"Latin Jazz"
What's In A Name?
This essay entitled "The
Changing Face Of Latin Jazz" was written by Bobby
Ramirez as part
of the Jazz Journalist Association realtime on-line panel discussion
called "Latin Jazz: What's In A Name?" held
on February 24th, 2003.
This historic discussion focused
on the current categories ("Afro-Caribbean Jazz" and
"Brazilian Jazz") that where in place to identify the
relationship of Latin rhythms and Jazz as part of the annual
Jazz Journalist Association awards. Mr. Ramirez suscessfully
debated that these categories be replaced with the more current
and inclusive umbrella term: "Latin Jazz."
Other panelists included:
Nick "Brownman" Ali - Trinidad-born trumpeter,
composer and leader of the Latin jazz/funk group CRUZAO; Larry
Birnbaum - former editor of Global Rhythm magazine and a
frequent writer about Latin jazz; Mark Holston - contributor
to Jazziz, Brazilian music scholar; George Rivera - former
editor of LaMusica, contributing writer on "Music from Cuba";
Bobby Sanabria - drummer/percussionist/bandleader, and
faculty member of the New School and the Manhattan School of
Music.; Arturo O'Farrill - New York-based pianist-bandleader,
and son of the legendary Cuban composer Chico O'Farrill; Alan
Stanbridge - musicologist at the University of Toronto; Chris
Washburne - trombonist-leader of S.Y.O.T.O.S. and ethnomusicologist
at Columbia University; and Scott Yanow - author of Afro-Cuban
Jazz and numerous other books. Participating as moderators were
Howard Mandel - president of the JJA, author and columnist
for Downbeat and others; assisted by James Hale.
Other related articles:
What is Latin
Jazz?
The Culture
of Latin Jazz
CLICK HERE to read the entire transcript of the panel discussion
Bobby Ramirez continues: (page
3)
Jazz in its classic form is indicative
of ragtime, Dixieland, classic straight ahead swing, bobop, etc.
However, what happens when "Jazz" is influenced with
the Latin tinge? The music is transformed with different harmonic
and rhythmic patterns still retaining the Jazz vocabulary. These
different harmonic and rhythmic patterns can include the bossa
nova, samba, partido alto, Afro-Cuban, Afro_Peruvian, merengue,
bomba, plena, tango, candombe and many other indigenous Afro-polyrhythms
from the entire Latin American spectrum. This music also contains
much Jazz improvisation and harmonic variation.
Granted, Brazilian and Cuban
rhythms have accounted for most of the influence in Jazz. But,
that does not mean that we should highlight specific countries
and forgetting about the rest of the Latin American Diaspora.
Now that you have a Brazilian Jazz category, should we also consider
having a tango Jazz category, or as pianist Danilo Perez performs
his native Panamanian Jazz, or as saxman David Sanchez performs
bomba and plena Jazz from his native Puerto Rico, or described
as Afrorican Jazz by William Cepeda, respectively?
In what category do you put
Danilo Perez, Afro-Caribbean or Brazilian Jazz? The answer is,
none. He and everyone else recording Jazz with tinges of Latin
rhythms would fit best in the category of "Latin Jazz."
In what category do you put musicians that records bossa novas
as well as Afro-Cuban Jazz? Again, he or she would fit best in
the category of Latin Jazz. Is the category for Brazilian Jazz
only for musicians of that country? What are the specific criteria?
When you say Afro-Caribbean Jazz, do you include Haiti, Dominican
Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, or do you mean just Cuba and Puerto
Rico? How about other countries like Mexico?
In what category do you put
someone like Hermeto Pascoal? If you put him in the Brazilian
Jazz category his music would set a precedent; thus, isolating
everyone else that does not sound like him (no one sounds like
him). Technically, he's one of those musicians that defy any
category (period). However, if you had to pick one category for
him, being that his music is so broad, he would probably fit
best under "Latin Jazz" or "world music."
Meaning, even going to an extreme by using Hermeto as an example,
the "Latin Jazz" category holds its own without discriminating
or leaving out other related rhythms.
In what category do you put
pianist Omar Sosa? Certainly not "Afro-Caribbean" or
"Brazilian Jazz." His music is best described as "Latin
Jazz" which includes rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, Morocco,
Venezuela, Ecuador and the United States.
If tomorrow pianist Keith
Jarrett plays a concert in Uruguay and is so consumed by the
indigenous rhythms of that country that he decides to record
Jazz standards using candombe rhythms fuse with Jazz melodies,
what category would you put him in? (1) Would you be scrambling
to create yet another sub-category? (2) Even though the music
sounds compelling, lets just skip nominating him because there's
no category applicable to this new sound, or (3), this music
fits perfectly under the umbrella of "Latin Jazz."
You're a great musician native
of Colombia or Argentina and you want to mix a tinge of tango
or cumbia rhythm with the Jazz vocabulary. Suddenly, you realize
that there's no opportunity to experiment with these rhythms
because Jazz Journalists are more keen to music of Afro-Caribbean
and Brazilian Jazz origin as determined by the current categories.
Thus, Jazz music loses out on the possibility of perhaps creating
a new fusion variation of Jazz that subsequently may prove to
be pivotal--as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms influenced Jazz--to
further expand its evolution.
Lastly, the Grammy awards
are a great model that recognize and celebrate the different
styles of Brazilian popular music as well as many forms of Caribbean
music. At the same time, the Grammy awards also wisely recognize
the relationship of Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms with American
Jazz as part of the overall "Latin Jazz" experience.
As a musician, I see Jazz
as a doorway that is open to endless possibilities and enables
me to explore new territories and attempt to expand its boundaries--fertile
ground for creativity. And within the Latin side of Jazz, it
is important that it remain inclusive and not exclusive or divided.
As we examine the current demographics of the Latin side of Jazz,
it is also important that this category embrace a future vision
and direction of where this music will be 20-40 years from now.
Giving its history and how it has evolved, plus its current demographics,
the wise choice as a category is "Latin Jazz."
Percussionist John Santos
says, "Latin Jazz is a classic American artform." And
within the context of this artform lay rhythms like the Brazilian
bossa nova, samba and Afro-Cuban that continue to thrive, as
well as many other rhythms yet to be discovered from Latin America
that will no doubt empower Jazz and help it to evolve in years
to come.
page 1
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CLICK HERE to read the entire transcript of the panel discussoin
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