Subgenre

Afro-Cuban Jazz

35 profiles tagged Afro-Cuban Jazz, A-Z.

Afro-Cuban jazz took shape in New York City in the mid-1940s as Cuban and American musicians fused the clave-based rhythms of Cuban son and rumba with bebop's harmonic vocabulary and improvisational approach. It is distinguished by layered Afro-Cuban percussion (congas, timbales, bongos) interacting with a swinging horn section and bebop-style soloing, rather than the swing-based rhythm of earlier jazz. Its foundational figures include trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and Cuban conguero Chano Pozo, along with bandleaders Machito and Mario Bauza, whose Afro-Cubans orchestra is often cited as the genre's first true big band.

Alejandro Falcón Piano Cecil Payne Baritone saxophone ✦ 1922–2007 Claudio Roditi Trumpet ✦ 1946–2020 Dafnis Prieto Drums Danilo Pérez Piano Diego Urcola Trumpet Dizzy Gillespie Trumpet ✦ 1917–1993 Eddie Palmieri Piano ✦ 1936–2025 Fabrizio Puglisi Piano Herbie Mann Flute ✦ 1930–2003 Itai Kriss Flute James Moody Tenor saxophone ✦ 1925–2010 Jason Lindner Piano Joe McCarthy Drums John Lee Electric bass Leon Parker Drums Little Johnny Rivero Congas Manuel Valera Piano Michael Olivera Drums Michael Philip Mossman Trumpet Mulatu Astatke Vibraphone Omar Sosa Piano Paquito D'Rivera Alto saxophone Pedrito Martinez Congas Rafi Malkiel Trombone Reggie Quinerly Drums Richard Bona Electric bass Rick Faulkner Trombone Roni Ben-Hur Guitar Rony Iwryn Percussion (congas, bongos, timbales, frame drums, shaker) Roy Hargrove Trumpet ✦ 1969–2018 Ruy López-Nussa Drums Samy Thiébault Tenor saxophone Santi Debriano Double bass Yosvany Terry Alto & soprano saxophone

← See every subgenre