[Dixielandjazz] Latin jazz

[Anton Crouch]

Hello all

Ben Ratliff's article, as posted by SteveB, is certainly "interesting" - if
only for the author's ignorance of his subject matter.

In discussing the "invention" of Latin jazz, Ratliff mentions Louis
Armstrong's recording of "Peanut Vendor" (December 1930) but presumably
doesn't know that Louis' version is a (poor) copy of that by Don Azpiazu
and his orchestra (May 1930). Azpiazu, from Cuba, took New York City by
storm when he opened at the Palace Theater in April 1930 and if we wish to
put a date to the establishment of Latin jazz in USA, that is it.

Ratliff is running amok when he says "Whatever the measure, until now there
has never been any serious movement to study it, canonize it, historicize
it. As recently as five years ago jazz bands were still playing a watery
pseudo-clave rhythm and calling it Latin jazz. And the enormous amount of
jazz scholarship
activity since the 1970's biographies, discographies, documentary films,
CD reissue work =97 had no equivalent on the Latin-jazz side."

John Roberts'  "Black music of two worlds" appeared in 1972 (with a second
edition in 1998) and has been followed by "The latin tinge" (1979 and 1999)
and "Latin jazz" (1999). These works are scholarship of the highest order.

With regard to CD reisues of Latin jazz, the Harlequin company of UK has
been releasing this material for a long time - some of the reissued
material dates back to the early 1900s. These CDs are generally available
in the USA.

Ah, journalism!

All the best
Anton