St. Ann's Warehouse & Afro Latin Jazz Announce FANDANGO AT THE WALL Free Concert in Brooklyn Bridge Park

After reopening its Brooklyn waterfront theater last fall, St. Ann's Warehouse is launching its second post-shutdown season with a continuation of large-scale outdoor performance and public art presentations that address urgent humanitarian issues. Starting with Fandango at the Wall on Saturday, July 9th at 7PM, St. Ann's will reunite the multiple-Grammy-winning Arturo O'Farrill and his 18-piece Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra with son jarocho musicians traveling from Veracruz, Mexico, and a stellar array of guest artists for Fandango at the Wall, a free concert on the lawn of Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier I, with the Statue of Liberty as its backdrop. The event will serve as both a poignant reminder and rousing celebration of our national promise to embrace and welcome immigrants, and of the power of music and culture to transcend borders.

The Fandango at the Wall concert has its roots in the Fandango Fronterizo Festival, a cross-border fandango, or jam session, that has taken place annually since 2008 and features son jarocho music from Veracruz, Mexico, performed on both sides of the Tijuana/San Diego border wall. In 2018, at the invitation of the festival's founder, Jorge Francisco Castillo, the Mexican-born, New York-based O'Farrill, who has long used music as a voice for activism, traveled there with his orchestra and the Grammy-winning producer Kabir Sehgal to gather the best son jarocho musicians for a collaborative concert and live album. The resulting music is a lush blend of jazz big-band with the 300-year-old Mexican genre that weaves together indigenous, Spanish, and African traditions. It can be heard on the album and HBO documentary Fandango at the Wall. The film is directed by Varda Bar-Kar and executive-produced by Quincy Jones, Andrew Young, and Carlos Santana and is available for streaming on HBO Max.

The upcoming concert in Brooklyn Bridge Park convenes 30+ musicians spanning cultures and styles, including Arturo O'Farrill, whom The New York Times has described as "leader of the first family of Afro-Cuban jazz"; the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, named "one of the best jazz orchestras in existence" by The New Yorker; the legendary artists comprising Conga Patria Son Jarocho Collective (featuring Patricio Hidalgo, Ramon Guitierrez, Tacho Utrera, Wendy Cao Romero, Fernando Guadarrama, and Jorge Francisco Castillo); Mexican trio The Villalobos Brothers; multiple-Grammy-nominated American jazz violinist Regina Carter; American cellist and composer Akua Dixon; Iraqi-American oud virtuoso Rahim AlHaj; and the mesmerizing Iranian-born tar and setar player Sahba Motalebbi.

Former BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins has joined St. Ann's Warehouse and the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance as Executive Producer of the concert.

Arturo O'Farrill says, "Fandango at the Wall is especially important now, when so many things are going wrong and such horrible violence is wreaking havoc on our nation. It's more important than ever to state that borders don't exist-they're manmade. Brooklyn Bridge Park is the perfect place to express that, because of the diversity and the wonderful way that New Yorkers come together. We look forward to celebrating humanity, celebrating togetherness, celebrating peace with you through the music of son jarocho.

St. Ann's Warehouse Artistic Director Susan Feldman says, "Since the shutdown, St. Ann's has moved outside its walls to bring public art to people. We began two years ago on our rooftop balcony when we could not gather, but could bring musicians back out to play in small groups of three and four. Arturo and his sons were one such trio 20' above ground. Now he brings together 30 international stars, and we are on Pier 1 of glorious Brooklyn Bridge Park, where thousands can now gather to heal and rejoice."

Executive Producer Karen Brooks Hopkins says, "Arturo is not only an amazing musical talent, he is a great convener of artists whose voice resonates around this theme of music as a healing force that brings us together despite the wall that keeps us apart. Many thanks to our donors, especially the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, for supporting this wonderful event that was purposefully scheduled to coincide with the end of our 4th of July celebration."

