Latin Jazz: A Brief History, Research Paper Example

Latin Jazz music is a relatively new art form. It is a mix of Afro-Cuban rhythms and the instruments and musical improvisation of Jazz music. That is the main difference between Jazz and Latin Jazz: the rhythms are very different. In typical Jazz music, the rhythms are usually played by a drummer with a bass drum, snare drum, and cymbals. The bass drum provides the pulse, and the beat is usually a swing groove. In Latin Jazz, the booming backbeat is replaced by a more complex and straight-ahead set of rhythms, usually played by an ensemble of percussionists on several different instruments.

The rhythms associated with Latin Jazz originally came to the West through the African slave trade. The slaves were often not allowed to bring their drums with them, so they made new ones when they arrived here. In their homelands, their drums would usually be carved from tree trunks. In the west, they would use whatever they could find, such as the wood from shipping crates, to make drums. The conga drum, one of the most well-known “Latin” instruments, was originally made from strips of wood bent into shape and nailed together. Today, the conga drum is still made from strips of wood.

The Rhythms and instruments brought to the West by African slaves ended up spreading throughout the area, from South America, up through the Caribbean islands, and into Cuba and eventually the southern United States. Cuban musicians, in particular, took these rhythms and adapted them into a whole new style of music. Many of the current instruments in Latin music were modernized in Cuba. For these reasons, the term “Afro-Cuban” music was born.

There are two main types of Latin Jazz: Afro-Cuban and Brazilian. The difference between them is simply what main rhythms they use. One very common Afro-Cuban rhythm is the Clave groove. It is counted either as a series of 3 beats and 2 beats, or it is counted as 2 beats and 3 beats. This main “pulse” rhythm is typically played on a cowbell or woodblock, and the rest of the percussionists play their rhythms around it, using maracas, congas, bongos, and other instruments. Then, as in regular Jazz, the other instruments would play over top of this, on bass, horns, piano, and so on. Many times the percussionists are set up front and center on stage, because the rhythms are a focal point of the music.

These Afro-Cuban rhythms started to show up in Jazz and other American music as early as the 1800s, when jazz musicians in cities like New Orleans started incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms into their performances. By the early 1900s, the Afro-Cuban rhythms had spread to northern cities, most notably New York. The most well-known musician to adopt these rhythms was probably Dizzy Gillespie. He began to add percussionists to his band, and started to write and play music based on these new rhythms. In 1947, Dizzy Gillespie played a piece called “Afro-Cuban Drums Suite” at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and by then Latin Jazz was becoming a legitimate style of its own.

The traditions of Latin Jazz remain alive today. There are many contemporary musicians playing in the style, such as groups like Ritmo Junction and the Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz Project. And the tradition of blending different styles continues, as some current musicians are mixing Latin Jazz music with hip-hop grooves and modern electronic instruments, which will help keep the music alive for future generations.