Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance News | February 24, 2015‏

Upcoming Osnel Delgado, choreographer and dancer, performing with Malpaso and  the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble at Teatro Mella, Havana, Cuba, December 2014. Photography by David Garten. U.S. Premiere Cuban Modern Dance’s Latin Jazz Twists: Malpaso & the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble After a successful joint performance with Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble during the 2014 Havana Jazz Festival at the art-deco Teatro Mella in Havana, the Cuban modern dance company Malpaso comes to New York City for the U.S. premiere of Despedida (Farewell), a new work by the 2015 Grammy award-winner Arturo O’Farrill. Written specially for Malpaso, Despedida premiered at the end of January 2015 at the José Martí Theater in Cuba. These special performances will be presented live with the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble (ALJE) at the Joyce Theater in New York City. Founded in 2012, the modern dance ensemble Malpaso —which means "bad step" in Spanish— develops from the well-known modern dance traditions in Cuba, particularly the work of important ensembles such as Danza Contemporánea.  Led by choreographer and dancer Osnel Delgado, their repertory includes multiple collaborations with international musicians, including 24 hours and a dog, a work set to music by Arturo O’Farrill March 3-8, 2015. For performance hours, click here  Joyce Theater 175 8th Avenue (between West 18th and West 19th street) New York, NY 10011 Telephone: +1 (212) 242-0800 To reserve tickets, click here Education Presenting GRIOT, World Music Instruction for Academic Achievement ALJA is pleased to announce its collaboration with the New York Mission Society for the new program GRIOT (Global Rhythms in Our Tribe). GRIOT is a program that integrates musical instruction with academic achiement, open to young adults grades 6 through 12 on March 2015. To learn more about this program, come to our recruitment concert and information session on Wednesday, February 25, at 5:00pm at the Minisink Townhouse in Harlem. Wednesday, February 25, 2015, 5:00 - 6:00 pm NYC Mission Society Minisink Townhouse 646 Malcolm X Boulevard New York NY 10037 www.nycmissionsociety.org  For map directions, click here For more information, call Genesis Herrera at +1 (212) 674-3500 ext 217 The Offense of the Drum: Excerpts On the 2015 edition of the Grammys, the album The Offense of the Drum was awarded the Best Latin Jazz Album. With this work, Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra developed one of the most complete works that will mark the teaching of Latin Jazz genre for many years. They Came [from the Land of Borínquen] From the album The Offense of the Drum, 2015 Grammy Winner Written in honor of the abundant poetry traditions from Puerto Rico and the “nuyorican” poetry movement, They Came conveys their multiple cultural contributions to life in the U.S. Featuring acclaimed Puerto Rican writer and poet Christopher “Chilo” Cajigas and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra,this piece utilizes the spoken word and rap idioms, in conjunction with jazz harmonies and bomba drum rhythms. ¡¡Viva The Latin Jazz!! jazzcaribe@hotmail.com