Explore: Latin Jazz

Of all the post-swing styles, Latin Jazz has been the most consistently popular and it is easy to see why. The emphasis on percussion and Cuban rhythms make the style quite danceable and accessible. Essentially, it is a mixture of bop-oriented jazz with Latin percussion. Among the pioneers in mixing together the two styles in the 1940s were the big bands of Dizzy Gillespie and Machito, and the music (which has never gone out of style) has remained a viable force through the 1990s, played most notably by the bands of Tito Puente and Poncho Sanchez. The style has not changed much during the past 40 years but it still communicates to today's listeners. Latin jazz is also sometimes called Afro-Cuban jazz, a term preferred by Mario Bauza and Ray Barretto. ~ Scott Yanow