Features Vince Cherico How a non-Latino kid from New Jersey came to be a prime groover in the Latin jazz scene. Story by Jeff Potter Photos by Paul La Raia Last December, Vince Cherico arrived for a gig in Cuba at a historic moment. On the morning following his concert with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, the drummer set up his kit for the rehearsal of a collaborative project between the visiting U.S. musicians and Havana’s Malpaso Dance Company. The exciting news had just broken regarding President Obama’s announcement to thaw the fifty-four-year-old diplomatic freeze with Cuba. “Arturo made a little speech about it, and everybody was cheering,” Cherico recalls. “Then Artie said, ‘But we’re already doing that right here—we’re already crossing that divide.’ And that brought tears to everyone’s eyes.” As the grooving pilot of O’Farrill’s pioneering big band, Cherico has routinely broken down borders, driving […]

July 2015 Issue