"Brooklyn Bridge Park is honored to host this special convening featuring the great Arturo O'Farrill and over 30 global musicians," said Eric Landau, Brooklyn Bridge Park President. "Especially during these times, amplifying these important messages of connecting, healing, and transcending borders is so important. Thank you to Susan Feldman, St. Ann's Warehouse, and the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance for bringing this amazing work to the public."

Performance Details

The Fandango at the Wall concert will be presented July 9 at 7pm, rain or shine.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1 is located at 2 Furman St, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

In case of rain, the concert will be held inside St. Ann's Warehouse (45 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201).

Fandango at the Wall is free to the public. RSVPs are encouraged, but not required. Learn more and RSVP at stannswarehouse.org.

About the Artists

Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer, and educator Arturo O'Farrill-leader of the "first family of Afro-Cuban Jazz" (New York Times)-was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. Son of the late, great composer Chico O'Farrill, Arturo played piano in Carla Bley's Big Band from 1979 through 1983 and earned a reputation as a soloist in groups led by Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte. In 2002, he established the Grammy Award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) to bring the vital musical traditions of Afro Latin jazz to a wider general audience, and to greatly expand the contemporary Latin jazz big band repertoire through commissions to artists across a wide stylistic and geographic range. In March 2021, O'Farrill and the ALJO won their 7th Grammy for Four Questions, with Cornel West as guest orator. In September 2018, O'Farrill released his album, Fandango at the Wall: A Soundtrack for the United States, Mexico, and Beyond, which was also released as a documentary for HBO MAX. In 2019, O'Farrill was appointed Professor at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in the Global Jazz Studies department and is currently the Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. O'Farrill's debut recording with Blue Note Records ...dreaming in lions... is nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award in the "Best Instrumental Composition" category, and his album, Virtual Birdland (ZOHO), is nominated for "Best Latin Jazz Album." O'Farrill is a Steinway Artist and records for Blue Note Records.

Rahim AlHaj. Oud musician and composer Rahim AlHaj began playing oud at the age of nine, going on to study under Munir Bashir at Baghdad Institute of Music and receiving various awards there. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Rahim was forced to leave Iraq due to activism against the Baath regime. He moved to the U.S. in 2000 as a political refugee. Considered one of the world's finest oud players, Rahim has recorded and performed with other master musicians of varied backgrounds and styles including guitarist Bill Frisell, accordionist Guy Klucevsek, sarod player Amjad Ali Khan and indie-rockers REM. He has composed pieces for solo oud, trio, string quintet, symphony, etc. Delicately combining traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary styling/influence, his pieces establish new concepts without altering the foundations of the traditional "Iraqi School of Oud." His compositions evoke the experience of exile, consequences in post-war reality and new beginnings. Rahim has released 13 albums, receiving two Grammy nominations.

Wendy Cao Romero's career as a fandango dancer began in 1987. She is a key member of the Utrera family, which promotes its artistry and shows throughout El Hato. In addition, she has produced numerous field recordings of older son jarocho musicians. She worked as a radio producer for thirteen years. As an educator, she has also put out a book that details the dance steps for jarocho dancers. She attends and participates in son jarocho workshops. As part of her musical career, she has been a member of the Zacamandu group since 1992 and "Los Utrera" since 1993. She also plays the jarana. Beaming with a broad smile, Wendy infuses her performances with a buoyant personality. She teaches textile arts in El Hato "Mujeres Tejedoras," an organization of thirty women.

