Jazz At Lincoln Center's Grammy-Nominated Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra With Arturo O'Farrill Announces

NEW YORK (Jazz At Lincoln Center Official Website) - Celebrating a GRAMMY nomination for their debut album, Una Noche Inolvidable (An Unforgettable Night) in the Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album category, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O'Farrill will embark on "An Unforgettable Night" tour that will take the critically acclaimed Latin jazz big band throughout the U.S. including a debut performance in Monterrey, Mexico. "The Unforgettable Night" tour will commence in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on March 3 and end in Norfolk, Virginia on May 12. In each city, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra will present masterworks from the Latin jazz canon, as well as commissions from contemporary composers.

"The ALJO is comprised of the cream of the crop in Latin jazz musicians. We are performing the seminal works of the Latin jazz masters and commissioning a new body of work for this genre," offered Mr. O'Farrill. "We are deeply committed to the precepts of groove and clavé. This is the real deal, get ready to swing hard!"

Since 2002, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra has been a resident orchestra at Jazz at Lincoln Center. This large ensemble, comprised of 18 soloists, plays classics of the Afro-Latin jazz tradition, commissions new work and leads educational events while on the road and at the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall.

In the late 19th century, musical traditions from across Latin America and the Caribbean and the United States migrated and mixed, resulting in the emergence of complex new sounds. Jelly Roll Morton recognized the Latin tinge in jazz at the turn-of-the-century and by the late 1940s and early 1950s, musicians such as Mario Bauza, Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo and Machito began to fuse jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms. The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra continues this musical legacy and exemplifies the best that Latin jazz has to offer.

The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra is comprised of Arturo O'Farrill, Music Director and Piano; Michael Philip Mossman, Trumpet; John Walsh, Trumpet; Jim Seeley, Trumpet; Mike Rodriguez, Trumpet; Luis Bonilla, Trombone; Gary Valente, Trombone; Reynaldo Jorge, Trombone; Earl McIntyre, Bass Trombone; Erica vonKleist, Alto Saxophone; Bobby Porcelli, Alto Saxophone; Mario Rivera, Tenor Saxophone; Ivan Renta, Tenor Saxophone; Pablo Calogero, Baritone Saxophone; Ruben Rodriguez, Bass; Vince Cherico, Drums; Jimmy Delgado, Percussion; and Tony Rosa, Percussion.

Jazz at Lincoln Center's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O'Farrill
"An Unforgettable Night" 2006 Tour
(subject to change)

March 3, 2006
Chapel Hill, NC
University of North Carolina

March 11, 2006
Las Vegas, NV
UNLV

April 5, 2006
University Park, PA
Penn State University

April 6, 2006
Easton, PA
TBA

April 8, 2006
Morristown, NJ
The Community Theatre

April 9, 2006
Philadelphia, PA
Annenberg Center for the Arts

April 21, 2006
New York, NY
Frederick P. Rose Hall
with special guest Ballet Hispanico

April 22, 2006
New York, NY
Frederick P. Rose Hall
with special guest Ballet Hispanico

April 25, 2006
Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Tech University

April 29, 2006
Kalamazoo , MI
TBA

May 3, 2006
Monterrey, Mexico
Auditorio Luis Elizondo

May 4, 2006
Toluca, Mexico
TBA

May 6, 2006
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha Performing Arts Center

May 12, 2006
Norfolk, VA
TBA