Afro-Cuban Jazz

Afro-Cuban jazz on vinyl: clave, conga and bebop

In short: Afro-Cuban jazz emerged in New York in the forties: Machito and Mario Bauzá combined Cuban rhythms with big-band jazz, and Dizzy Gillespie brought conga player Chano Pozo into his band. Later Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader and Sabu Martinez made the sound known worldwide. The Vinyl Room currently has 36 Afro-Cuban jazz records.

What is Afro-Cuban jazz?

At its centre is the clave, the basic Cuban rhythm, with congas and bongos under jazz horns and piano. Mongo Santamaria is represented with “Mongo At The Village Gate”, vibraphonist Cal Tjader with “Más Ritmo Caliente”.

There is a Scandinavian trail too: percussionist Sabu Martinez lived in Sweden from the sixties, saxophonist Sahib Shihab lived in Copenhagen for many years. In the nineties the Buena Vista Social Club brought Cuban musicians back to the big stages – here with “At Carnegie Hall”.

What to look for

Many classics exist as American originals from the fifties and sixties and as later reissues. Which edition you get is noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

→ Afro-Cuban · Latin jazz · Dizzy Gillespie · Jazz on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

What is Afro-Cuban jazz? Jazz with Cuban rhythms, congas and bongos, born in New York in the forties.

Who shaped Afro-Cuban jazz? Among others Machito, Mario Bauzá, Dizzy Gillespie with Chano Pozo, later Mongo Santamaria and Cal Tjader.

What is the clave? A short basic rhythmic pattern in Cuban music around which all the instruments are arranged.

What does Scandinavia have to do with it? Sabu Martinez lived in Sweden from the sixties, Sahib Shihab in Copenhagen for many years.