Arturo O'Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra Will Perform at The Soraya Next Week

The Soraya presents Fandango at the Wall-The Shape Shifter Sessions, a concert performance film featuring Grammy Award winner Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, recorded at the Brooklyn Shapeshifter Lab especially for, and produced by The Soraya. It will have its world premiere Friday, April 23 at 7pm PT with a live interview with O'Farrill, exclusively for The Soraya members on its online platform powered by Vimeo as part of the Together Apart: Behind the Screens series at www.thesoraya.org/fandango.

On April 28 at 7pm ET/4pm PT, Fandango will be available to the general public at www.shapeshifterlab.com/livestream/fandango-alja/.

Fandango at the Wall-The Shape Shifter Sessions features special guests Mandy Gonzalez, The Villalobos Brothers, and master Son Jarocho musicians who were recorded remotely in Vera Cruz and Tijuana. In the midst of a global pandemic, The Soraya and Afro Latin Jazz Alliance joined forces to produce this concert performance film, directed by filmmaker Taylor Krauss this past November.

In 2018, over 50 artists gathered at the Tijuana-San Diego border for a fandango. They filmed a documentary, recorded an album, and wrote a book about the experience. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, these artists gathered together again, safely observing COVID protocols to film this concert.

O'Farrill said, "We were supposed to perform at The Soraya in October [2020] -- you know why we were not there -- but the beautiful people of The Soraya still invited us to do this performance and they graciously provided funding to bring this performance to you from Shapeshifter Lab -- a sacred performance art space in New York City."

"This is a very brave moment for us, as we gathered 25 musicians in a very carefully controlled COVID free environment. We were very careful to provide safety protocols ... you will see musicians taking temperatures, that the musicians are all wearing masks. The men and women of the Afro Latin Latin Jazz Band love what they do! Thanks you Soraya, thank you Shapeshifter Lab!"

"Arturo O'Farrill and his ensemble were on our original 2020-21 season before it was canceled," said Thor Steingraber, Executive and Artistic Director of The Soraya. "I was excited when Arturo suggested filming the concert instead. By the time it came together, the winter Covid spike had begun, but they were undaunted. I'm impressed by their fearlessness, and of course, all the safety precautions they took.

Fandango at the Wall offers a powerful statement about music as the transcendent and unifying force in the world. The Latin jazz and the Son Jarocho bring Mexico and other Latin musical traditions together in an unprecedented way. You may need to push aside your coffee table to make space to dance in your living room."

Another event is available for members in the Together Apart: Behind the Screens series for members. On Friday, May 14 at 1pm Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra holds a LIVE virtual masterclass with CSUN Jazz Studies musicians. Swing on by to observe these jazz masters instruct the next generation of jazz musicians as CSUN's Spring Semester draws to a close.

Learn more at www.thesoraya.org.

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