Chico O'Farrill Arranging for Other Bands

[Teasing the Korean]

Does anyone have any leads on which tunes Chico O'Farrill arranged for Machito, Stan Kenton, etc.  in the 1940s and 1950s?  I have lots of Afro Cuban jazz from that period, but the LPs and CDs don't always credit arrangers.  I suppose I can assume that he arranged things that he wrote, such as "Gone City," but beyond that I don't know.  Looking more for his Afro Cuban stuff rather than swing stuff.  Thanks in advance. 

[JSngry]

He wrote a big bunch for Basie in the 60s,  but nothing overtly Afro-Cuban in intent. Not sure if that relationship went back to the 50s though.

You've heard Nine Flags? One of the less visible impulse! albums, definitely worth checking out in spite of the commercial tie-in of the theme.

Bossa not relevant, correct?

 

 

[Teasing the Korean]

Bossa is fine, just not exactly what I'm seeking.  Really looking for Afro-Cuban stuff from roughly the same era as the Clef/Norgran stuff that came out under his name. 

I have most of his 1960s albums, including "Torrid Zone," "Nine Flags, "Spanish Rice," "Married Well," etc.  

Edited July 13, 2016 by Teasing the Korean

[BillF]

I like the stuff he did for Goodman during Benny's bop phase:

http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/bennys-bop-benny-goodman-late-1940s/

[mikeweil]

I suppose you have his own stuff on Verve?

If not, be sure, make sure to get the Verve edition with the interview coments by O'Farrill, in which he says a bit about his work for others. He thought the "Second Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite" included here was his best work, which I agree with - the second movement touches me very deeply ... Steven Soderbergh used it for his film "Equilibrium". 

He surely arranged his own tunes for Machito, no idea about other people's tunes. You know the "Manteca Suite" he wrote for Dizzy Gillespie? It's included here:

Lord lists another "Cuban Panorama Suite" recorded for Verve ca. 1952 that was never issued. 

He wrote one "Aztec Suite" for Art Farmer, included in this reissue:

Do you know this Palldium LP reissue of ca. 1951 recordings?

Go to http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/12082-chico-o-farrill for some Latin music he arranged for others (scroll down). 

As far as Kenton is concerned, the Lord disco lists only one track, "Ramon Lopez", arranged by O'Farrill in 1974 for the "Fire, Fury, and Fun" LP.

Edited July 15, 2016 by mikeweil

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, mikeweil said:

He wrote one "Aztec Suite" for Art Farmer, included in this reissue:

 

On a side note - "Aztec Suite" IMO disappoints (at least from a dedicated Art Farmer follower's perspective) .... quite in the contrary to "Brass Shout" ....

[mikeweil]

Will listen to "Aztec Suite" later today ...

There is one more Cuban track written for Gillespie, "Carambola", recorded for Capitol in 1950.

[Teasing the Korean]

3 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Go to http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/12082-chico-o-farrill for some Latin music he arranged for others (scroll down).

Thanks.

Who is "Lord?"

 

 

 

[Teasing the Korean]

3 hours ago, mikeweil said:

He thought the "Second Afro-Cuabn Jazz Suite" included here was his best work, which I agree with - the second movement touches me very deeply ...

I love this except for the uptempo swing section.  It seems strangely dated in relation to the music that surrounds it.  

I agree about the second movement - It is O'Farrill in his prime Les Baxter mode.  The album "Torrid Zone" is not among his best, but it contains one amazing Baxter-esque track, "Mambotanga."

Back to the swing section:  I find O'Farrill's swing stuff to be generally less compelling than his Latin stuff, with the exception of his stunning ballad arrangement of "Flamingo."  It is almost as though the Latin rhythms inspired a greater degree of harmonic complexity.

Edited July 15, 2016 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

There's an O'Farrill track on Kenton's Innovations In Modern Music set, "Cuban Episode".

[mikeweil]

3 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Who is "Lord?"

https://www.lordisco.com/

Edited July 15, 2016 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

Been listening to Aztec Suite this morning: the problem, IMHO, was the bass player. Addison Farmer, who plays all the right notes written in his part, but not with drive and feeling Cuban rhythms need. O'Farrill was not on hand to conduct the session himself, Al Cohn does a good job, the horns and the percusionists are on the spot, but the piano is inaudible, and the bass is weak. Just not the right guy for this type of music.

The music itself is typical O'Farrill - of the tracks after the suite, Heat Wave being my favourite - up with his best charts from the Norman Granz days.

I think all types of music were equal for O'Farrill, that's why he always included a swing feel movement in his suites - just another groove just like the different Cuban dance types. He tried to find a place between modern classical, Cuban and jazz in his suites, not an easy task.

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, mikeweil said:

I think all types of music were equal for O'Farrill, that's why he always included a swing feel movement in his suites - just another groove just like the different Cuban dance types. He tried to find a place between modern classical, Cuban and jazz in his suites, not an easy task.

That may have been his intention, but t find that the swing charts he did for Granz are less interesting harmonically.  The swing section of the Second Afro Cuban Jazz Suite just doesn't work for me.   

