Sons of Arturo O’Farrill and grandsons of the late Chico O’Farrill, drummer Zack and trumpeter Adam bring their ebullient energy to bear on a set of invigorating originals and one radical reinvention of a jazz standard, Benny Golson’s “Stablemates.” Adam, a bright-toned soloist with a flood of ideas, is principal composer in this stellar quintet of young swingers including tenor saxophonist Livio Almeida, pianist Zaccai Curtis and bassist Michael Sacks. Adam’s strongest pieces include the playfully Monkish title track, a knotty etude entitled “The Composing Process,” and “Happy Hours,” which shifts nimbly back and forth between clave and swing. The trumpeter also pays homage to Freddie Hubbard on the closing “Afterwalk,” which cleverly incorporates a riff from “Red Clay.”
The O’Farrill Brothers: Giant Peach
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