Arturo O’Farrill and Vincent Hsu to Unite Afro-Latin and Taiwanese Jazz in Queens

Six-time Grammy Award winner Arturo O’Farrill and Taiwanese bassist and composer Vincent Hsu will give their first U.S. performance together Aug. 15, 2026 at Flushing Town Hall in Queens.

The one-night concert, titled Spirits From Both Sides: Arturo O’Farrill x Vincent Hsu, follows the musicians’ joint debut at Havana’s Plaza Jazz Festival in 2025. Flushing Town Hall and Belongó will co-present the event.

The program will connect O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin jazz tradition with Hsu’s combination of jazz, Afro-Cuban music and Taiwanese influences. Musicians from O’Farrill’s circle and Hsu’s Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band will perform alongside Cuban and Taiwanese guest artists from New York.

Hsu plans to premiere a big-band arrangement of his Taiwanese Trilogy Music Suite, which draws inspiration from Taiwanese writer Chao-Cheng Chung. He also expects to perform “The Gatekeepers,” a composition dedicated to the late bassist and Latin jazz innovator Andy González, who served as Hsu’s mentor.

O’Farrill described the collaboration as an exploration of shared cultural experiences across geographical boundaries. “The beat of a sacred Cuban batá and the beat of a sacred Taiwanese Dharma come from the same desire to celebrate our shared humanity,” O’Farrill said.

Hsu first heard O’Farrill’s orchestra about 20 years ago. He said that performance expanded his view of cultural exchange through music and led to his introduction to González.

Ellen Kodadek, executive and artistic director of Flushing Town Hall, said the venue’s history of jazz programming and cross-cultural concerts made it a fitting site for the collaboration.

O’Farrill is a pianist, composer, and bandleader who founded the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Belongó, formerly the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. His career includes six Grammy Awards and two Latin Grammy Awards, as well as projects with artists and ensembles across Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Hsu was born in Changhua, Taiwan, and began his professional career in New York. His debut album, Homeland, received Best Jazz Album at Taiwan’s 2014 Golden Indie Music Awards. His composition “Dreamer’s Blues,” from In Our Blood, later won Best Jazz Single of the Year at the same awards.

After the 8 p.m. concert, O’Farrill and Hsu will take part in a discussion moderated by Tracy Hyter-Suffern, former executive director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

Tickets and additional information are available through Flushing Town Hall’s website.
Location: 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 463-7700 x222
Website: www.flushingtownhall.org