Regina Carter. Grammy-nominated artist Regina Carter explores the power of music through the voice of the violin in a wide range of genres-including jazz, R&B, Latin, classical, blues, country, pop, and African music. A recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" award and a Doris Duke Artist Award, she has been widely hailed for her mastery of her instrument and her drive to expand its possibilities. Her albums include Paganini: After a Dream (Verve, 2003), I'll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey (Verve, 2006), Reverse Thread (E1 Music, 2010), Southern Comfort (Sony Masterworks, 2014), Ella: Accentuate the Positive (OKeh, 2017), and Swing States: Harmony in the Battleground (Tiger Turn/ eOne, 2020), in which Regina and her Freedom Band, trumpeter John Daversa, pianist Jon Batiste, bassists Alexis Cuadrado and Kabir Sehgal and drummer Harvey Mason set out to deliver an optimistic and encouraging project that extols the importance of taking part in the democratic process. Regina tours with her own group and has appeared frequently as a guest soloist, including with such performers as Kenny Barron, the late bassist Ray Brown, Akua Dixon, Arturo O'Farrill, Steve Turre, Stefon Harris, Mary J. Blige, Joe Jackson, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, Omara Portuondo, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Rhiannon Giddens and others. She has also been a guest soloist with several major symphony orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo. Regina is artistic director of the Geri Allen Jazz Camp, a unique summer immersion program sponsored by NJPAC for aspiring women jazz professionals. She is currently on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and New Jersey City University and is artist in residence at the Oakland University School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Past positions have included resident artist for San Francisco Performances and resident artistic director for SFJAZZ. Along with performing, recording, teaching, and mentoring, Regina is passionate about bringing music into nursing homes and hospice settings and being a comfort to the actively dying. As part of that commitment, she trained to be a hospice volunteer at Hospice of New Jersey.

Jorge Castillo. Born in 1959, Jorge Castillo grew up in the City of Juarez, Mexico. He was inspired at an early age by his grandfather, Beto, who was a professional jazz and orchestral trumpet player. Jorge is a professional classical guitar player, having received his first training at home at age nine. He graduated from the University of Texas El Paso. During this time at UTEP, Jorge worked at the music library where he developed an interest in the librarianship career. Later, he became a professional librarian for more than 30 years, until 2017. During this time at the library, he was always involved in music; drawn to performing in some way, whether with friends or family. In 2006, Jorge was introduced to the fandango culture but it was not until the summer of 2007, after hearing the group Quemayama, from Veracruz, that he got a much better grip of its essence. This drove him to become the founder of the Fandango Fronterizo in 2008, held annually on the border of Tijuana and San Diego.

Akua Dixon. Cellist, composer. Conductor, and educator Akua Dixon has been at the forefront of improvising string players since 1973. She is the first cellist to win the Downbeat Critics Poll. A multi laureate of the National Endowment for the Arts in composition and performance, Akua is considered "amongst the treasures of contemporary jazz" (NJ Star Ledger). She has toured the world performing with her Grammy-winning string quartet, Quartette Indigo, "jazz's leading string quartet" (Boston Globe). Akua's string arrangements can be heard on the five-time Grammy--winning album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and on Aretha Franklin's Grammy-nominated A Rose Is Still A Rose. She has performed with Duke Ellington, Max Roach, Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, and many more. Akua has performed at concert halls and Festivals in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. A native New Yorker, Akua attended its infamous High School of Performing Arts and studied cello with Benar Heifetz. Akua conducted Riverside by Judith Jamison, with music by Kimati Dinizulu, for the 1995 season premiere at City Center. She is the 1998 recipient of the African American Classical Music Award. In 2005 she developed her Hip Hop Blues Project for NYC school children while working with Carnegie Hall Education. Akua's new project is WE THE PEOPLE. Dedicated to "All The People," it speaks to the theme of Justice, Equality and Hope.

Fernando Guadarrama Olivera. Hailing from Cordoba, Veracruz, he is an expert at performing ten-line verses known as "Decimas in Son Jarocho." The son of a physician, Fernando has lived in Oaxaca for nearly thirty years and has played the jaraba for twenty-eight years. He has also taught poetry for son jarocho music for some twenty years. He has toured poetry festivals throughout the U.S. and Latin America. He also is the director of a poetry and son workshop in Tapacamino, Oaxaca, since 2005. His poetry has been extensively published and recorded. In October 2017, he performed at the 40th anniversary concert for Grupo Mono Blanco at the Fine Arts Hall in Mexico City.

