical and metaphorical, GRAMMY Award-winning piano virtuoso, composer and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill proudly carriers the 21st century’s Latin jazz flame in his fingers. He leads his dynamic eight-piece Latin Jazz Ensemble for this SFJAZZ debut.
The son of Latin jazz arranger and bandleader Chico O'Farrill and father of trumpeter Adam and drummer Zachary O’Farrill, Arturo honed a vibrant Pan-American approach with his GRAMMY-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
He built his sterling reputation on the international jazz scene through this work with Carla Bley, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, and Jerry and Andy Gonzalez’s Fort Apache Band, and worked widely with his father in addition to stellar work as a bandleader that has yielded nearly 20 acclaimed recordings.
He’s also thrived as a composer with high-profile commissions like his vibrant score for the world premiere of Arielle Smith's acclaimed 2024 San Francisco Ballet production of Carmen.
O'Farrill's latest album, Mundoagua: Celebrating Carla Bley, includes Bley’s last recorded work, 2018’s “Blue Palestine.” It was Bley who discovered O’Farrill as a 19-year-old pianist and hired him for her big band from 1979-83, an experience that set him on an adventurous path defining the progressive edge of Latin jazz for the past three decades.
PERSONNEL:
Arturo O'Farrill: piano
Ivan Renta: tenor saxophone, flute
James Seeley: trumpet
Rafael Malkiel: trombone
Raul Reyes: bass
Vince Cherico: drums
Carlos Maldonado: percussion
Keisel Jimenez: percussion
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Follow us on Instagram:
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
If you enjoy the videos and concerts SFJAZZ posts every week, you can support this work by becoming an SFJAZZ Member.
Members enjoy full access to SFJAZZ livestreams and our library of on-demand concerts featuring the greatest jazz artists in the world, early access to tickets at the SFJAZZ Center, exclusive events, discounts, and more! More information is available at the link below.
Become an SFJAZZ Member today: sfjazz.org/join
