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Part II: Jazz Greats and Great Jazz: An Evolutionary Riff
Gillespie then hired Chano Pozo, whose percussion and vocal style traced
through Cuba and back to West African voodoo cults that arrived in Cuba
with the slave trade during the 18th and 19th centuries. Pozo had ancient
roots, but he also loved playing the new kind of jazz. His 15-month collaboration
with Gillespie during the late 1940s produced the definitive examples of
Cubop.
� Chano Pozo and Arsenio Rodriguez’ Legendary Sessions 1947–1953
includes torrid Cubop with Machito and his orchestra. Rodriguez was a
Cuban guitarist and bandleader who came to the U.S. in the 1940s and
continued to lead groups of his own while occasional playing with his
fellow Cubans.
� Gillespie and his band carried Cubop to a broader American jazz audience.
The best examples of Gillespie and Pozo’s association come to
light on Dizzy Gillespie and His Big Band In Concert (GNP) and Diz ’n’
Bird at Carnegie Hall (Roost/Blue Note).
On the GNP disc, dating from 1948, “Emanon” shows how natural it was
for jazz drummers to collaborate with Cuban percussionists — an easy
merger that became common in years to come. Drummer Joe Harris
plays standard jazz rhythms and Pozo embellishes them, then they
switch roles, lending the music a loose, loping feeling.
Meanwhile, Charlie Parker also maintained his Latin love affair. South of the
Border (Verve) — a compilation of music including his collaborations with
Machito’s orchestra — incorporates much of Parker’s Cubop.
Chico O’Farrill
Like Mario Bauza and Chano Pozo, composer, arranger, and trumpeter Chico
O’Farrill (1921–2001) was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. at the height of
Dizzy Gillespie’s fascination with Cubop. O’Farrill arrived well versed in both
Afro-Cuban rhythms and American big band jazz. His symphonic arrangements
also displayed his love of classical composers Debussy and Stravinsky.
In O’Farrill’s compositions, you can hear Stravinsky’s sweeping melodies and
love of moody Russian folk music. His big band arrangements utilize harmonies
Stravinsky used with a classical orchestra, and it’s thrilling to hear
subtle classical elements pulsing to a Latin beat and accented by bebop
solos. (Today O’Farrill’s band continues with his son Arturo at the helm.)
O’Farrill is the unsung hero of Latin big band music, including hot dance
music. When he moved to New York in 1948, he soon found enthusiastic
collaborators such as Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman (see Chapter 6),
and Stan Kenton (see Chapter 7).