UMass jazz trombone faculty member Ben Barnett has earned his second career Grammy Award nomination, up for Best Latin Jazz Album as a member of Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
Barnett’s performance is on the newly-released live album “The Original Influencers: Dizzy, Chano & Chico,” alongside bandleader and six-time Grammy winner O’Farrill.
The recording is of a 2023 concert at New York City’s Town Hall, celebrating the groundbreaking collaboration between Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo in 1947—a watershed moment that birthed Latin jazz and historic works such as “Manteca.”
Belongó—a non-profit organization founded by Arturo O’Farrill of which Barnett is a long time member, presented the concert and is an executive producer of the album, which is also a celebration of the role that O’Farrill’s father, Chico O’Farrill, played in this musical evolution.
The recording captures the 18-piece Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, led by O’Farrill on piano, as well as special guests Pedrito Martínez on percussion (two of Martinez’s compositions are performed), Donald Harrison on saxophone, the singers Daymé Arocena and Melvis Santa, and O’Farrill’s two sons, Adam and Zack, on trumpet and drums.
Barnett, a native of Long Island, NY, is a graduate of the Conservatory of Music, Purchase College, SUNY. There, he studied with John Fedchock and Tim Albright. Ben received a B.M. from Purchase in 2016, and an M.M.Ed. from Hofstra University ('22). He graduated with honors from both institutions.
A former manager of the world-famous Smalls Jazz Club (2016-21), Barnett has performed at some of NYC's premier venues for jazz music such as Birdland Jazz Club, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, The Blue Note Jazz Club, The Village Vanguard, the Cotton Club, and Swing 46. He has also performed as a musician and clinician at colleges across the country and he shared the stage with great musicians such as Barry Harris, Dr. Cornel West, Jon Faddis, Big Chief Donald Harrison, Ellis Marsalis, Bobby Porcelli, Ed Pazant, Dick Hyman, David Murray, The George Gee Swing Orchestra, The Birdland Big Band, the Grammy-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, CeCe Teneal, Boom.Diwan, and many other artists and performing ensembles.
“I am thankful to have been able to contribute to this incredible and unique audio experience,” said Barnett, who was previously nominated in 2021 for his performance on “Virtual Birdland,” another collaboration with O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
The nominees were announced on November 7th in a livestream on the Grammy’s official YouTube channel. The other nominees for Best Latin Jazz Album this year include “Mundoagua”, another recording by O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (though not featuring Barnett).
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 1, 2026 at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, California. It will be broadcast on CBS and available to stream on Paramount+.
Click for more on the album “The Original Influencers.”