Tag Archives | Latin Jazz

Arturo Sandoval’s Cuban Jazz

Cuban-born trumpeter Arturo Sandoval is an internationally-acclaimed master of Latin Jazz.

Based on a firm foundation of Dizzy Gillespie-era American big band jazz, Latin jazz sizzles with syncopated rhythms and cool Caribbean instruments such as congas, bongos, claves and timbales, blending music and cultures of the U.S., the Caribbean and, underlying all, Africa. Arturo Sandoval spent the first two decades of his career performing in jazz and jazz-rock bands in Cuba, traveling internationally with the permission of the Castro government. In 1990 when he was on tour in Europe he and his family defected and settled in Florida. He has toured continually since then, and, as he does in this video, brings Cuba from the islands to the world.

Tito Puente Rocks the Schoolyard

In the 1950s and ’60s American dancehall bands, which had for decades mainly performed dances and compositions that originated in the U.S., began to actively communicate with Latin musicians and add Latin dances like the mambo, samba and cha-cha-cha to their repertoires. Bebop band leaders like Dizzy Gillespie also wove Latin elements into their music, and in turn American jazz began to appear all over Latin America, fusing with Latin rhythms to become “Latin Jazz.” Latin jazz was syncopated like American jazz but didn’t emphasize the same beats, giving the music a different feel. Cuban and Cuban-American bandleaders like Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’ivera and Tito Puente, became especially popular in the U.S. Watch this old-school video of Tito Puente and you’ll see why.