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Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods is an album by Dizzy Gillespie and Machito, featuring arrangements by Chico O’Farrill, recorded in 1975 and released on the Pablo label.

“Here we have a summit meeting late in the careers of the pioneering titans of Afro-Cuban jazz: Dizzy Gillespie fronting the Machito orchestra on trumpet, with Mario Bauza as music director, alto saxophonist/clarinetist, and organizing force, and Chico O’Farrill contributing the compositions and arrangements. This could have been just a nostalgic retro gathering 25 years after the fact, but instead, these guys put forth an ambitious effort to push the boundaries of the idiom. The centerpiece is a 15-minute trumpet concerto for Gillespie called “Oro, Incienso y Mirra,” where O’Farrill melts dissonant clusters, electric piano comping, and synthesizer decorations together with hot Afro-Cuban rhythms into a coherent, multi-sectioned tour de force. Gillespie, who had apparently never been in the same room with synthesizers before, is magnificent as he peels off one patented bebop run after another over Machito’s band and in the gaps between. There is also an equally sophisticated suite of O’Farrill pieces grouped under the title “Three Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods,” which mixes rock elements into the rhythms. Parts of “Pensativo” sound as if O’Farrill had been carefully listening to Santana, the teacher learning from the student, as it were. It adds up to a paltry 32 minutes of music, yet one can forgive the short length, this being all there is of a historic recording session.” – Richard S. Ginell/AllMusic.

Track listing:
All compositions by Chico O’Farrill.

“Oro, Incienso y Mirra” – 15:38
“Calidoscopico” – 5:05
“Pensativo” – 5:20
“Exuberante” – 5:48

Personnel:
Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet
Machito – marimba, clavinet, leader
Manny Duran, Paul Gonzalez, Raul Gonzalez Jr., Victor Paz – trumpet, flugelhorn
Jerry Chamberlain, Jack Jeffers, Lewis Kahn, Barry Morrow – trombone
Don Corrado, Brooks Tillotson – French horn
Bob Stewart – tuba
Mauricio Smith – alto saxophone, flute, piccolo
Mario Bauzá – alto saxophone, clarinet
Mario Rivera – tenor saxophone, alto flute
Jose Madera Sr. – tenor saxophone, clarinet
Leslie Yahonikan – baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Jorge Dalto – electric piano
Dana McCurdy – synthesizer
Carlos Castillo – electric bass
Mickey Roker – drums
Julito Grillo, Raymond Hernandez – African drums
Pepin Pepin – congas
Mario Grillo – bongos, cowbell
Jose Madera Jr. – timpani
Chico O’Farrill – arranger, conductor

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Released: 1975
Recorded: June 4–5, 1975
Studio” Generation Sound Studios, New York City
Length: 31:51
Label: Pablo
2310-771
Producer: Arturo ‘Chico’ O’Farrill & Mario Bauzá