WALL-LESS:

Even by the standards set by pianist, composer, bandleader, and social activist Arturo O'Farrill, Fandango at the Wall, a double-CD with the 18-piece Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, qualifies as personal. A New York City resident, the 58-year-old O'Farrill was born in Mexico City, and he's been openly critical of President Trump's attempts to build a wall along the United States' southern border. Inspired by retired Mexican librarian Jorge Francisco Castillo's annual Fandango Fronterizo Festiva--a burgeoning event that's brought musicians to play through the meshed wall separating Tijuana from San Diego for a decade--O'Farrill upped the global ante for this recording by performing with his orchestra at several locations along the border, aided by various special guests, many of whom are from countries targeted by Trump's travel ban. [...]

Horns, stringed instruments, and guest French-Chilean vocalist Ana Tijoux singing and rapping in Spanish on "Somos Sur" tear down perceived walls between jazz, classical, hip-hop and traditional Mexican music, while Mexican stars like the singing, violin-playing Villalobos Brothers (on the dramatic "El Pijul") and vocalist/jarana player Patricio Hidalgo (a romping "Conga Patria") also get spotlight time. Disc one's centerpiece is O'Farrill's three-part "Invisible Suite," defying categorization and featuring a banner Carter solo, the New Haven String Quartet, and the Young People's Chorus of New York City.

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