Firstly, when one is discussing musical genres, in this age, there can be no “black and white” explanations for anything. There really is no “pure” form of any kind of music anymore, and everything has become a ‘fusion’ of elements. Speaking as a musician, it is simply best to embrace what is wonderful about all good music, and, if it fits into what one is doing, then so be it! If one is to try and distinguish Salsa from Latin Jazz, there are not necessarily going to be clear lines which would separate them. However, one could begin by stating the obvious, and that is this: In Salsa, the vocal element is essential, and for Latin Jazz, the ‘voices’ of the instruments become paramount. However, this is not to say that instrumental solos cannot appear in a great Salsa track and, by the same token, there could certainly be a ‘coro’(a refrain or hook), and even the voice of a ‘sonero’(a lead singer), employed in a Latin Jazz tune.
Of course, one must never forget that Salsa is, at its core, its heart, made for dancing, and this always must be a primary consideration. With Latin Jazz, as the music is more driven by its players’ passion to improvise and explore, often times the element of ‘danceability’ can easily be ignored. This is especially true because musicians often enjoy playing at completely undanceable tempos! Risas por favor! Musicians also enjoy playing in other meters. For example, all the various permutations of the Afro-Cuban 6/8 are very common in Latin Jazz, not to mention the exploration of the odd meters of 5/4 and 7/4. And, when doing this, you would not be surprised to see the dance floor cleared and quickly!!! I am reminded of the very, very old joke, told amongst musicians. It goes something like this:
A young man is going to take his new girlfriend out on a date, and they are trying to decide just what they are going to do. After several failed suggestions, he says to her: “Well, let’s go hear some jazz!” She looks at him quizzically, and says: “Jazz? Isn’t that that music which sounds like a million rats running around the floor, as fast as they can?”
This, of course, is typical of how many people, but especially women, perceive “jazz.” And, it is often hard to overcome this prejudice, and to get people to go out and hear the music, and then, to listen. Latin Jazz, though it can be danceable, is still music for listening. The problem seems to be that the average person ‘thinks’ that there is something ‘special’ that they have to ‘understand’ in order to ‘appreciate’ the music. To me, this has never been true, one should just listen as they would to any other kind of music, and the sounds will either be pleasing, or they won’t!!! The other obvious problem is that most people respond to songs with lyrics, a message which is easy to connect with. With “jazz,” because it is almost always totally instrumental, the lyric connection is lost, and people must then utilize their imaginations while listening. For some people, this is close to impossible, and so, it becomes difficult for them to fully embrace the music.
I think the element of jazz was very present during the big band era of Salsa, especially in the groups led “Machito,” Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, Benny Moré, and many others. This element, at least to me, remained all the way through the great Fania years, where countless memorable solos were taken by great players. It is interesting that certain instruments seem to serve the music best as solo voices, because their timbre can rise above the din of the percussion. Those instruments are, of course: trumpet; trombone; violin; and the piano. The tres can appear as a solo voice at times, but generally speaking, along with the saxophone and the guitar, it is rarity, almost a novelty. When we arrived at the present era, the genre, which I suppose is still ‘en vogue,’ of “Salsa Romantica,” was brought to great heights of popularity by the RMM label, but despised by most traditionalists; instrumental solos were not really necessary, and the strategic usage of the ‘moña’ came to serve the same purpose(of an ‘instrumental break’), while never losing the danceability of the track.
It should never be overlooked that throughout the history of Salsa, the sensibilities and sonorities of “jazz harmony” have been, and are always present. There is, and has been, a harmonic sophistication in the richness of the chord structures, which obviously appealed to the great Latin musicians and arrangers. From the most simplistic of the newer groups of the ’90s to the present, to consistently great artists like: Gilberto Santa Rosa; Oscar D’León; Issac Delgado; Hector Lavoe and, Willie Rosario, to name just a few, their arrangers have a wonderful sense of advanced harmony. And names like José Lugo; Lenny Prieto; Joaquin Betancourt; Oscar Hernández; have demonstrated all the tools to contribute ‘harmonic hipness’ to their arrangements.
In the “Jazz” world, there has always been room for the Latin Jazz group. Names which immediately come to mind as being successful at touring with a small group over the years have been: Cal Tjader; Mongo Santamaria; Willie Bobo; and Ray Barretto. Contemporary groups, led my musicians like Poncho Sanchez attempt to continue in this great tradition, but there is certainly room for more groups who would use the traditional percussion instrumentation, and stay away from being forced to follow trends, using the full drum kit instead of timbales. But, of course, that’s just my opinion. Every so often there are some really terrific Latin Jazz recordings made by artists who are devoted and committed to the genre, but also by artists who would like to tap into the feeling created by the incredible, and always present rhythmic component. Don Grolnick’s “MEDIANOCHE,” “(Warner Bros.) is a must have in this regard!!!
I will hope that those of you who are just beginning to explore Latin Jazz will find what I’ve said here as being helpful. If one is a fan of everything that makes Salsa so wonderful, it should not be so difficult to enjoy its instrumental cousin, Latin Jazz!!! ¡Abrazos para todos!
Stands back from the keyboard in aamzement! Thanks!