History

Though now recognized internationally for its high-powered blend of latin jazz and the avant garde, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) started as a failed collaboration between leader Arturo O’Farrill and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO). In 2001, Wynton Marsalis sought out O’Farrill to help with a celebration of Tito Puente. The project fell through when O’Farrill realized JLCO lacked the proper knowledge of how to play Cuban music, but Marsalis gave O’Farrill the opportunity to lead his own Afro-Cuban jazz band at Lincoln Center. O’Farrill named this group the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and they began playing regularly at Lincoln Center. The group found early success, receiving a Grammy nomination for their 2005 album Una Noche Inolvidable. The band left Lincoln Center in 2007, but did not slow their pace. Since then the ALJO has recorded seven more albums, along the way winning three Grammy Awards for Best Latin Jazz Album, most recently for Four Questions in 2020.