Musicians For Musicians (MFM) Presents: “Music Is Essential” ZOOM Talk Event #8 with MFM Members Arturo O’Farrill and Zack O’Farrill Speaking on the founding, current work, and vision of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, Arturo’s activism, and the intertwined histories of latin music and jazz.
Date: Friday, December 16, 2022
Time: 5pm to 6:30pm (ET)
Venue: ZOOM
Ticket: free
Please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpdO-trzorHNSF2dK3NhLOBqcTVRYHmvKz
Musicians For Musicians (MFM) is a non-profit Musicians Rights organization established in 2015 by professional musician Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi. MFM seeks to elevate the work of all musicians to the level of a true profession, one recognized and appropriately rewarded by society; it’s a 501(c)(6) non-tax-deductible association with the right to lobby, and exists alongside (but separate from) the musicians union.
MFM’s first fundraiser, running from October 20 through November 20, 2020 reaches out to all musicians and music lovers for financial support in helping to realize MFM’s mission.
Please contribute here.
In this episode of MFM Speaks Out, Dawoud Kringle interviews master pianist, composer, producer, music educator, music activist, and MFM Advisory Committee Member Arturo O’Farrill. The topics discussed include the evolution of Latin Jazz, O’Farrill’s work as a composer, his recent CD release and collaboration with Dr. Cornel West “Four Questions,” his involvement with Musicians For Musicians, music activism, and his spiritual philosophies on music.
On Wednesday May 9, Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra kicked off a special five-city tour of California celebrating the power of activism and jazz in resistance to the oppressive national political culture currently taking shape in America..
Arturo O’Farrill and ALJO invited diverse communities throughout California to partake in their revolutionary musical movement propelled by the orchestra’s fiery big band compositions. Beginning on May 9, Stanford Live presented the West Coast debut of O’Farrill’s The Cornel West Concerto at Stanford University featuring Dr. Cornel West alongside ALJO. On May 12, O’Farrill headlined Radio-Active Resistance: A Benefit for KPFA FM and DACA Support Services with opening acts Bobi Céspedes Band and the Son Jarocho All Stars at UC Theatre in Berkeley, CA. Additional ALJO performances included concerts at Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts (May 11), UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures @ Campbell Hall (May 17), and a rare Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (octet) performance at Bach Dynamite & Dancing Society in Half Moon Bay (May 13). ALJO concluded its California tour with a live recording on the San Diego – Tijuana border on location at the Fandango Fronterizo Festival, joining together with noted Son Jarocho artists from Veracruz, México, and other special guest artists drawing from various countries and musical genres.
Photo by Lindsey Wilson
Date: May 13, 2017
Venue: Symphony Space (NY)
It’s a rainy Saturday night. I skirt into Symphony Hall where I sit amongst a sea of appreciative audience members. Suddenly, I am surrounded by a cacophony of confectionery sound just five rows away from a bombastic event of horns, drums and percussive delight inviting us to move along with its Afro-Latin sway. This musical collaboration was laced with sacred moments dipped in cane sugar as the rhythms proudly strutted between the beats of Bahia and the Caribbean. Powerful! Last year, I had the pleasure of seeing four-time Grammy winner and Musicians For Musicians (MFM) Board Member, Arturo O’Farrill perform at Symphony Space and I’m happy to say that his brilliance still stands.