Ramon Gutiérrez Hernández was raised in Tres Zapotes, Veracruz. At a young age, he was introduced to the requinto, which he has played for over 30 years. In his music, he channels the great spirits of son jarocho veterans and masters while also forging ahead and cultivating a modern sound. As an educator, he has taught workshops on jarana, requinto, and zapateado. He has recorded more than 12 albums, five of which are with his group Son De Madera, which he started in 1992. And one of his albums was in collaboration with the Smithsonian. He collaborated on the project Piano Xarocho, in which he and a pianist fused the music of Colombia and Venezuela with son jarocho. Ramon has also toured extensively throughout the U.S., from Seattle to Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC. He has also toured throughout Latin America and Europe. He is a master luthier and builds his own instruments. He is currently based in Xalapa, Veracruz.

Patricio Hidalgo Belli, a widely celebrated son jarocho musician, was born in Apixita, Veracruz, and is the grandson of Arcadio Hidalgo, one of the most iconic son jarocho musicians of the twentieth century. Patricio started playing the guitar when he was just a boy and has since followed the path that his grandfather blazed as a songwriter and master soloist. As a professional musician, Patricio has been a member of Grupo Mono Blanco; Grupo Chuchumbe; Grupo Quemayama; and Grupo Afro Jarocho, and has recorded on numerous albums. He has also performed with baroque ensembles and toured throughout Europe.

Sahba Motallebi. Recognized internationally as a modern virtuoso of the tar and setar, lute-like stringed instruments central to one of the world's great musical traditions, Sahba Motallebi began studying music as a young girl in Sari, Northern Iran. In 1993, at age 14, her talent garnered an invitation to study at the Tehran Conservatory of Music. She flourished, and was recognized as Best Tar Player at the Iranian Music Festival four years running (1995-98). After graduating from Conservatory in 1997, she co-founded the groundbreaking women's music ensemble Chakaveh. In 1999m she joined the Iranian National Orchestra, beginning her career as an international performer. She left Iran in 2003 to pursue graduate studies, closed to her there due to her Bahai'i faith.

Tacho Utrera. Born in El Hato, Veracruz, Tacho is a renaissance man: He is a talented musician, carpenter, and luthier who learned to make instruments from his father and grandfather. He plays the leona, requinto, and jarana and has enjoyed a thirty-year career as a son jarocho musician. Tacho has been a member of the bands Grupo Mono Blanco and Los Utrera. And during his career as a musician, he has toured the U.S., Latin America, and Europe, sharing the son jarocho tradition with the world. He has also recorded on several albums including En el Hueco de un Laurel and Con Utrera yo Aprendí. Tacho is reserved and stoic but his music is soul-stirring. He is married to Wendy Cao Romero and has one son, Miguel Utrera, who is also a musician.

The Villalobos Brothers have been acclaimed as one of today's leading Contemporary Mexican ensembles. Their original compositions and arrangements masterfully blend and celebrate the richness of Mexican folk music with the intricate harmonies of jazz and classical music. The Villalobos Brothers deliver an intoxicating brew of brilliance, cadence and virtuosity that awaken the senses and mesmerize the listener. Ernesto, Alberto, and Luis Villalobos use their violins and voices to redefine contemporary Mexican music. The group's virtuosic performances have delighted listeners from Latin America, India and Russia to Lincoln Center's American Songbook, Carnegie Hall and the Latin Grammy Awards. Since 2015, they have exclusive representation in the US and Canada, from SRO Artists. Also, they have been Artist in Residence at Lincoln Center, 92nd Street Y, Latino Arts, and the New York Botanical Garden's record-breaking exhibit Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life. Today, the Villalobos Brothers continue to collaborate with legendary musicians, including Grammy winners Arturo O'Farrill, Antonio Sanchez, Eduardo Magallanes, Dan Zanes, and many others.

About St. Ann's Warehouse

St. Ann's Warehouse plays a vital role on the global cultural landscape as an American artistic home for international companies of distinction, American avant-garde masters and talented emerging artists ready to work on a grand scale. St. Ann's signature flexible, open space allows artists to stretch, both literally and imaginatively, enabling them to approach work with unfettered creativity, knowing that the theater can be adapted in multiple configurations to suit their needs.

