Mario Bauzá
Trumpeter, saxophonist, clarinetist and arranger from Havana: Mario Bauzá brought Cuban music and jazz together in New York. As musical director of Machito and his Afro-Cubans he is seen as a pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz.
About
Mario Bauzá's full name was Prudencio Mario Bauzá Cárdenas. He was born on 28 April 1911 in Havana. As a child he already played clarinet in the Havana symphony orchestra.
- In the 1920s he travelled to New York with the charanga of Antonio María Romeu to record.
- In 1930 he settled there to play jazz, and learned alto saxophone and trumpet.
- In 1933 he became lead trumpeter in Chick Webb's orchestra, and later its musical director.
- After that he played with Cab Calloway, and got Calloway to hire the young Dizzy Gillespie.
Machito and his Afro-Cubans
Together with Machito, who was also his brother-in-law, he started Machito and his Afro-Cubans. Bauzá wrote the arrangements and chose the musicians.
- Tito Puente joined the band through him in 1942.
- In 1943 he wrote Tanga, seen as the first true Afro-Cuban jazz tune.
- In 1947 he introduced Chano Pozo to Dizzy Gillespie.
He died in 1993 in New York.
📝 Sources
Dances
- Danzón – The quintessential Cuban ballroom dance, elegant and formal, often seen as the "national dance of Cuba."
- Danzonete – A sung variant of danzón that became popular in the 1920s–30s.
- Cha-cha-chá – Created in the 1950s by Enrique Jorrín while playing with a charanga; specifically designed for charanga orchestras.
- Pachanga – A playful dance and rhythm from the late 1950s/early 1960s, closely linked to charanga bands.
- Mambo (in its earlier Cuban form) – Before the big-band New York mambo, charangas also played early mambo-style danzones.
- Charanga is a Cuban ensemble style and musical tradition that dates back to the early 20th century. It became especially popular in the 1940s–50s and played a crucial role in the evolution of salsa, timba, and Latin jazz.
Lees meer >Cuban Dances Originating in Havana
Havana, the cultural heartbeat of Cuba, played a central role in the creation and evolution of several iconic Cuban dances. Some were born directly in the capital, while others were transformed there into the forms we know today.
Lees meer >In the 20th century New York was the second home of Cuban music. Here Afro-Cuban jazz and the mambo craze of the Palladium Ballroom were born, and later salsa.
Lees meer >The trumpet has been central to Cuban popular music since the 1920s, when it became the lead melodic voice of the son septeto — the "seventh voice" that transformed the ensemble.
Lees meer >The clarinet was one of the characteristic instruments of the orquesta típica, the wind band that played early danzón.
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