Pianist, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill kicks off the year with a packed schedule of performances and appearances, including this weekend’s launch of a new partnership with El Museo del Barrio. O’Farrill will also perform and participate in a panel discussion as part of Winter Jazzfest. See below for details. 

O’Farrill has two 2026 GRAMMY nominations in the Best Latin Jazz Album category and will be attending the awards in LA on February 1.

Retrospective + Tribute to Christopher “Chilo” Cajigas

When:

Friday, January 9 & Saturday, January 10, 2026

Doors: 6:30 PM | Show: 7 PM

Where:

El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio

1230 Fifth Avenue (at 104th Street), NY, NY 10029

As part of a new 2026 residency uniting two of NYC’s leading Pan Latin cultural institutions, Belongó and El Museo del Barrio present a powerful musical retrospective and tribute to late spoken word artist Christopher "Chilo" Cajigas, performed by Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO)—the six-time GRAMMY and two-time Latin GRAMMY-winning band known for fusing Afro Latin rhythms with contemporary jazz.

This celebratory program will highlight more than two decades of ALJO’s groundbreaking performances across New York City and the world, while honoring Cajigas’s lyrical legacy with support from his frequent collaborators: turntablist DJ Logic and poet Caridad De la Luz. 

More on Belongó HERE.

Winter Jazzfest Jazz Talks | Making Art Amid Cultural Erasure

Arturo O’Farrill, Gwen Laster, Immanuel Wilkins, Yasmin Williams

Moderated by Angelika Beener

When:

Saturday, January 10, 2026

12 PM

Where:

651 ARTS

10 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY

What does it mean to make art when the culture behind it is distorted or pushed aside? Arturo O’Farrill, Gwen Laster, Immanuel Wilkins, Yasmin Williams come together for a conversation about creating new work during the second Trump administration. They reflect on how tradition, memory, and lived experience inform their music—especially living in this present moment. Rather than framing erasure as an accepted loss, this panel considers how artists adapt, respond, and resist—finding new ways to carry their voices forward. Moderated by Angelika Beener, this discussion explores how art can preserve history and envision our future beyond this dark present.

Winter Jazzfest Presents | My Country ’Tis of Thee: Freedom Riders & Guests

Featuring Adegoke Steve Colson, Arturo O'Farrill, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Mádé Kuti, Samora Pinderhughes + more

When:

Monday, January 12, 2026

Doors: 7 PM 

Where:

Le Poisson Rouge (LPR)

158 Bleecker St, NYC

Winter Jazzfest presents My Country ’Tis of Thee—a powerful night of music, resistance, and hope. At the heart of the evening are the Freedom Riders, an all-star ensemble of leading voices in creative music, dedicated to amplifying messages of social justice through sound. Members include Tomoki Sanders, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Alfredo Colón, Milena Casado, Sasha Berliner, Carmen Staaf, Joe Dyson, and co-leaders Luke Stewart and Ben Williams.

This one-of-a-kind performance will unfold as an improvised round robin, interweaving spontaneous creation with repertoire linked to the civil rights movement. Alongside these echoes of history, the Freedom Riders and their invited guests—visionary artists Arturo O’Farrill, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Adegoke Steve Colson, Samora Pinderhughes, Mádé Kuti,and others—will share new songs born from their activist practice, underscoring the ongoing struggle for equality and freedom.