11/21 :: David Bixler w/ Arturo O'Farrill

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David Bixler

Arturo O'Farrill

A veteran sideman on the New York Jazz scene, alto saxophonist David Bixler has recently emerged as an accomplished, urbane bandleader and composer. Over the past eleven years, David has made a name for himself in the trenches of the New York City jazz scene. David has performed and toured with the orchestras of Toshiko Akiyoshi and Duke Ellington at prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Symphony Center in Chicago, the Snow Mass Jazz Festival in Aspen, CO, and New York's JVC Jazz Festival.

Since 2000 David has been a member of the Grammy-nominated Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, two years ago taking over the lead-alto chair. The band has toured through out Europe, North America and Central America in addition to performing at Birdland in New York City each Sunday. Additionally, during the fall of 2005, David performed with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at the historic Concert Hall in Shanghai, China.

During this time David began collaborating with trumpeter Scott Wendholt, guitarist John Hart, Ugonna Okegwa on bass, and Andy Watson on drums. David’s debut Jazz Quintet CD entitled Lost In Queens was released in May of 2000. In the fall of 2003, David released his second CD, Show Me The Justice, which received national airplay and critical praise for demonstrating David's creative abilities as composer as well as improviser. His current CD, Call It A Good Deal, is slated for release in July 2006 on the Zoho label and features all original compositions by David Bixler. Ever expanding his compositional parameters, a new work for alto saxophone and string quartet is to be debuted January 2007 with the South Dakota Symphony string quartet.

Arturo O'Farrill (pianist, educator and musical director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra) was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. Educated at the Manhattan School of Music and the Brooklyn College Conservatory, Arturo played piano with the Carla Bley Big Band from 1979 through 1983. He then went on to develop as a solo performer with a wide spectrum of artists including Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Papo Vazquez, The Fort Apache Band, Lester Bowie, and Harry Belafonte.

In 1995, Arturo agreed to direct the band that preserved much of his father's music, Chico O'Farrill's Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, which has been in residence at New York City's Birdland for the past few years as well as performing throughout the world.

Besides recording three albums as a leader for Milestone Records, 32 Jazz, and M & I (Bloodlines, A Night in Tunisia, and Cumana Bop), Arturo has appeared on numerous records including Habanera with Alberto Shiroma, and the soundtrack to the critically-acclaimed movie Calle 54. Arturo was a special guest soloist at three landmark Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts: Afro-Cuban Jazz: Chico O'Farrill's Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, November 1995; Con Alma: The Latin Tinge in Big Band Jazz, September 1998; and the 2001 Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala: The Spirit of Tito Puente, November 2001.

In March 2002, he was also the featured artist in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Jazz in the Schools Tour, when he led a Latin jazz quintet for 24 educational performances that reached over 5,000 people throughout NYC metropolitan schools. He also participated in this educational tour again from October 21 through November 1, 2002.