February 9, 2022

Jazz and Caribbean Culture Are a Signature Blend

JAZZ AND TAP: Ayodele Casel brings her tap dance talents to a performance by the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra at McCarter Theatre.

Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) comes to McCarter Theatre Saturday, February 19 at 8 p.m., joined by solo tap dance artist Ayodele Casel.

The concert celebrates pianist O’Farrill’s commitment “to a meld of Caribbean musical culture and homegrown jazz, a blend which has become not only his band’s signature, but a blend we don’t get to hear that often,” wrote Bill Lockwood, McCarter’s special programming director, on the McCarter website. “The ALJO carries on the legacy of ambitious and sophisticated Latin jazz immortalized by Arturo’s legendary father Chico, who was a pioneer in fusing Cuban rhythms with jazz techniques.”

Casel is a frequent collaborator with O’Farrill. “Mentored by the legendary Gregory Hines, she has become a one-woman ambassador
representing the history of tap, and especially its forgotten female interpreters who came before her,” wrote Lockwood.

A post-show talk with Casel will follow the performance. For tickets and more information, visit Mccarter.org.