The Offense of the Drum

The 2015 Grammy winner (not Latin Grammy, which O'Farrill won last year for his previous album) is a powerful, joyful, exciting outing of big band jazz with a Latin, nay, an expansive World beat. First, a comment about the title: the drum was forbidden in colonial and early American history among slaves. The drum was dangerous, a form of communication, a power of the spirits, that spread a colonial slave rebellion. Band leader Arturo O'Farrill notes that New York City's drum circles were considered a public nuisance. In this excellent album, not only the drum but many forms of world percussion are honored, 28 types to be exact. It leads off dramatically with the astonishing percussive harp of Edmar Castañeda from Colombia. Next, is the spoken word art of Christopher Cajigas, who reminds us of the history of the Afro-Latin drum in America as transforming and integral. To continue the journey, the band looks back on mainstream jazz history with allusions to its great artists from ragtime to free jazz to Dizzy's popularization of the Cuban congo and the repeating montuno vamp. A return to Colombia is next with the porro marches. Colombia has had a significant effect on Latin music, interacting with Mexican and Caribbean grooves, as the cumbia. An Erik Satie Gnossiene is then transformed to a flamenco tientos in a lament, which at times becomes a bolero. Vijay Iyer mans the piano in track 6, The Mad Hatter, in a complex, energetic instrumentation. The tone poem of the title track views drum as both Oppressor and Liberator; the 12-minute piece encompasses phrasing from all the album's sections and its score and arrangement is a profound statement. What follows is salsa fire from the pen of Miguel Blanco; the drums swirl above the sophisticated urban scene. And then comes Iko Iko, the New Orleans standard. After the album ends, and we exhale, we appreciate O'Farrill's vision and the musicianship of his big band.

This is a simple review to write: This cd is mandatory education for everyone interested in where afro-latin jazz is today.I've been playing trumpet since 1953. Following high school I entered a college music program -- I switched and became a lawyer but I never stopped listening and this cd is one of the most important landmarks in I've run into in a decade.There is a full article on O'Farrill featuring this cd in the September, 2014 issue of Down Beat. Read the article and get this cd -- or save time and just get it.

Excellent album by Arturo and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, great writing and playing throughout from some of NYC's finest musicians. Definitely deserving of the Grammy award for best latin jazz album,. It brings the latin jazz large ensemble into the 21st century, with very strong roots in NOLA, Cuba, Puerto Rico and of course, Africa. Congrats all on a fine piece of work!!

No Problem

I guess I thought this CD was going to be more latin jazz. Quite honestly, I am very disappointed in it. Jazz and music is interpreted different by everyone. If I could have listened to a few of these cuts before I purchased it, I would not have bought the CD.

A great tour through all the stops from Africa, the Caribbean, and NYC that Latin jazz has touched down... Solid, varied, exciting. Worth the investment!

so so not the sound I was expecting

No wonder this won a 2015 Grammy! Wow. So much depth here and compositional creativity. Just plain awesome.

Fantastic fusion of african and latin jazz. Good quality reproduction. Bought on a whim - but very glad I did. Superb.

Non conoscevo la musica di Arturo O'Farrill (figlio d'arte di Chico, batterista del periodo be bop e oltre) e sono rimasto molto impressionato dal suono della sua big band. Musica afro-latina eseguita con grandissima cura e un groove notevole. Ritmi incalzanti come si conviene per questo tipo di musica ma anche arrangiamenti molto appropriati e composizioni originali e molto variegate. Il pezzo On the corner of Malecon and Bourbon (angoli di New Orleans) rende bene questi passaggi, dove da un ragtime si passa al montuno (variante del Son cubano) con qualche riferimento anche al free jazz. Interessante anche l'arrangiamento di Gnossienne di Satie giocato su atmosfere andaluse e da bolero. Mad Hutter, il pezzo composto da Vijay Iyer (al pianoforte), inizia con atmosfere jazz per colorarsi piano piano di suoni latini sempre filtrati dalla personale lettura del pianista. Meno interessante il pezzo in cui si tenta la strada dell'hip hop con un cantante rapper e DJ Logic. La suite che dà il nome all'album non mi ha convinto molto, forse un po' troppo pretenziosa. L'album si chiude con due pezzi pirotecnici, dove l'energia ritmica afro-latina è al servizio di una musica veramente trascinante.Il latin jazz a volte può risultare addirittura stucchevole quando punta troppo su ritmi e melodie orecchiabili. Non è il caso di questo album dove la musica si muove sui binari afro-latini ma non è mai scontata e soprattutto ha la giusta energia e viene eseguita in modo impeccabile. Consigliato vivamente.

SUPER

J'ai bien reçu à temps le CD, l'article correspond bien à ce qui est attendu, j'ai pu écouter le CD, il est en très bon état, rien à redire, encore merci!

Fabuleux pianiste que Arturo O'Farril, excellent orchestrateur aussiRéserve cependant sur un disque qui offre de fortes plages mais aussi un manque de cohésion et d'unité