Latin jazz
is the general term given to this musical genre in the countries of Latin descent (Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Romania, and countries of its influence). In America, the Latin Jazz combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz and classical harmonies from Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and the United States.
The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:
# Brazilian Latin Jazz
includes bossa nova
# Cuban jazz
includes a variety of fusions between Cuban music and American jazz, such as Cubop.
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LATIN JAZZ TICKETS
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History
One of the contribution of
Latins (
Latinos
in
Spanish) to America, Latin jazz gained popularity in the late 1940s.
Dizzy Gillespie and
Stan Kenton began to combine the rhythm section and structure of
Afro-Cuban music, exemplified by
Machito and His Afro-Cubans, whose musical director
Mario Bauza created the first Latin jazz composition "Tanga" on May 31, 1943, with jazz instruments and solo improvisational ideas. On March 31, 1946, Stan Kenton recorded "Machito", written by his collaborator / arranger
Pete Rugolo, which is considered by many to be the first Latin jazz recording by American jazz musicians. The Kenton band was augmented by Ivan Lopez on bongos and Eugenio Reyes on maracas. Later, on December 6 of the same year, Stan Kenton recorded an arrangement of the Afro-Cuban tune
The Peanut Vendor with members of Machito's rhythm section.
In September 1947, Dizzy Gillespie collaborated with Machito
conga player
Chano Pozo to perform the "Afro-Cuban Drums Suite" at
Carnegie Hall. This was the first concert to feature an American band playing Afro-Cuban jazz and Pozo remained in Gillespie's orchestra to produce "Cubana Be, Cubana Bop" among others.
Differences with traditional jazz
In comparison with traditional jazz, Latin jazz employs
straight rhythm, rather than
swung rhythm. Latin jazz rarely employs a
backbeat, using a form of the
clave instead. The
conga,
timbale,
güiro, and
claves are
percussion instruments which often contribute to a "Latin" sound.
Sub-types of Latin jazz
Samba originated from nineteenth century
Afro-Brazilian music such as the
Lundu. It employs a modified form of the clave. Bossa Nova is a hybrid music based on the samba rhythm, but influenced by European and American music from Debussy to US jazz. Bossa Nova originated in the 1950s, largely from the efforts of Brazilians
Antonio Carlos Jobim and
João Gilberto, and American
Stan Getz. Its most famous song is arguably
The Girl from Ipanema sung by Gilberto and his wife,
Astrud Gilberto.
Playing style
Latin jazz music, like most types of jazz music, can be played in small or large groups. Small groups, or combos, often use the
Be-bop format made popular in the 1950s in America, where the musicians play a standard melody, many of the musicians play an improvised solo, and then everyone plays the melody again. In Latin jazz bands, percussion often takes a center stage during a solo, and a
conga or
timbale can add a melodic line to any performance.
Afro-Rican jazz
is an original concept developed by trombonist, composer/ arranger William Cepeda that celebrates the heritage of
Puerto Rican music and its African roots while creating a new shade of jazz with a hip flavor. Steeped in the jazz tradition (having studied and performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, David Murray and Donald Byrd among others), Cepeda developed this unique artistic expression by incorporating a contemporary jazz perspective with the musical and cultural traditions of his homeland, Puerto Rico.