In the heart of Brooklyn Bridge Park, St. Ann's Warehouse is a spectacular waterfront theater that opened in October 2015. The new Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Theater offers St. Ann's signature versatility and grandeur on an amplified scale while respecting the walls of an original 1860's Tobacco Warehouse. The building complex includes a Studio for smaller-scale events and community uses, a welcoming foyer/exhibit space, and The Max Family Garden, designed by landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and open to Brooklyn Bridge Park visitors during Park hours.

Over four decades of consistently acclaimed landmark productions that found their American heart and home at St. Ann's include Lou Reed's and John Cale's Songs for 'Drella; Marianne Faithfull's Breaking Away and Seven Deadly Sins; Artistic Director Susan Feldman's Band in Berlin; Charlie Kaufman and the Coen Brothers' Theater of the New Ear; The Royal Court and TR Warszawa productions of Sarah Kane's 4:48 Psychosis; The Globe Theatre of London's Measure for Measure with Mark Rylance; Druid Company's The Walworth Farce, The New Electric Ballroom and Penelope by Enda Walsh and the Landmark / Galway International Arts Festival Productions of Walsh's Misterman, featuring Cillian Murphy, Ballyturk and Arlington; Lou Reed's Berlin; the National Theater of Scotland's Black Watch and Let the Right One In; Kneehigh Theatre's Brief Encounter, 946 and Tristan & Yseult; Yael Farber's Mies Julie; Dmitry Krymov Lab's Opus No. 7; The Donmar Warehouse all-female Shakespeare Trilogy directed by Phyllida Lloyd: Julius Caesar, Henry IV, The Tempest; Kate Tempest's Brand New Ancients; Tricycle Theatre's Red Velvet, the Young Vic production of A Streetcar Named Desire with Gillian Anderson; Mark Rylance's Nice Fish, The National Theatre's People, Places & Things, and the World Premiere of the complete Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History of Popular Music, including the one-time only 24-hour marathon in 2016. St. Ann's has championed such artists as The Wooster Group, Mabou Mines, Jeff Buckley, Cynthia Hopkins, Daniel Kitson, Emma Rice and Kneehigh, Hal Willner's multi-artist tribute concerts, and an historic David Bowie concert in 2002. Prior to the pandemic, St. Ann's produced a reimagined Oklahoma! directed by Daniel Fish, in association with the Bard Fisher Center and co-producer Eva Price, which went on to win the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical; The Gate Theatre Dublin's acclaimed Hamlet, directed by Yael Farber, featured a knockout performance by Academy Award and Tony nominee Ruth Negga; and an astonishing play about refugees, The Jungle, a Good Chance Theatre co-production with London's National Theatre and The Young Vic will return for a second run next March. During the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Ann's has reconfigured its facade and rooftop balconies for public art presentations of music and visual art, bringing artists back to work and offering its arches, walls and lightboxes to BIPOC artists such as Supremacy Project, committed to ending violence through art.

www.stannswarehouse.org

About the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance

The non-profit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA) was established by Arturo O'Farrill in 2007 to promote Afro Latin Jazz through a comprehensive array of performance and education programs. ALJA's mission is to perform, educate about, and preserve the music of all of the Americas, emanating from African and indigenous roots, through the entry point of jazz. ALJA embraces its mission with a commitment to social justice, equity, inclusion, and the equality of all cultures worldwide. ALJA produces the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra's annual performance season in New York, and maintains a weekly engagement for the Orchestra at the famed jazz club Birdland. The Alliance also maintains a world-class collection of Latin jazz musical scores and recordings. ALJA's education programs include the Afro Latin Jazz Academy of Music (ALJAM), an in-school residency program serving public schools citywide with instrumental and ensemble instruction, the pre-professional youth orchestra; the Fat Afro Latin Jazz Cats, which prepares the next generation of musicians, and the Global Rhythms in Our Tribe (G.R.I.O.T.); a community music program that engages underserved youth in anti-violence activities. The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance maintains administrative offices in Harlem.

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