Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days

“Trumpeter Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days was working at the peak of its powers, mixing and matching grooves and strategies in a way that provoked continual surprise while also reflecting absolute control.”—JazzTimes on Winter Jazzfest 2017

One of the major highlights of the last Winter Jazzfest in New York City was Adam O’Farrill’s Stranger Days, a relatively new quartet led by this rising star of the trumpet. From an esteemed jazz family—his grandfather is Afro-Cuban jazz icon Chico O’Farrill and his dad is noted pianist and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill—Adam is no stranger to Wex jazz fans, who were blown away by his blazing playing in Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Bird Calls in 2016.

O’Farrill’s colorful, cinematic compositions for Stranger Days pivot on his interlocking lines with Chad Lefkowitz-Brown on tenor sax, with both players ably supported by Walter Stinson on bass and brother Zack O’Farrill powering the drums. Reviewers have been taking notice, enthusing “Adam is not only a commanding trumpet player, but a compelling composer” (DownBeat) who “bristles with confidence and creativity” (Wall Street Journal). See what all the buzz is about when O'Farrill and company light up the best room for jazz in town.