During the 2015 Newport Jazz Festival, JazzTimes set up a make-shift video production studio backstage inside the old barracks of Fort Adams. During three afternoons, a succession of artists-including Mike Stern, James Carter, Billy Childs, Fred Hersch, Chris Dingman, Kate McGarry, Michael League of Snarky Puppy and many others-came in to talk about the festival, jazz education, their creative process and their own projects. You can also see more of these video interviews at the JazzTimes YouTube channel.
In this interview from Newport, the pianist/composer/bandleader Arturo O’Farrill talked about his musical education, including his first musical instrument. He also shared his ideas on the current state of jazz and music education. And he discussed his work in bridging the gap between musicians in Cuba and the U.S., through his program “The Conversation Continues.” O’Farrill was performing at the festival with his group, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
Interview by Irene Lee. Video production by Paul Park. Editing by Lee Mergner.
Arturo O’Farrill on his first musical instrument and his journey into jazz:
Arturo O’Farrill on jazz education:
Arturo O’Farrill on his creative process:
Arturo O’Farrill on Cuba and “The Conversation Continues”:
