Mario Bauzá,
Architect of Afro-Cuban Jazz
By Neil Leonard

Published in Rhythm Music Monthly
Vol. 2, Num. 8, Aug., 1993
Copyright 1993, Neil Leonard

In everyday discussion of the most influential figures in jazz, Mario Bauzá is rarely mentioned. However, in the analysis of how Cuban music changed the direction of jazz and popular music in the United States, Bauzá emerges as one of the leading figures. In the 1940's Bauzá created a new style called Afro-Cuban Jazz, which fused the music of African descendants in Cuba and North America. By 1950 the African instruments, poly-rhythms and repeating bass figures, which Bauzá brought to jazz for the first time, had permanently changed North American music. As co-founder and musical director of Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Bauzá's played a leading role in popularizing Cuban dance styles like the cha-cha-cha, mambo and rhumba in the United States and Europe.

Born in Havana, Cuba on April 28, 1911, Bauzá was a child prodigy. By his early teens Bauzá was earning a living as a clarinetist. In 1926 he made his first trip to New York to record for RCA-Victor with Antonio Maria Romeu's leading charanga orchestra. Bauzá was greatly impressed by the jazz orchestras of Duke Ellington and Paul Whiteman. After hearing Whiteman's saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer he decided to take up saxophone himself.

Upon returning to Havana, Bauzá became increasingly discontented with the professional options for black musicians in Cuba. He viewed the blacks in Harlem as having more independence, acceptance and opportunities. Waiting to turn eighteen so that he could emigrate to New York, Bauzá played bass clarinet with the Havana Philharmonic.

On the ship to New York he met Don Azplazu and his band who were coming from Cuba to work in New York. When Azplazu's trumpet soloist fell ill two weeks before a recording session, Bauzá offered to learn the trumpet and fill in for him. Based on Bauzá's fluency in Cuban music, Azplazu took the chance and bought him a fifteen dollar trumpet.  Not only did Bauzá learn the instrument, he played well enough to become a lead trumpeter in Azplazu's band, which recorded the first Cuban crossover hit, "The Peanut Vendor".

From 1932 to 1936 Bauzá played with the Chick Webb Orchestra, one of the best bands of the swing era. Webb was so impressed by Bauzá's finesse and musicianship that he appointed Bauzá musical director. Bauzá stayed with the group for five years, during which time he hired seventeen year old Ella Fitzgerald, providing her with her first national exposure.

Bauzá went on to work with Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway. Bauzá convinced Calloway to hire Dizzy Gillespie. Gillespie fell in love with the Cuban rhythms in Bauzá's arrangements. Bauzá began featuring Gillespie as soloist in arrangements such as "Rhapsody in Rumba" and "Goin'Conga".  This was the beginning of a life-long friendship between Gillespie and Bauzá, which lead to Gillespie hiring an endless roster of Cuban musicians and making several trips to Cuba to perform in the Latin Jazz Festival in the 1980's.

In 1940 Bauzá left Calloway to start a big band, Machito and his Afro-Cubans, featuring his brother-in-law and childhood friend Frank "Machito" Grillo on vocals.  Bauzá played trumpet, composed, arranged and directed the band. Having organized the first ensemble ever that was able to play both jazz and Cuban music Bauzá was able refine his fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban music. In 1943 Bauzá wrote his first Afro-Cuban Jazz composition entitled "Tanga", after the African word for marijuana. "Tanga" was recorded by Charlie Parker among others.

The Afro-Cubans stayed together for thirty five years. During much of this time they were considered to be the most uncompromising and important Latin orchestra in the United States. Guest soloists included Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Zoot Sims, John Griffin, Cannonball Adderley, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole.

Bauzá took tremendous pride in his African ancestry and culture. While promoters opposed using the word "Afro" in the group's name, Bauzá refused to negotiate. The Afro-Cubans were responsible for desegregating a number of New York venues for Latin musicians.

Bauzá's Afro Cuban Jazz was adapted by Gillespie, who hired master Cuban conga player and singer Chano Pozo on Bauzá's recommendation. Pozo and Gillespie co-wrote the jazz masterpiece "Manteca".  "Cubana Be, Cubana Bop" combined Pozo's West African Abakua chanting, Gillespie's trumpet and George Russell's avant-garde harmony and counterpoint.  The Gillespie-Pozo collaboration turned out to be one of the most important collaborations in the history of jazz, anticipating the innovations carried out over the next forty years by Stan Kenton, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Anthony Davis and others.

Bauzá left Machito and the Afro-Cubans in 1976 and formed Mario Bauzá and his Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, featuring the veteran singer of the Afro-Cubans, Graciela. After touring and recording one album Bauzá decided to retire. Bauzá was then inspired to return to music by an eightieth birthday concert featuring Bauzá's 20 piece band directed by former Machito arranger Chico o' Farrill, and featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Celia Cruz and Graciela.

In 1991 Bauzá's career was revived by the Messidor label, which offered Bauzá the opportunity to make his first recording under his own name. Later the same year Warner Brothers featured Bauzá as musical director for the soundtrack to Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. His last recording's Tanga and My Time is Now, are excellent examples of Bauzá's genius in melding jazz and Afro-Cuban music.

I saw Bauzá at the Strand Theater in Dorchester in late 1992 with a group that featured Afro-Cuban masters Rudy Calzado on vocals and Carlos "Patato" Valdes on congas. The band shined on compositions such as Calzado's "Ifa", which was sung in the West African language Yoruba. Having made numerous trips to Cuba over the years to study Afro-Cuban music and jazz, I was greatly impressed by the degree to which Bauzá preserved the authenticity and integrity of Afro-Cuban roots in his music. Other musicians may have updated Afro-Cuban Jazz with new harmonies, electric instruments and "pop" arrangements, but none ever improved upon the master's unique fusion of elemental Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms with the Afro-American jazz avant-garde.

At eighty two, after nearly seventy years of playing professionally, and fifty years of directing orchestras, Bauzá passed away in his home in New York City.

Its been said that jazz trumpet never ever got "better" than Louis Armstrong; it just got "different". Afro-Cuban Jazz never got "better" than Bauzá.