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Hispanic Heritage Month 2021- Mario Bauza

September 22, 2021- Today's Topic: Mario Bauza

Along with Machito, Mario Bauza was one of the founding fathers of latin jazz. He was featured prominently yesterday during our feature on Machito but today we focus specifically 
on Mario Bauza. He was born in Havana in 1911 and was a child prodigy on the clarinet and bass clarinet. So much so that he was featured with the Havana Symphony at the age of 11.
He first came to the United States in 1926 and stayed in Harlem where he was exposed to American jazz for the first time. It had a major effect on him and he vowed to become a jazz 
musician in the future. When he returned to Havana he mastered the alto saxophone with the idea of one day returning to New York.

His opportunity came in an unexpected way. Don Azpiazu’s Havana Casino Orchestra had taken New York by storm with their hit tune The Peanut Vendor. Azpiazu needed a trumpet 
player for a recording session but they had all returned to Cuba. Bauza bought a trumpet and taught himself to play it in two weeks and made the session. He stayed in New York and joined Chick Webb as lead trumpet and Music Director in 1933. 

During this time he was instrumental in discovering Ella Fitzgerald and bringing her into the band. In 1938 he joined the trumpet section of Cab Calloway’s band which later included a young 
Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy’s exposure to Cuban music through his friendship with Bauza would eventually lead to the creation of Afro-Cuban Jazz.

After Cab Calloway, Bauza teamed up with Machito and the Afro-Cubans and became the band’s musical director. His composition Tanga was recorded in 1942 and is one of the earliest 
examples of latin jazz. His use of in-clave and the development of the 3-2 2-3 approach was groundbreaking and highly influential.

He stayed with Machito until 1976 then fell into relative obscurity. He had never really gotten the recognition he deserved but that all changed in 1979 when there were several celebrations 
that recognized his contributions. It kicked off a career revival that lasted the rest of his life. 

During his final years he recorded four albums as a leader which cemented his legacy as one of the true giants of latin jazz.

Hispanic Heritage Month 2021- Machito

September 21, 2021- Today's Topic: Machito

Machito was one of the significant founding fathers of Latin Jazz and one of the most influential. He was born Francisco Raul Gutierrez Grillo in 1909 and raised in Havana Cuba.
He came to New York in 1937 and began recording with a variety of bands most notably the orchestra of Xavier Cugat. In 1940 he formed his own group Machito and the Afro-Cubans. His music director was Mario Bauza and together they were one of the first to combine cuban rhythms in a big band setting.

In 1942 the Afro-Cubans recorded the Mario Bauza composition Tanga which is considered the first latin jazz song based in-clave. The early success of Machito and the Afro-Cubans inspired a number of American bandleaders including Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Kenton who would both begin incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms into their music.For over twenty years, starting in the mid-forties, Machito and the Afro-Cubans played every summer at the Concord Hotel in the Catskills.

When they weren’t in the Catskills they were one of the featured attractions at New York’s Palladium Ballroom. In addition to being so influential to other musicians, Machito and the band were responsible for many latin jazz “firsts.” The first important Descarga, which means Cuban Jam Session, happened at a Machito rehearsal in 1943. They were the first to establish the bongos, congas and timbales as the standard percussion unit for Afro-Cuban music.

Machito’s arrangers including Mario Bauza and Chico O’ Farrill established many arranging techniques that would be copied by others including Bauza’s 3-2 2-3 clave concept.
Many of the legendary latin percussionists worked with Machito including Luis Miranda, Chano Pozo, Carlos Vidal, Ubaldo Nieto, Jose Mangual, Armando Pereza, Chino Pozo, Candido, 
Patato Valdes and Machito’s son Mario Grillo. 

Machito passed away in 1984 but Mario, known as Machito Jr, continues to carry his father’s legacy forward.

In 1985, New York mayor Ed Koch named the intersection of East 111th Street and Third Avenue "Machito Square."

Hispanic Heritage Month 2021- Jelly Roll Morton and the Birth of Latin Jazz in New Orleans

September 20, 2021- Today's Topic: Jelly Roll Morton and the Birth of Latin Jazz in New Orleans

The influence of Afro-Latin rhythms to jazz has been there right from the very beginning in the birthplace of jazz itself, New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans was a melting pot of many different cultures including French, Spanish, Creole, African, European and the Caribbeans. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, musical traditions from those cultures mixed which resulted in the emergence of a variety of new sounds with an emphasis on new and complex rhythms.

The African heritage of both Caribbean and American music became more pronounced and influenced the music that would evolve into jazz. Jelly Roll Morton, early pioneer and self proclaimed inventor of jazz, explained how he was influenced by the Spanish culture that was such a prominent aspect of the New Orleans of his youth. He referred to it as “the Spanish tinge.”

KSDS Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Blog Name:Home Page News

Blog Author:San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Posted on:September 17, 2021

KSDS celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by shining a light on those artists that made an impact on Jazz. Join us every weekday to hear special audio vignettes that focuses on Hispanic and Latinx’s notable legends, events and venues. Click on our Blog to read the daily vignettes. That’s every weekday, Monday Through Friday, only on KSDS, Jazz88.3.

Pat Metheny comes to the Rady Shell- September 30th

Blog Name:Home Page News

Blog Author:San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Posted on:September 16, 2021

The San Diego Symphony presents Pat Metheny in concert. The twenty-time Grammy Award winner is back with an all new world Tour: Pat Metheny: Side-Eye, on stage at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, Thursday, September 30th. Hear Pat Metheny with James Francies and Joe Dyson live. For tickets and info go to www.theshell.org.

Monk Tribute led by Gilbert Castellanos at the Rady Shell- June 26th

Blog Name:Home Page News

Blog Author:San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Posted on:September 16, 2021

Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration!

Blog Name:Home Page News

Blog Author:San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Posted on:August 23, 2021

This whole weekend, Bird Takes Flight!  KSDS is celebrating the birthday of the one and only, Charlie “Bird” Parker. We honor this musical pioneer chronologically by playing his music, offering one-of-a-kind commentary, and airing an exclusive one-on-one discussion with Alto Legend, Charles McPherson (repeat will air Tonight approximately 'Round Midnight). Please take advantage of the wonderful ‘thank you’ gift that any Charlie Parker fan would want (4-CD boxset). Donate Now ($125 and above) and receive a Charlie Parker box set and help KSDS stay financially afloat.

Wynton Marsalis leads the JLCO at the Rady Shell- Sept. 4th

Blog Name:Home Page News

Blog Author:San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Posted on:August 18, 2021

Help KSDS Celebrate Count Basie!

Blog Name:Home Page News

Blog Author:San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Posted on:August 16, 2021

On August 21, one of the greatest bandleaders of all time was born. ALL DAY TODAY help KSDS celebrate the birthday of the one and only, Count Basie. We will begin at 6AM PACIFIC and we will play classic and rare recordings, Count Basie interview segments and have lots of insightful commentary. You're not going to want to miss one minute of this KSDS Fundraising event.  Plus, if you DONATE $60.00 or more) you will get an exclusive thank you gift, but you will have to tune in to KSDS to find out what it is.

LJMS SummerFest 2021

Blog Name:Home Page News

Blog Author:San Diego's Jazz 88.3

Posted on:July 15, 2021

This summer La Jolla Music Society will present- SummerFest: Self + Sound. Their theme will explore how composers write themselves into their music and how the diverse influences that make each person unique find their expression in sound. The annual chamber music festival features the American Perspectives series: a chronicle of musical America; from folk and jazz classics to iconic cinematic scores. Click the LJMS link for the schedule, more information and to purchase tickets.