Representative Albums: "The Tanga Suite," "Mambo Inn, Quedate, El Marelito & Cubanola," "Ahora Mismo, Guateque de Chombo, Simale, Contigo"
Representative Songs: "Son Cubano (Yo Soy el Son Cub," "Mambo Rincon," "Tanga Suite Pts. 1 & 2"
Biography
A talented section player who rarely soloed, Mario Bauzá's main importance to music was behind the scenes as one of the main instigators of Afro-Cuban jazz, the potent mixture of Latin rhythms with jazz improvisation. A multi-instrumentalist, Bauzá played clarinet and oboe with the Havana Philharmonic before moving to New York in 1930. During a stint with Noble Sissle in 1932, he switched to trumpet. As musical director with Chick Webb (1933-1938), Bauzá helped convince the drummer of the potential greatness of Ella Fitzgerald. He was with Don Redman during 1938-1939, and then Cab Calloway (1939-1941). Bauzá was largely responsible for Calloway hiring Dizzy Gillespie, and in 1947 he would introduce Gillespie to Chano Pozo. Bauzá became the longtime musical director of his brother-in-law Machito's orchestra (1941-1976), encouraging Machito to add jazz solos to his music. In the 1980s and early '90s as the head of his own Afro-Cuban orchestra, Mario Bauzá (who had long since given up playing trumpet) recorded three excellent albums of his arrangements and finally received some recognition for his important contributions to music. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Mario Bauzá (April 28, 1911 in the Cayo Hueso section of Havana, Cuba – July 11, 1993 in New York City) was one of the first musicians to introduce Latin music to the U.S. by bringing Cuban musical styles into the New York jazz scene, and is one of the most influential figures in the development of Afro-Cuban music, and his innovative work and musical contributions have many jazz historians to call him the "founding father of Latin jazz."
Trained as a classical musician, he was a clarinetist in the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra by the age of nine, where he would stay for three years. Bauzá traveled to New York in 1925 to record with Maestro Antonia Maria Romeu's band, Charanga Francesa, shortly after his fourteenth birthday. Bauzá returned to Cuba but moved back to New York in 1930 and reputedly learned to play trumpet in just over two weeks in order to earn a spot in Don Azpiaz˙ Orchestra, which was in need of a trumpeter to play on upcoming recordings for RCA Victor.
Bauzá had been hired as lead trumpeter and musical director for Chick Webb's Orchestra by 1933, and it was during his time with Webb that Bauzá both met fellow trumpeter Dizzie Gillespie and discovered and brought into the band singer Ella Fitzgerald.
In 1938 Bauzá joined Cab Calloway's band, later convincing Calloway to hire Dizzie Gillespie as well, with whom Bauza would continue to collaborate even several years after he left Calloway's band in 1940. The fusion of Bauzá's Cuban musical heritage and Gillespie's advancements in bebop eventually culminated in the development of cubop, one of the first forms of what is commonly referred to as Latin jazz.
In 1941, Bauzá became musical director of Machito and his Afro-Cubans, a band led by his brother-in-law, Frank Grillo (Francisco Raul Gutierrez Grillo), also known as Machito. The band produced its first recording for Decca in 1941, and in 1942 Bauzá brought in a young timbales player named Tito Puente. The band soon had a hit with "Tanga," written by Bauzá, which became a popular mambo dance number often played at venues like Manhattan's Palladium Ballroom. Bauzá would maintain his post as director of Machito and his Afro-Cubans until 1976, after which he led his own band until the early '90s. This latter group made a guest appearance on a 1992 episode of The Cosby Show.
References
Boggs, Vernon. Salsiology: Afro-Cuban Music and the Evolution of Salsa in New York City.ISBN 0-313-28468-7.
Gerard, Charley and Marty Sheller. Salsa! The Rhythm of Latin Music.ISBN 0-941677-11-7 : 0941677095.
Morales, Ed. The Latin Beat: The Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond.ISBN 0-306-81018-2
