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VOICE ONE:
It has a long history in Americanmusic. Yet only in recent years has much effort been made tounderstand Latin jazz. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Now, a traveling museum show aims to helpmore Americans recognize this form of jazz as part of their cultureand history. “Latin Jazz: La Combinacion Perfecta” is our reporttoday on the VOA Special English program THIS IS AMERICA.
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VOICE ONE:
During the nineteen-forties, the music of Cuban, Mexican andother Latin musicians became very popular in the United States. ButLatin jazz had begun to develop here by the late eighteen-hundreds.Music experts note the influence on some early twentieth-centuryjazz and blues songs. These include “St. Louis Blues” by W.C. Handyand “New Orleans Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton.
Today — with Hispanics now estimated to be America’s largestminority group — college music students are learning more aboutLatin jazz. Cultural centers are forming Latin jazz orchestras.
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VOICE TWO:
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington opened a travelingmuseum show in October. It is called “Latin Jazz: La CombinacionPerfecta” — the Perfect Combination.
This exhibit teaches about the history of Latin jazz in theUnited States and the Caribbean. The walls of the show are brightlycolored and rounded like conga drums. Information is printed inEnglish and Spanish. There are pictures of musicians and singersfrom as far back as nineteen-ten.
Behind glass are instruments once played by great performers:timbale drums that belonged to Tito Puente, congas played by PonchoSanchez, the famous bent trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie.
Visitors can make their own music with a conga drum, maracas andother tools of Latin jazz.
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VOICE ONE:
During the nineteen-forties, musicians Mario Bauza, Frank Grillo,Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo began to combine American jazz withCuban music. Several names were used to describe this new form,names like Afro-Cuban jazz, Cubop and Latin jazz.
Frank Grillo was called “Machito.” He and Mario Bauza formedMachito and his Afro-Cubans. The group first performed the song”Tanga” in nineteen-forty-three. It is widely considered the firstpiece of Afro-Cuban jazz.
(CUT ONE – “TANGA”, CDJ-7538)
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen-forty-six, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, an AfricanAmerican, wanted a conga player for his bebop jazz band. He askedhis friend Mario Bauza for help. They had played together in CabCalloway’s band. Bauza presented Chano Pozo, a percussionist who hadjust arrived in New York from Cuba and did not speak English.
Chano Pozo was killed one year later. He and Dizzy Gillespiewrote many songs in their short time together. Their mix of Cubanbeats and bebop jazz remained an important part of Latin jazz. Musicexperts see this song, “Manteca,” as a perfect example of “Cubop.”
(CUT TWO – “MANTECA”, CDJ-7538)
VOICE ONE:
One of the best-known names in Latin jazz is Tito Puente. He diedin two-thousand at the age of seventy-seven. This musician of PuertoRican ancestry became famous as a percussionist and vibraphonist.Audiences loved his energy.
Tito Puente was also a bandleader and a composer and arranger ofmusic. Here he plays timbales in a nineteen-fifty-seven recording ofhis song “Mambo Beat.”
(CUT THREE – “MAMBO BEAT”, CDJ-7538)
VOICE TWO:
Another big influence in Latin jazz in America was Cal Tjader, avibraphone player of Swedish ancestry. He was especially popularduring the nineteen-sixties.
Cal Tjader recorded the popular Cubop song “Guachi Guaro” innineteen-sixty-four. He renamed his version “Soul Sauce.”
(CUT FOUR-“Soul Sauce (Guachi Guaro)”, CDJ-7538)
VOIVE ONE:
The traditions of Latin jazz remain strong. Today some musiciansare exploring the Cuban bolero, a kind of love song made popularduring the nineteen-fifties. Here is a nineteen-ninety-eightrecording of David Sanchez playing “Los Aretes de la Luna.”
(CUT FIVE- “Los Aretes de la Luna”, CDJ-7538)
VOICE TWO:
“Latin Jazz: La Combinacion Perfecta” had its first showing inWashington, D.C. Next comes Flushing, New York, beginning in April.The show is to end in two-thousand-six after stops in twelve citiesin the United States and in the Caribbean. The exhibit Web site issmithsonianlatinjazz — all one word — smithsonianlatinjazz doto-r-g.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by Lawan Davis. I’m SteveEmber.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram THIS IS AMERICA.