The mixture of Latin culture and African American jazz really has a confused history that is often overlooked through modern eyes. Most people only look at the surface appearance of the style, categorizing a Latin influence into a tidy box. The common concept of the music is one that has been solidified by many musicians over several decades, and it presents a clearly defined approach. From the blaring Afro-Cuban rhythms of Tito Puente to the churning bossa nova of Getz and Gilberto and the festejo of Gabriel Alegria, musicians have found innovative ways to combine Caribbean and South American rhythms with jazz harmonies. This combination certainly resulted in some great music, but it’s only one piece of a larger picture. When we looked back across the first decade of the twenty-first century, we discovered the reoccurring theme of “What Is Latin Jazz?,” a question forced upon us by new representations of Latin culture in the jazz world. The high profile emergence of multitudes of artists pushing the limits of the genre brought the issue into the forefront of our attention in the 2000s, but it’s hardly a new idea. Latin influences and musicians have helped shape the jazz world since it’s beginnings.

Musical exchange between African-American, Caribbean, and South American musicians has been a cornerstone of jazz since it’s inception. Jazz came to life in New Orleans during the early 1900s, but only with the help of Cuban music. Pianist Jelly Roll Morton often referred to the essential “Spanish Tinge” that made jazz complete, and he showed it in his compositions through a specific left hand figure, the habanera. Puerto Rican musicians filled the ranks of Puente and Machito’s fiery Afro-Cuban big bands, building the now legendary Palladium sound; at the same time, some of those musicians found their way into Duke Ellington’s band. Trumpet player Fats Navarro, a Cuban born trumpet player, burned his way through a short but memorable life during the bebop era. Numerous Brazilian and Puerto Rican percussionists fueled the heavy grooves of fusion bands during the seventies, giving the music a “world jazz” sound. At every turn of jazz’s evolution, Latin music and musicians helped build the style into the major art form that we know today. In most cases though, Latin culture wasn’t the focus, it was just a piece of the bigger puzzle, so the essential connection to Latin music generally goes unnoticed.

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Juan Tizol
One musician who shaped the course of jazz history celebrated their 110th birthday this week – valve trombonist Juan Tizol was born on January 22, 1900 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Born into a musical family, Tizol gained a solid musical foundation on the island, emerging as a highly trained classical musician. In 1920, Tizol made his way into Washington D.C., smuggled into the city by boat to work a steady theater gig. Nine years later, after a variety of musical jobs and an investment in a deli, Tizol gained a spot in Duke Ellington’s band. Being a fully trained musician, Tizol became a key player in the group, transposing parts, doing copywriting, and providing a distinct contrast to the rough bluesy voices in the band. Ironically, Tizol encounter race issues in the band, but not because of his Caribbean heritage – his light skin gave him the appearance of being caucasian, which led to a well-known conflict with Charles Mingus and more. Tizol began composing for the band in the early thirties, inserting a “Latin” edge into some songs, while staying with the group’s swing feel on others. 1944 marked the end of an era as Tizol left Ellington to pursue a job with Harry James in Los Angeles, bringing him closer to his wife. Tizol made a brief return to the Ellington band in 1951, only to leave again after three years. He bounced between several prominent big bands over the next ten years, retiring to Los Angeles during the sixties. Tizol lived to a ripe age of 84, dying in Los Angeles on April 23, 1984.

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Sitting Between Jazz And Latin Culture
Tizol’s career presents a perfect example of the foggy relationship between traditional jazz and Latin culture – he was a musician that easily “sat between” jazz and Latin music. His legacy remains firmly attached to Ellington, one of the most influential voices in tradition jazz. His contributions to the group behind the scenes, as a performer, and as a composer helped the group stake their place in history and create some of the world’s most memorable music. Ellington respected Tizol and his abilities, a fact reinforced by his willingness to include several Tizol compositions into the group’s repertoire, which was dominated by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn pieces. His composition “Perdido,” a swing tune, caught the imagination of jazz musicians and listeners around the world; it continues to be a highly played standard. Many Latin Jazz musicians remember Tizol as a ground breaking Puerto Rican musician that connected Latin culture with the Ellington band. Another famous Tizol composition, “Caravan” sits among the most cherished Latin Jazz standards in the genre, recorded hundreds of times, using countless creative arranging techniques. He made significant strides on both sides of the fence, gaining respect and notoriety among the jazz audience and Latin musicians alike.

