Who likes LATIN JAZZ?

If you like jammin latin jazz..Look at a well recorded compilation disc called Mo Horizons by some mo horizons.
This cd gets my feet tappin no doubt.

I love it! I have to admit, I do get a turned off by the, for lack of a better description; call and response shouting chants of band members that can't really sing. Perhaps it's something beyond my cultural sensibilites?

All the different types of music that are called Jazz have their counterparts in Latin Jazz. Small acoustic combos, Fusion, Big Band, Smooth, Avant-Garde, you name it and I can easily find a Latin Jazz artist that's playing it. The fact is Latin Jazz is going through one of it's most fruitful periods these last few years. A very large quantity of truly exceptional music has been released, it's a fantastic time to be a Latin Jazz fan, I say this having been one for over 40 years! In particular, I think an area that Latin Jazz has been out-working 'Standard' (for lack of a better word) Jazz is in Big Band recordings. Man, the last year or so have seen recording after recording released and many of them have been exceptional. I just rec'd 'Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra - Song For Chico' yesterday. What can I say, it's killa!!

Hey Mr. French Fries, I'd like to send you a compilation of some of the stuff I've been listening to recently. I wasn't sure if you were sincere at 1st but it seems that you are so I'm offering a small gift that I think you'll enjoy. PM me if you're interested.

A short while ago I saw the Arturo O'Farrill band, Wow, their daring, full bore, take no prisoners, risk taking performance was so refreshing in these days of the often typical homoginized, unimaginitive, rehashed, predictable crap. Even classic tunes were fresh and alive. While they were willing to take on challanges, they also avoided the unprepaired, unprofessional, practice doodling that sometimes takes place in some jazz venues. Bravo!

Hmm...I;m not sure I would call things like danzon, guajira, salsa, and mambo "Latin Jazz". The danzon, salsa, and mambo are dances. The guajira is an early form of Cuban folks song with traditionally improvised verses (guajiro=redneck in Cuban slang). A descarga is a jam session with lots of improv, so that would very likely qualify as jazz. Salsa is not TRULY Cuban...it really came our of NYC and Puerto Rico, although a lot if Cuban musicians in exile were of course part of it (e.g., Celia Cruz). Other traditional formal Cuban music forma are the guaganco (not a dance, percussion heavy, and NOT jazz)and the cha cha cha (a dance). For me, true Cuban jazz is more recent - starting with a group called Irakere - whihc is where Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval and of course Chucho Valdes came from. Other poprular Latin dance music types are the merengue (Domican Republic), the cumbia (Colombia), and the samba (Brazil). All cool in their own way..but not necessarily jazz. Other Cuban performers to explore in addition to Chucho/Bebo valdes are Albita (first two CD's after defecting to the US) and early Celia Cruz (the stuff in her twenties, before she left Cuba). Arturo Sandoval had a great CD featuring Tito Puente on tow tracks (I think its called Hothouse Flowers). For more traditional Cuban stuff, try Orquesta Aragon (the top Cuban "big band" for years). For salsa, Willy Chirino and Ruben Blades had some great stuff in the 70's/80's. The weirdest one would be a Japanese group called Orquesta de La Luz who play nothing but latin music (and sing in Spanish) - they are actually pretty decent. Gloria Estefan's Spanish CD's are pretty good too. And hey..if you want some Latin flavor in a contemporary group, I think Pink Martini is pretty brilliant - albeit they mix genres a lot (yes - I am Latin - Cuban, in fact..:-))