Trumpeter Adam O'Farrill mentors the next wave of jazz virtuosos on 'ELEPHANT'

O'Farrill is an introspective player whose solos insinuate themselves to listeners. His new album proves he's as adept at matching wits with his peers and elders as he is nurturing his protégés.

Transcript

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. Trumpeter and composer Adam O'Farrill has a special set of bloodlines. His father is composer, pianist and impresario Arturo O'Farrill, and his mother is concert pianist and educator Alison Deane. And that's not all. His grandfather is Afro Cuban jazz pioneer Chico O'Farrill. Adam went into the family business, and despite the long shadows of his family, jazz critic Martin Johnson says he quickly established himself as one of the most important musicians of the 21st century. He's been a side man in some of the key groups of recent vintages, and on his new recording, "Elephant," at the age of 31, which is young in jazz years, he's begun mentoring the next wave of virtuosos. Martin says the future is in good hands.

(SOUNDBITE OF ADAM O'FARRILL'S "ALONG THE MALECON")

MARTIN JOHNSON, BYLINE: The idea of a young trumpet player making his mark on the scene is one of the cherished narratives in jazz, but Adam O'Farrill is different from his predecessors. He's not a flashy player who stuns audiences with his flamboyance. Instead, he's a more introspective player whose solos insinuate themselves to listeners rather than blow them away. This, too, has a lineage from Booker Little to Ron Miles. Adam O'Farrill is the next virtuoso on this path, and his new recording, "Elephant," allows more space than any of his others to showcase his style, which occasionally employs electronic distortion as he does here on "Bibo No Aozora."

(SOUNDBITE OF ADAM O'FARRILL'S "BIBO NO AOZORA")

JOHNSON: As is the case with many young musicians, O'Farrill is eager to integrate what he hears in other genres into his music. The beat on "Eleanor's Dance" here might be as germane to a nightclub as it would be to a dance studio. But the trumpeter and his band of young up-and-comers navigate like old pros.

(SOUNDBITE OF ADAM O'FARRILL'S "ELEANOR'S DANCE")

JOHNSON: After a decade of typically being one of the youngest members of any band, in "Elephant," O'Farrill is mentoring some players younger than he, most notably, pianist Yvonne Rogers, a brilliant stylist who is still new to the scene. She's capable of matching the range of styles in O'Farrill's arsenal and tangling with them in the thorny parts as they do on a section of "Sea Triptych," which is dedicated to the great novelist Iris Murdoch. It shows that O'Farrill is as adept at matching wits with his peers and elders as he is nurturing his proteges. "Elephant" could be the start of a pivotal group in jazz.

(SOUNDBITE OF ADAM O'FARRILL'S "SEA TRYPTYCH, PT 3: IRIS MURDOCH")

GROSS: Martin Johnson writes for The Wall Street Journal and DownBeat. He reviewed Adam O'Farrill's new album, "Elephant."

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(SOUNDBITE OF ERIC DOLPHY'S "MISS ANN")

GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Sam Briger. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Susan Nyakundi, Anna Bauman and Nico Gonzalez-Wisler. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Thea Chaloner directed today's show. Our cohost is Tonya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross.

(SOUNDBITE OF ERIC DOLPHY'S "MISS ANN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.