More Information About Arturo O'Farrill and Claudia Acuna at Blue Note Jazz

Website

http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=6767

Description

Singer Claudia Acuna and pianist Arturo O'Farril team up for a live show in celebration of their 2008 recording titled "In These Shoes" on Zoho Records. For their special performance at the Blue Note, Acuna and O'Farrill will visit latin and jazz pop songs and standards from the recording like “Cuando Cuando,” "Dime,” Van Morrison’s “Moondance” and the lovely standard “Willow Weep For Me," among others.

Great friendships are born out of a combination of many things: admiration, a sense of camaraderie, similar humor even. Sometimes one feels a common purpose with those whom one chooses as co-conspirators in the battle of life. All of these elements and more are at play in the relationship of Claudia Acuña and Arturo O'Farrill. But at the foundation of this interaction is the childlike wonder that these two have creating music together. It is as if the bandstand is some sort of sandbox in which these friends could while away the hours endlessly.
There have always been creative projects based on friendship and mutual admiration, Ella and Louis, Celia and Tito, Machito and Graciela, even George and Gracie, always laughing, always singing, always finding joy watching your friend do what he or she does best.

And boy, do these two have fun! Claudia is that rarest of individuals, a singer/musician, one whose work extends beyond their vocal gifts. A true artist, she is a rare hybrid of both jazz and Latin lineage. She has the profound respect for her roots to sing with authority in any Latin genre, but the love of jazz has shaped her approach. There is no one like her. She has the voice of a Sarah but the fire of a Celia.

Arturo O'Farrill has a similar vision. His is an artistry based out of recognizing the common roots of both Latin and jazz, and of doing so at the highest levels. As a pianist, composer and arranger, Arturo has challenged the notion of jazz as being the exclusive domain of any one culture. He is an example that the future musician must be based on a multiplicity of skills and cultures.
All of the musicians on this recording have realized their friendships on and off the musical playground. They have forged deep, life-long alliances based on that great combination of loving your work, loving those with whom you work and in doing so, blurring the line between work and play.

This CD came out of a conversation in which Arturo and Claudia decided to do a project for the pure fun of it, not to impress the serious jazz cognoscenti, or to ingratiate themselves with “the jazz police”. They chose to record songs they enjoyed before they became “serious” jazz artists. “In These Shoes” is just such a piece. It is a fun, flirty song, which allowed Claudia to put on a persona, much like an actress does, and in doing so, have tremendous fun.

That’s what this record is about, drawing the listener into the world that really exists, the world that is multi-cultural, multi-lingual and truly international. Claudia and Arturo set out to record a work that reflects who they are, citizens of the planet. Americans by residence, but children of Chile, Mexico, Cuba and ultimately of Africa and Europe, it is their hope that this work will find listeners who are not necessarily into jazz (though it has plenty of swing and verve), but people whose understanding reaches beyond genres and boxes. This music should find itself equally at home on a transistor radio in Buenos Aires or a mega sound system in a loft in Soho. Here is to friendships that span across cultural, socioeconomic, international, generational, and many other divides, friendships that teach us how to groove no matter where we come from or where we find ourselves.