[Dixielandjazz] Jazz for kids in Cuba

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Steve et al,

The Article posted by Steve about the Lincoln Centre Orchestra's visit to Cuba and, particularly, the comments about a bridge between jazz music and Cuban music being formed by Dizzy and Chano Pozo in the 1940s started some bells ringing.

I used to work occasionally with Benny Watters when he visited Scotland in the 1970s and 80s and more frequently with a fine Scottish bassist and guitarist, Francis Cowan. Both are sadly no longer with us (Benny had a good long innings, but Francis's was sadly cut short in a traffic accident by a truck driver who fell asleep at the wheel), but I recall Francis recounting a conversation he had with Benny. 

He had asked what was hot in NYC when Benny first arrived from the Boston area - what did Benny go to hear once work was over - expecting to be regaled with tales of epic cutting contests in Harlem. Instead Benny said "we all went over to Spanish Harlem to hear the Puerto Rican bands. They were playing something very different." When Francis asked in what way was it different, Benny replied that it was way ahead of what was being played in New York dance halls and that the trumpet players played a way out style "like Dizzy Gillespie." When asked when this was, Benny said "around 1925."

It might be anecdotal evidence, but it suggests that the bridge had been around a while before Dizzy and Chano got together. That could be an interesting research project: the story of Puerto Rican music in NYC and its impact on jazz.

Regards,

Ken Mathieson
www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk