Big Band Of Chico O’farrill - Super Chops (2008)

Chico O'Farrill, born n Havana, Cuba, was one of the principle forces in the emergence of Afro-Cuban Jazz in the late 1940's and early 1950's.
He studied composition with the great Cuban composer Felix Guerrero and honed his skills in the Jazz clubs of Havana, playing trumpet in several bands prior to moving to New York - arriving at a time when Dizzy Gillespie and Machito began merging Bebop and Cuban music, quickly becoming a key figure in the movement. His first major contribution to Afro-Cuban jazz began at a recording session for Machito in late 1950.
O'Farrill's sophisticated Afro-Cuban Jazz Suites became recognized as a pivotal turning point in adapting Cuban music to modern big-band Jazz and featured Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich and Flip Phillips among other Jazz greats. The sessions for Super Chops, featuring Chico leading a remarkable big band, were recorded at a rare session for the short lived Versatile label in the late 70's. This release, making its CD debut and capturing the master at the height of his powers, is surely a welcome addition to his already impressive body of work.