Arturo O’Farrill, a celebrated pianist, composer, and educator, was born in Mexico and raised in the vibrant music scene of New York City. He launched his professional career with the legendary Carla Bley Band and soon gained acclaim performing alongside jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte.

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A passionate advocate for Afro Latin music, Arturo founded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance in 2007—a nonprofit organization devoted to the performance, education, and preservation of Afro Latin musical traditions. Through this work, he has become a central figure in promoting cultural understanding through music.

Arturo has performed across the globe, from intimate jazz clubs to grand concert halls, leading his own Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Arturo O’Farrill Sextet. His global engagements span the United States, Europe, Russia, Australia, and South America.

Beyond the concert stage, Arturo is a dedicated interdisciplinary collaborator. He has worked extensively with dance companies including Ballet Hispánico and the Malpaso Dance Company of Cuba, composing three ballets for the latter. His music also features in Open Door, a ballet choreographed by Ron Brown for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In another notable collaboration, Ron Brown’s Evidence Dance Company commissioned O’Farrill to compose New Conversations, which premiered at the iconic Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

links: 

https://www.arturoofarrill.com

https://youtu.be/3adTMDc7moYand Freedom First, Kalí Rodríguez-Peña and Mélange, True East, Gina D’Soto, and El Kikirikí Biquéy.

He works extensively with his father Arturo O’Farrill and has performed on several of his Grammy® Award-winning albums.

He is the Director of Educational Programs at the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance where he supervises and develops curriculum, community programs, senior center residencies, and residencies in NYC Public Schools reaching thousands of individuals year-round.

He also manages the Fat Afro Latin Jazz Cats youth ensembles, directing the big band.

With his wife, Colombian soprano Sasha Gutiérrez Montaño, he is co-founder of The Opera Next Door, producing opera’s (and not operas) in the streets of New York reaching audiences often overlooked by conventional arts programming.