The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1, Music Manuscripts, undated
Series 2, Other Materials, 1949, 1975, 1999
The collection consists of materials documenting the musical career of Chico O'Farrill. There are no personal papers, and there is very little information about his life.
Chico O'Farrill Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Guadalupe Valero O'Farrill, widow of Chico O'Farrill, donated the collection in 2005.
: Arturo (Chico) O' Farrill was born October 28, 1921, into an Irish-German Cuban family in Havana, Cuba. He learned to play trumpet while attending Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia. O'Farrill later returned to Havana and studied composition. He arranged and composed classical music and jazz for mainstream and Latin musicians. He played trumpet throughout the mid-forties with various Cuban bands, including the Lecuna Cuban Boys. In 1948, O'Farrill moved to New York to study at The Julliard School. Later he composed and arranged music for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Machito, Stan Kenton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gato Barbieri. He collaborated with impresario Norman Granz, who helped put together a recording session including Machito, alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, tenor saxophonist Flip Phillips and drummer Buddy Rich. They recorded Afro Cuban Jazz Suite in 1950, a successful blend of the bebop sound he arranged for Benny Goodman and Latin jazz rhythms. O'Farrill formed his own band and toured the United States and Cuba, returning to Havana around 1955, subsequently relocating to Mexico City. O'Farrill moved to Los Angeles in 1965. He recorded Afro Cuban Moods with Dizzy Gillespie in 1975. Around this time, he began to compose commercial music for advertising and television. From 1998 until 2000, he conducted the Lincoln Center Latin Jazz Orchestra and the Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Band in New York. O'Farrill died on June 27, 2001 in New York City.
Collection processed by Sarah Allan (volunteer), supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2008.
Collection is open for research.
Paquito D'Rivera Music Manuscripts and Photograph (AC0891)
Tito Puente Papers (AC0894)
Mongo Santamaria Papers (AC0893)
Charismic Productions Records of Dizzy Gillespie (AC0979)
Latino Music Collection (AC0852)
This series consists of three of O'Farrill's most important compositions. Afro Cuban Jazz Suite, a milestone in Latin jazz, was composed with Charlie Parker and recorded in December 21, 1950. Also included is Aztec Suite created for trumpeter Art Farmer and recorded in 1959. Six Jazz Moods, created while O'Farrill was living in Mexico City, is a twelve-tone piece. The twelve-tone technique ensures that all twelve notes of the chromatic scale are soundedan equal number of times, preventing the emphasis of any one note in one piece of music . The materials are arranged in alphabetical order by title.
Aztec Suite, original score for orchestra, various parts
Six Jazz Moods, score for orchestra
This series includes a video tape, Chico O'Farrill: Heart of a Legend. This eight-minute tape recorded in 1999 describes the release of O'Farrill's CD, Heart of a Legend, which marked the international return of this composer. It is a gathering of well-known artists, among them Gato Barbieri, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Alfredo Armenteros, Israel Lopez, Carlos Valdes and Freddy Cole. There is a photograph of O'Farrill with Dizzy Gillespie. The title page of Igor Stravinsky's symphonic poem, Chant du Rossignol, inscribed to O'Farrill, is also included among the materials.
Title page of Igor Stravinsky's Chant du Rossignol