Led by Arturo O’Farrill for nearly two decades, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) has shared a unique combination of big-band jazz and Latin music through the talent and virtuosity of its 18 solo musicians. As a smaller version of the orchestra, the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble is a prodigious octet, also led by O’Farrill as musical director. The Ensemble’s repertoire includes material performed by the orchestra, as well as pieces composed for a smaller format.

The GRAMMY® Award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra has enamored international audiences with its creative performances of music by Latin jazz legends, such as Tito Puente, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Chico O’Farrill, as well as new pieces from some of the most accomplished composers and arrangers in Latin music.

With programs that showcase its versatility, the orchestra has pushed the boundaries of the genre with daring interpretations, performing and commissioning innovative compositions and big band arrangements by Antonio Sánchez, Miguel Zenón, Dafnis Prieto, Guillermo Klein, Pablo Mayor, Michele Rosewoman, Emilio Solla, Papo Vázquez, Vijay Iyer, and Arturo himself, among others.

Over the years, the orchestra has brought its incomparable sound to stages such as Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Boston Symphony Hall, Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, The Newport Festival, Litchfield Jazz Festival (Kent, CT), Joyce Theater, with Ballet Hispánico, Rialto Center for the Performing Arts (Atlanta, GA), Mahalia Jackson Theater, with Ballet Hispánico (New Orleans), Megaron Concert Hall (Athens, Greece), and the Taichung Jazz Festival (Taichung, Taiwan).