Afro-Cubans

The Afro-Cubans were a Latin jazz band founded by Machito in 1940; often billed as Machito and his Afro-Cubans. Their musical director was Mario Bauzá, Machito's brother-in-law.
The Afro-Cubans combined Cuban music with orchestrations derived from swing. As well, the Afro-Cubans played with and incorporated the music of many figures in jazz, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Flip Phillips, and Buddy Rich; but the association went both ways, as the Latin rhythms of the Afro-Cubans strongly influenced the jazz scene... more