"Cubano Be! Cubano Bop!" is a tribute to the legacy of the original Conga King, Chano Pozo, and his co-conspirator in Latin Jazz, Dizzy Gillespie. In the 1940s Chano Pozo was at the top of his game. His rhythms descended from the ceremonies of his Afro-Cuban religion, Santeria. Together with Dizzie Gillespie, their 1947 Carnegie Hall concert literally changed the face of musical history and the course of American Jazz. Chano and Dizzy created Afro-Cuban Jazz, writing the standards, "Manteca" and "Tin Tin Deo," which burst the genre onto the musical map in a major way.
Celebrate the high-voltage, Afro-Caribbean sounds that made Tito Puente “El Rey,” – the undisputed King of Latin music. Hot horn arrangements soar over irresistible, hard-driving, Latin polyrhythms as Tito Puente, Jr. celebrates his father’s legacy of mambo, merengue, salsa and cha-cha-cha classics and introduces a few new favorites with a contemporary flair. Tito Puente influenced generations of musicians with the conga- and timbale-driven tempos and spicy charm of his arrangements. His animated performance style lives on in his son's infectious showmanship, as he and his orchestra transport the audience to a festive evening in the tropics.
All Stars leader Juan de Marcos Gonzalez is one of the most important figures in Cuban music today. The driving force behind the Buena Vista Social Club, Gonzalez has a mission to show the world the wealth, diversity and vitality of Cuban music. The All Stars pairs talented young musicians with established veterans. Their hard-driving big band sound covers the full spectrum of Latin music including danzon,
celebrates his father’s legacy of mambo, merengue, salsa and cha-cha-cha classics and introduces a few new favorites with a contemporary flair. Tito Puente influenced generations of musicians with the conga- and timbale-driven tempos and spicy charm of his arrangements. His animated performance style lives on in his son's infectious showmanship, as he and his orchestra transport the audience to a festive evening in the tropics.