Originally commissioned by The Philadelphia Music Project for Dr. Maria Taylor and Latin Fiesta, part of a collaboration with Tania Leon, this arrangement of Tabla Rasa is in two movements. El Salon Cubano is a sound painting of turn of the century Cuba, the days when every home had a salon, a piano (much as we had here in turn of the century New Orleans) and an amateur pianist. It is not a literal interpretation of the music from the period, but rather evocative of that era, when the beginnings of Latin were inseparable from the beginnings of jazz. Though jazz purists hate to admit it, the roots of both jazz and latin are African and inexorably tied to one another. It is impossible to discuss jazz without fully understanding and giving full weight to its Latin American cousin.

The second movement, Tintal Tintal Deo shows the connection of all these cultural entities to the hand drum through the Tabla. Jazz is more than a genre distilled by a precious-few cultural power brokers. Musical improvisation is a universal constant, like breathing, an irrevocable truth, more ancient than any single peoples or cultures. I do not try to replicate Indian music here. That would be arrogance. Instead I use the basic Indian tala, the Tintal pattern and build a prayerful meditation on it. Badal Roy is master musician whose playing reaches across geographical and cultural boundaries.

My friend Jim Seeley keeps me grounded, his writing and playing always reminds me that music is pure soul and truth. We all pray the blues in our various languages. It is our attempt to reach out beyond our temporal frames and sing the song of the Divine. Ceviche is Jim reminding me to “keep it O’for-real”.

My best friend Alison lives in a universe where everything is well ordered and sleeping dogs lie. It directly contrasts my planet where all is chaos; everything’s last minute and I can never find my keys. I guess this is why we are good for each other. She still amazes me every day and I still exasperate her every day. It’s a balance. I call where she lives Alisonia.

The words Risa Negra translate into “black laughter”. I remember being little and my father would sometimes laugh so hard that his face would contort into what could easily be mistaken for death throes. It amazed my sister and I that he could experience such intense pleasure. We’d intentionally try and provoke him into these states of pure bliss, these states where the line between laughter and pain was thin, reflecting the dual nature of our existence, neither state being the defining one of existence.

When I look out on these musicians, experiencing the amazing music we play, meet the wonderful people who come to hear us, when I see my young musician-sons realizing they are as big-hearted as they are talented, when I gaze upon my sweet Alison, my mother Lupe’s fierce pride in all of us, the legacy of my father, the young musicians I have the privilege of teaching, the friends who support the work of The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, those whom I have by my side as we struggle to break free from cultural tyranny, mediocrity and small-mindedness, when I take into account these astonishing facets of my life, I am tempted to break out in wild peals of complete , shameless and unrelenting risa negra.

- Arturo O’Farrill

Produced by Arturo O’Farrill in association with The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. Assistant producer Eric Oberstein. Recorded April 12 – 13, 2009 at Peter Karl Studios, Brooklyn, NY. Mixed by Peter Karl, Arturo O’Farrill and Eric Oberstein. Mastering by Peter Karl. Photography: Jerry Lacay. Package design: Al Gold. Executive Producers: Alison Deane & Joachim “Jochen” Becker.