Ahead of his set supporting Daymé Arocena at the Jazz Cafe on 14th April, we’ve asked selector Lexus Blondin (Total Refreshment Centre/ Church of Sound ) to give us an insight into his love of Afro-Cuban Jazz.
Here is his introduction to the mix: ”Born out of the meeting of Cuban immigrants with the be-bop cats in the late 40’s, Afro-Cuban jazz benefited from the Mambo craze of the 1930’s and quickly established itself in NYC’s hippest clubs and in the most prestigious halls .
Be-bop pioneers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Art Blakey teamed up with Cuban heavyweights such as Machito, Chano Pozo and Jack Constanzo under the supervision of arrangers like the great Chico O’Farril to create bigger than life compositions for Big Bands that would blow people’s minds the world over, starting from NYC.
As one of the genre’s founding members, Mario Bauza , probably describes the blend the best in an interview:
‘Did you ever hear the expression merengue lemon pie? It’s exactly what it is: Jazz in the top, and the Afro-Cuban rhythm in the bottom. A recipe made for explosion…”
Track list:
Mario Bauza intro
Dizzy Gillespie y Machito – ‘Oro incienso y mirra’
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers ‘No Hay Problema’
Clark Terry & Chico O’Farrill – ‘Tin Tin Deo’
Stan Kenton & His Orchestra. Love For Sale 1951
Dizzy Gillespie And The Big Band – The New Continent
Chico O’Farril – ‘Cuban Blues’
Art Farmer – ‘Alone Together’
Bobby Valentin – ‘ Guarambembere’
Jerry Gonzalez – ‘ Caravan’
Charlie Parker And His Orchestra– ‘Fiesta’
Bobby Sanabria – Skit
Charlie Parker – ‘Mango Mangue’
Sabu Martinez – ‘Oracle’
Artwork by Lewis Heriz
Lewis is a graphic artist for Sofrito Records , Soundway Records and also regular designer for releases on other labels including Stones Throw/Now-Again, Strut and Tru-Thoughts.