Latin Jazz
Also known as Afro-Cuban jazz
A New York-born meeting place between jazz improvisation and Afro-Cuban rhythm, Latin jazz came into focus in the 1940s and remains one of the most durable fusions in the jazz family.
Origins and context
Documented histories place the genre’s early development in New York City in the 1940s, where Afro-Cuban musicians and U.S. jazz players worked together to fuse jazz improvisation with Cuban-derived rhythmic structures.
The sound
Characteristics
- Afro-Cuban and other Latin American rhythmic patterns
- Jazz improvisation
- Congas
- Bongos
- Timbales
- Piano
- Bass
- Brass
- Woodwinds
History
Latin jazz took shape in New York City in the 1940s, where Cuban-born and U.S.-based musicians began blending Afro-Cuban rhythmic traditions with jazz harmony and improvisation. Sources from PBS and the Library of Congress point to Machito and his Afro-Cubans, with musical direction from Mario Bauzá, as a central force in the genre’s early development, while Dizzy Gillespie’s collaborations with Chano Pozo helped push the fusion into a wider jazz world.
Notable artists
- MMachito
- MBMario Bauzá
- DGDizzy Gillespie
- TPTito Puente
- MSMongo Santamaria
- CTCal Tjader
- EPEddie Palmieri
Essential listening
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Explore connected genres
Sources and further reading
- Musical Atlas of Cuba: Latin Jazz
- pbs.org
Machito and his Afro-Cubans were central to the genre’s development in the 1940s.
- Music of Machito and his Afro-Cubans
- Apple Music
Dizzy Gillespie’s artist page notes his late-1940s work with Chano Pozo and Mario Bauzá in Cuban jazz fusion.
- Apple Music
Tito Puente’s artist page places his jazz-and-Afro-Cuban work in the 1950s and cites 'Oye Como Va' as a key recording.
- Latin Jazz Music Style Overview