Why a Grammy Winner Says You Can’t Understand Jazz Without Cuba

Arturo O’Farrill is a Grammy-winning pianist, composer and one of the most influential voices in Afro-Cuban jazz. But for him, Cuba is more than just an inspiration — it’s home, history and identity.

In Havana, during the 41st International Jazz Plaza Festival, Arturo told us why jazz cannot be understood without Cuba, why Afro-Cuban roots remain central to the music’s evolution, and why cultural exchange persists despite the United States’ decades-long economic war on Cuba.

Arturo has been returning to Cuba year after year for over two decades, honoring his heritage, and using music as a bridge between Cuban and U.S. citizens - despite the personal cost of taking political positions.

“This is Cuba,” he says. “I come here to learn how to live.”

TRANSCRIPT

“When I walk this soil, I feel complete,” said Arturo O’Farrill, a Grammy-winning pianist and composer known for his work in Afro-Cuban jazz.

“This is Cuba. This is Cuba,” he added.

“Jazz Plaza is an international venture by a country that’s been ostracized,” O’Farrill reflected.

“I travel all over the world,” the musician said. “People in other countries don’t love jazz because it’s American. People all over the world love jazz because it’s visionary, it’s progressive, it’s nuanced, and it’s abstract.”

“So when the people of Cuba put forth Jazz Plaza, they’re saying, ‘hey, we understand,’” he continued. “We understand global, nuanced, abstract thinking.”

“The Cuban musician holds jazz up to this level,” O’Farrill observed. “The jazz musician often looks at Latin music to the side.”

“The jazz musician must recognize the Afro-Cuban roots of jazz,” he explained, “and the Cuban musician must also realize that the roots of jazz are in Cuba by way of Europe.”

“Dizzy Gillespie understood that,” said the pianist. “He went in search of Chano Pozo.”

“All the greats — Wynton Marsalis, Louis Armstrong — they went in search of that missing link that made them complete as musicians,” he added.

“What I’ve been doing here in Havana for twenty-two years is the same mission,” O’Farrill said. “To get to know my people, to give respect to my heritage.”

“To recognize that these people are geniuses, that these people are the best,” he continued. “How they survive everything, the hatred of the United States, suffering under the blockade.”

“These people are noble,” the artist emphasized. “I come here to learn how to live.”

“I’ve killed my musical career twenty times with my political opinions, with my social work coming to Cuba,” O’Farrill admitted.

“There are very famous Cuban musicians who hate me,” he said. “They write very bad things to me, but I don’t care.”

“I don’t do anything for my career,” the jazz musician concluded. “I do everything for my people, for my community.”

“There are no words I can use to describe how I love my people,” he said.