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, mikeweil said:

Been listening to Aztec Suite this morning: the problem, IMHO, was the bass player. Addison Farmer, who plays all the right notes written in his part, but not with drive and feeling Cuban rhythms need. O'Farrill was not on hand to conduct the session himself, Al Cohn does a good job, the horns and the percusionists are on the spot, but the piano is inaudible, and the bass is weak. Just not the right guy for this type of music.

The music itself is typical O'Farrill - of the tracks after the suite, Heat Wave being my favourite - up with his best charts from the Norman Granz days.

I think all types of music were equal for O'Farrill, that's why he always included a swing feel movement in his suites - just another groove just like the different Cuban dance types. He tried to find a place between modern classical, Cuban and jazz in his suites, not an easy task.

Interesting thoughts regarding Addison Farmer not filling the spot of a Latin bass player properly .... but to me Art Farmer makes his presence felt not sufficiently - at least least not to the extent I would have wished for ...

[mikeweil]

Have you heard the Manteca Suite O'Farrill wrote for Gillespie? If I compare the two, I think I know what you mean to say - but OTOH Farmer was no Gillespie. I love Farmer's playing, but he never quite had the ebullient quality that was Gillespie's advantage in a Cuban context.

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, mikeweil said:

Have you heard the Manteca Suite O'Farrill wrote for Gillespie? If I compare the two, I think I know what you mean to say - but OTOH Farmer was no Gillespie. I love Farmer's playing, but he never quite had the ebullient quality that was Gillespie's advantage in a Cuban context.

Do know "Manteca Suite" - and agree that Latin BTW latinized music favours trumpet players with more "punch" (by incident Chocolate Armenteros comes to my mind ....). So with "Aztec Suite" me didn't expect a "different" Farmer but simply more from Farmer ....

[mikeweil]

Oh, Chocolate! He was soooo great. The sweetness of Clifford Brown with the brightness of a Cuban lead rumpet player. I'll never forget watching him dance with Machito's daughter Paula during the orchestra's intermissions - such a sweet guy! Too bad he was never featured in one of O'Farrill's suites - it would have been the ultimate!

Edited July 16, 2016 by mikeweil

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, mikeweil said:

Oh, Chocolate! He was soooo great. The sweetness of Clifford Brown with the brightness of a Cuban lead rumpet player. I'll never forget seeing himdance with Machito's daughter Paulo during the orchestra's intermissions - such a sweet guy! Too bad he was never featured in one of O'Farrill's suites - it would have been the ultimate!

!

[mikeweil]

It's Paula, of course .....

[Teasing the Korean]

Thanks all for the replies!  

So what do we have from the period in question (1940s-50s)?

Obviously, there are the Manteca, Aztec, and Afro Cuban Jazz Suites, all of which came out under the names of different artists but have been well marketed and in some cases sold under O'Farrill's name.

So, beyond those?

Gone City - Machito

Vaya Nina - Machito

Undercurrent Blues and other stuff for Benny Goodman, presumably none of which has Afro-Cuban rhythms (?).

Carambola - Dizzy (unreleased?)

Cuban Episode - Stan Kenton

Any others?

 

[mikeweil]

Carambola was done for Capitol - Dizzy's sides for that label sum up to eight tracks - not enough for an album, that's why Blue Note / EMI never cared to reissue them properly. There was some Capitol Jazz sampler IIRC, but I sold it as it didn't have the complete session and had all the other tracks on other releases. The complete stuff is on a Classics CD - compared to the Musicraft and Victor sides, it's all a bit lightweight compared to the preceding sessions, especially the four small group tracks done for Prestige in 1950 .... it was the time when Gillespie started to feature his entertainer personality to keep the band running. He had to disband the orchestra after the Capitol sessions. 

Edited July 17, 2016 by mikeweil

[Teasing the Korean]

4 hours ago, mikeweil said:

...The complete stuff is on a Classics CD... 

Thanks.  I wish there was a comprehensive, multi-label collection of all of Dizzy's Afro Cuban stuff.  Everything that I have been able to find is organized by label and/or year, with bebop and Afro-Cuban stuff collected together.  

 

I guess Capitol could have combined the Dizzy session with the James Moody/Chano Pozo session (if I am remembering correctly). 

Edited July 17, 2016 by Teasing the Korean

[mikeweil]

2 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I guess Capitol could have combined the Dizzy session with the James Moody/Chano Pozo session (if I am remembering correctly). 

They probably couldn't think that way because of the Blue Note 10 inch LP combining the Moody sessions with Blakey's early Blue Notes ....

Dizzy's Afro-Cuban tracks all in one place ... nice idea, but quite a number, if one includes all the many live tracks. And: if you listen how Chano Pozo developped durin his short tenure with the band, the distinction will be difficult, as he played even on the ballads during the last concerts recorded.

[JSngry]

Capitol put of the 8 DG tracks on the strictly bebop LP of the early 70s, but COF's piece was not one of them  i guess "You Stole My Wife, You Horsethief" rated higher?

 

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, mikeweil said:

They probably couldn't think that way because of the Blue Note 10 inch LP combining the Moody sessions with Blakey's early Blue Notes ....

Blue Note thought yet again an entirely different way about the Moody sessions before they were affiliated with Capitol