Tizol’s “Latin” Compositions With The Ellington Band
Tizol’s use of Latin elements in his compositions certainly opened the door for Latin rhythms in jazz, but it also served to keep a grey area around Latin culture in the music. Tizol’s pieces certainly broke the band out of its swing mold, forcing the rhythm section into straight eighth notes. Still, although the band’s foundation made these changes, the wind players continued to swing melodies at points; there was definitely not a unified group concept around clave. A great example of this tension around a disjointed concept exists on the band’s recording of Tizol’s “Moon Over Cuba” from Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band – Tizol’s thick vibrato holds the straight feel, but the saxes distinctly swing behind him. At the same time, many of the band’s performances avoided a direct connection to rhythms from Cuba or Puerto Rico, instead blending cultural elements into an unidentifiable mix. Check out “Porto Rican Chaos” from Duke Ellington: 1933-1938 (vol. 3) – despite the title’s spelling, there’s an implication of Puerto Rican identity here. A three-two clave pattern can clearly be heard throughout the recording, but the drum kit keeps a tango-esqe pattern and a shaker leans the rhythm towards swing. Despite the admirable attempt to integrate Latin rhythms into the group, the band always seemed ready to jump into swing, and they always played with more vigor when they did. The group starts on a vague straight-eighth groove during “Conga Brava,” once again from Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band. There’s certainly a professional conviction, but the band explodes into swing about forty seconds into the track and they sound absolutely inspired. All these elements create an interesting contradiction – Tizol attempted to bring a Caribbean element into the music, but his statement of culture became blurred into an unintelligible message.

Questions About Latin Culture In Jazz
Tizol’s place in the jazz world brings a serious set of questions into play, forcing us to examine the role of Latin culture in jazz. Tizol’s contributions to the Ellington band were significant – he added songs to the group’s repertoire, he was a long time member of the brass section, and he worked behind the scenes to make the band more musically functional. Why doesn’t the jazz world remember Tizol with the reverence of other Ellington alumni like Billy Strayhorn, “Cootie” Williams, or Louie Bellson? Tizol specifically tried to bring compositions with Latin influences into the band, but they lacked a specific connection to Latin culture. There were certainly less resources available to learn the music at that time, but there were plenty of Puerto Rican musicians in New York during the thirties – if members of the Ellington rhythm section really wanted to get it right, they could have found some help. With this in mind, its curious to wonder why the performance of these pieces were taken so lightly – were they seen as novelty to the band? History has certainly been written around the racial issues experienced by African American jazz musicians, a seriously heavy subject. Still, Latino musicians such as Tizol must have felt a double whammy in the same situations, experiencing discrimination while dealing with the downplay of their culture. Why don’t the jazz history books address these issues? I’m not sure that I know the answers here, I’m really just thinking aloud – but the facts seem to demand answers to these questions.

Bringing Important Contributions Into The Forefront
There’s a whole wealth of Latin musicians that sit in the background of jazz history, and a number of instances where Latin music pushed the genre forward – it’s time to bring those contributions into the forefront. In general historians consider jazz an African-American art form, and the dominance of the culture in the music in undeniable. Music never maintains a strictly isolationist policy though, and its important to recognize the whirlpool of cultures that brought jazz into its modern state. Cultural elements from the Caribbean and South America certainly have played an important role in jazz development, from the music’s origins to modern day. Latin musicians like Juan Tizol worked in the trenches of jazz, wrote important compositions, and developed the conventions that we now consider standard in the jazz world. Sometimes they used Latin rhythms and at other times, they didn’t; that’s not the issue here though. The issue remains that musicians like Tizol made significant contributions to the evolution of jazz, yet they sit outside the realm of wide public recognition. It’s time to stop treating Latin culture like a second class citizen in the jazz world and embrace its influence – an act that would show respect and admiration for the work of Juan Tizol and all the Caribbean and South American musicians that have made jazz an incredible art form.

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Setting The Record Straight: George Russell, Cubano Be, Cubano Bop, And The Origin Of Latin Jazz
An Open Letter To JazzTimes Regarding Latin Jazz
Does The Blurry Line Between Salsa And Latin Jazz Matter?
Latin Jazz: A Legitimate American Music

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