LJC Community Conversations are designed to explore major ideas in the Latin Jazz world together as a community and inspire conversation through comments. My main motivator here is my belief that LJC readers hold a great deal of knowledge and passion around Latin Jazz, and I think that we can learn something from everyone. Whether you’re a seasoned Latin Jazz performer or a newcomer to the music, leave a comment and let your voice be heard!

Today’s conversation looks at today’s cutting edge Latin Jazz artists . . .

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Artists embrace different musical approaches in the construction of their art form; each approach requires great amounts of skill, they just produce different results. Some artists continue an established tradition, following in other musician’s footsteps. Devoted followers often become skilled performers, but they stay in their mentor’s shadows. Other musicians keep their ears close to popular trends and follow the flavor on the month. In many cases, these artists earn some mainstream success, and in some cases, they develop long-term careers. A select few artists actually change the course of tradition and start the trends for others to follow. These cutting edge Latin Jazz musicians make waves and provoke both positive and negative reactions from the jazz establishment; their contributions remain a vital piece of the canon for many years. All these musicians play an important part in the overall musical landscape, but the cutting edge musicians create the most powerful long-term impact.

The term “cutting edge” means a very specific thing to me: an artist that changes the direction of the music by taking bold risks in their performance or composition. The artist needs to have a defined concept with a specific goal. The definition of their approach might require an exploration period, but they must reach a point of purpose to their different ideas. These artists need to be fearless in their approach and proceed even if their peers disagree. They need to stay rooted in their concept for the long haul, even if fans don’t follow them immediately. They need to approach their concept with a knowledgeable foundation - innovation for innovation’s sake rarely results in good music. These new directions are built upon reactions to the past - regardless of whether a musician reacts positively or negatively to the past, they still need to understand it. Staying on the cutting edge can’t be easy - it forces the musician to cover many bases; it does bring their music to a higher level though.

These artists are easy to see in retrospect - their innovations changed the musical landscape and artists approached the music differently after them. The collaborations between Machito and his Afro-Cubans and straight ahead jazz musicians like Charlie Parker and Flip Philips paved the way for authentic combinations of jazz and Afro-Cuban music. Cachao’s late night descarga sessions brought improvisation to the forefront of Cuban music and the subsequent recordings inspired a generation of Laitn Jazz musicians. Irakere successfully integrated Afro-Cuban traditional music, jazz, funk, rock, and modern dance styles, resulting in a contemporary Latin Jazz fusion that set the standard for all their followers. Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band redefined small group Latin Jazz performance with a fiery and spontaneous performance style that recalled Miles Davis’ classic 1960s quintet. These artists set the barre for Latin Jazz and the music would sound much different today without them.

Picking cutting edge Latin Jazz artists out of today’s crowded scene presents more of a challenge. The field is so broad and so many people are trying different things that it’s hard to tell them apart. We also have access to much more Latin Jazz from around the world - sometimes the choices are simply staggering. Couple these elements with the fact that we really don’t know who will have lasting impact and it becomes an even more difficult call. I find these decisions challenging - personally I think that both Dafnis Prieto and Papo Vazquez bring a cutting edge compositional style to today’s music and I think that Yosvany Terry’s playing shines with a unique voice. There are so many more artists though, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts . . .

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Here’s some food for thought:
* What does the term “cutting edge” mean to you?

* Who are the Latin Jazz artists on the cutting edge of the artform today?

* Who are previous cutting edge Latin Jazz artists that left a significant historical impact?

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
LEAVE A COMMENT below with your thoughts. I’d love to hear from every LJC reader! Your comment will be appreciated!

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Do you have an idea for a future Community Conversation? As much as I enjoy exploring my own interests with this weekly post, I’d prefer to have this forum address the overall interests of the entire community. Do you have an issue that effects Latin Jazz? Do you have an idea for a fun topic? Let me know so that we can throw it out to the whole community - Leave a Comment or e-mail me.

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