Latin Jazz Home | About | Event Calendar | Store
Education | Timeline| Bibliography | Glossary | Links
Press | Tour Schedule | Discography | Credits

Latin Jazz: la combinación perfecta

Book
Latin Jazz: The Perfect Combination/Latin Jazz:/La Combination Perfecta
By Raul Fernandez
Foreword by Andy Gonzalez
Afterword by Al McKibbon
Preface by Robert Farris Thompson
Published by Chronicle Books, 2002
10 x 9-5/8 in; 144 pp; 125 color and B/W photographs
$22.95 Paperback ISBN 0811836088
Purchase

Latin jazz —the perfect combination of Latin rhythms and hot jazz phrasing-energizes audiences like no other music. As part of the Smithsonian Institution’s series of major exhibitions on jazz music, Latin Jazz traces the music¹s roots and routes, from the Caribbean to New Orleans and the clubs of New York City to its booming international popularity today. More than 100 rare photos from the ¹20s, ¹30s, ¹40s, and ¹50s show musicians and audiences in full swing, along with dozens of album covers and posters from the heyday. Stories told by the greats who were there, such as Mario Bauzá and Cal Tjader, convey all the zest for life that has made the music so exciting, and contributions by renowned musicians Andy González and Al McKibbon attest to its legacy. With all text in both English and Spanish, Latin Jazz is a spectacular and fitting tribute to this exciting musical fusion.

Raul Fernandez is a professor of social sciences at the University of California at Irvine and an expert on U.S.-Latin American cultural relations. He lives in Orange, California.

CD
Latin Jazz: The Perfect Combination/Latin Jazz:La Combinatión Perfecta
Purchase

Released in conjuction with the book and the traveling exhibition of the same name, this CD is a superb collection of classic Latin jazz performed by some of its most important innovators. From established Latin legends Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, and Machito to renowned jazz icons Dizzy Gillespie and Charlier Parker, this release is a riveting journey through one of the most important American genres to emerge out of the 20th century. For the casual listener, this collection of landmark recordings outlines the historical development of Latin jazz. For the aficionado, it provides fresh insight into the musical connections and innovations that make this tradition a rich and dynamic genre.