Since 2007, I have had the privilege of playing at one the greatest jazz clubs on the planet on a regular basis. It all started with Maestro Chico O’Farrill’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. I was brought in occasionally to sub for David Bixler and Todd Bashore on the alto sax books and I’ll never forget how incredible it was to first play with that band. Getting to play masterpieces like The Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite, The Manteca Suite, and 3 Afro-Cuban Moods was such an honor for me. My favorite part of the gig was getting to hear Andy Gonzalez on the Bass and Joe Gonzalez on the Bongo. Playing with veterans like them is something I truly cherished.
In 2008 I was asked to join Chico’s son Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra which was mostly a traveling band that played lots of large venues and festivals. For years I got to travel the world with Arturo’s band and still sub regularly at Birdland in Chico’s band. In 2012, Arturo, who was running the Chico band for years while also running his own band, decided to end the legacy that was Chico’s band on a high note and begin to forge his own legacy by having his band take over at Birdland. That meant that instead of just subbing at Birdland, I was now going to be playing at Birdland every Sunday. Besides getting to regularly work with Gianni Valenti and the great staff at Birdland, I get to sit next to alto saxophone legend Bobby Porcelli every week and take in that huge sound of his. How lucky am I!!! To this day we still play every Sunday, sets at 9:00pm and 11:00pm, and the band is sounding tighter than ever. If you are ever in New York on a Sunday, please drop by and say hello.