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Latin Jazz




The two main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian and Afro-Cuban.

Latin Jazz originated in the late 1940s when Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Kenton began to combine the rhythm section and structure of Afro-Cuban music, exemplified by Machito and his Afro-Cubans , with jazz instruments and solo improvisational ideas. Stan Kenton released an arrangement of the Afro-Cuban tune The Peanut Vendor , which is considered by many to be the first authentic Latin Jazz recording.

In 1947 , Dizzy Gillespie collaborated with Machito conga player Chano Pozo to perform the "Afro-Cuban Drums Suite" at Carnegie Hall . This concert brought Latin-Jazz into mainstream awareness, and Pozo remained in Gillespie's band to produce "Cubana Be, Cubana Bop".

In comparison to American 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.

Samba originates 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 Samba's rhythm but influenced by European and American music from Debussy to US jazz. Bossa Nova originated in the 1960s , largely from the efforts of Brazillians Antonio Carlos Jobim , João Gilberto , and American Stan Getz . Its most famous song is arguably The Girl From Ipanema sung by Gilberto and his wife, Astrud Gilberto .

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.


EXTERNAL LINK

  • CarHabana When the Manouche/Gipsy Jazz meet the Cuban Jazz