Musicians generally like to keep artistry and politics separate, but the strong connection between Latin Jazz and Cuba sometimes make that task difficult. Pre-Communist Cuba supplied a steady stream of inspiration to United States musicians and listeners, exerting an influence upon the popular music and jazz worlds. The island’s close proximity to the United States and the shared cultural heritage made a connection between jazz and Cuban music a natural evolution. Everything changed once Fidel Castro placed a Communist government in Cuba and the United States quickly backed away from their neighbor. Over the course of the next fifty years, the United States built a political relationship with Cuba that is rife with tension, a fact that has rolled into the musical exchange between the two countries. Cuba’s musical evolution became a mystery to the United States audience and as a result, the two countries pushed Latin Jazz in distinctly different directions. While the diversity has resulted in successful artistic progressions for both countries, the strength of a constant collaboration just overflows with potential. Canada, South America, and countries across Europe maintain a much more healthy artistic exchange, hosting performances from Cuban musicians and opening travel opportunities to their musicians. Despite a much greater physical distance from Cuba, these areas have soaked the island’s influence into their artistic cultures in many ways. If the United States and Cuba moved past their own political barriers, the musical conversation between these neighboring countries could become massive.

Although the walls are hardly broken, things are looking brighter - after years of a hard line closed door policy towards Cuba and its culture, the United States has begun to open its shores to Cuban music once again. The Clinton administration made serious inroads into artistic exchange between Cuba and the United States, allowing Stateside tours of Chucho Valdes and Irakere, Los Van Van, and more during the late nineties. The government under George W. Bush stopped performances from Cuban groups fairly quickly during the 2000s, making their policy towards the island nation very apparent. With the beginning of the Obama presidency, things began to change very rapidly, reflecting a more liberal approach to diplomatic relations. In 2009, Buena Vista Social Club singer Omara Portuondo appeared on the Latin Grammy Awards and the legendary son group Septeto Nacional made a trip across the United States, sharing their traditional take on Cuba’s music. Before the end of the year, another Cuban dance band, this time a much more modern group, Charanga Habanera, lit up the dance floors in the United States. At the same time as Cuban groups started invading US shores, groups from the States started to see the possibility of performing on Cuba - a feat accomplished by the renown funk band Kool & The Gang in late December. 2010 holds more Cuban music across the States, with expected visits from Los Van Van and more. Things are moving slowly around active exchange with Cuba’s jazz side, although the recent track record with open artistic exchange holds promise for the future.

My focus here at LJC is on music, not politics, but I’m certainly glad to see an emerging artistic relationship between Cuba and the United States once again - it can only be good for the music. With this in mind, our Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to a concert happening in Havana tonight, featuring a combination of musicians from Cuba and the United States - Orlando “Maraca” Valle and The Monterey Latin Jazz All-Stars. This group carries some impressive talent, including Valle on flute, David Sanchez on tenor sax, Harold López-Nussa and Yusef Díaz on piano, Feliciano Arango on bass, Julio Padrón on trumpet, Giovanni Hidalgo on congas, and Horacio “El Negro Hernández on drum kit. I’ve included several high energy clips of the group performing, and I can only imagine the intensity of tonight’s performance in Havana. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this will inspire more Cuban jazz groups to visit the States - enjoy!

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Orlando “Maraca” Valle And The Monterey Latin Jazz All-StarsPerforming During 2009

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Want to hear more from Orlando “Maraca” Valle? Check out these albums:

Descarga Total

Tremenda Rumba

Formula Uno

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Do you have a video to contribute to satisfy our weekly Latin Jazz video fix? If so, send it in - it’s time to feed our addiction. I’m looking for live performances, from any context. I’ll most likely be posting one video per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz videographers, musicians, and fans - let’s share some of our memorable videos! Get my contact info HERE.

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Reflections Upon An Influential Education: 10 Albums From Irakere Alumni
Undivided Attention: Tata Güines On Video
Latin Jazz: A Legitimate American Music
Latin Jazz Conversations: John Calloway (Part 3)

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