THE NATIONAL JAZZ MUSEUM IN HARLEM PRESENTS:
“El BARRIO”, SPANISH HARLEM : BIRTHPLACE OF AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ
Host/Moderator: Bobby Sanabria
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem
10AM- 4PM
104 EAST 126th STREET
(easily accessible by the 2,3,4,5,6 subways)
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
10am – 11am – HISTORY OF NYC’S “EL BARRIO” – Incubator of Afro-Cuban Jazz – Multiple Grammy nominee, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, composer, arranger, educator Bobby Sanabria gives a detailed overview of Harlem’s birth and the Hispanic community’s importance to its history.
11am – 12:15pm – FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION – FROM MAMBO TO HIP HOP – A SOUTH BRONX TALE – City Lore folklorist, cultural anthropologist and co-producer of the documentary, Elena Martinez, screens this 2007 ALMA Award winning film which was shown on PBS nationally and features such legends as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Willie Colon, and others. She will discuss how the South Bronx became an extension of the East Harlem “El Barrio” musical community and how neighborhoods define musical identity and style.
12:15 – 1pm – LUNCH
1pm – 2pm – THE SOCIO-POLITICAL SIGNIFIGANCE OF THE MACHITO AFRO-CUBANS – Started in 1939 by vocalist Frank Grillo AKA Machito and musical director, multi- instrumentalist Mario Bauzá, the Afro-Cubans were the first group to use the word “Afro” as their band name in the United States. They were also the first truly multi-racial, integrated orchestra. Poet, activist, news reporter, radio host and East Harlem born and bred Felipe Luciano discusses the ramifications of this and how this legendary orchestra were avatars for musical progress, social change, cultural consciousness, integration, and progress in their community and beyond.
2pm – 4pm – TANGA – BIRTH OF AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ AND BEYOND – Panel Discussion Moderated by Bobby Sanabria
In 1943, a full 4 years before Dizzy Gillespie’s and Chano Pozo’s collaboration, Manteca, the Machito Afro-Cubans recorded Tanga – the first legitimate fusion between authentic Afro-Cuban rhythm, jazz harmony and arranging technique featuring jazz soloists.
Featured panelists – René Lopez (Latin music historian, musicologist, and record producer), Ray Santos (Machito alumni, arranger, composer, and educator), Candido (NEA Jazz Master, percussionist, and Machito alumni), Joe Conzo Sr. (Tito Puente historian, and archival recording producer), Mario Grillo (Machito’s son, percussionist, and musical director of the Machito Orchestra).
We close our all day musical tribute to El Barrio with this incredible all star panel discussing what led to this important moment in musical history. Do its roots go back to jazz’s very beginnings? Why is the mainstream jazz community slow in acknowledging the Latin influence in its history? Is that changing? Who were the significant musicians who were Latinos playing jazz and living in Harlem? Why are the Machito Afro-Cubans as significant to jazz’s history as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles, ‘Trane, etc.? What was the important musical and personal relationship between Mario Bauzá and Dizzy Gillespie and how did it change the course of musical history. What is the current state of the art form, and where is it going? Come hear the answers to these and many other questions as this incredible panel of experts moderated by multi-Gammy nominee, drummer, percussionist, arranger, composer, bandleader, educator, and Mario Bauzá alumni, Bobby Sanabria, moderates a discussion that will prove to be exciting as experiencing an ultimate descarga (jam session), so don’t miss it.
Posted on May 19, 2009 by D. Bell