1. Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Piano (Cuba)
I once had the honour of interviewing the great late McCoy Tyner, one of the finest Jazz pianists of all time, known mostly for his collaboration with John Coltrane. When I asked him who, of the new generation of Jazz pianists, he most rated, he wondered for a while and then spoke one name…Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Not longer a novice, the accolades continue to come. Sir Simon Rattle has called this Cuban pianist “the most gifted pianist on the planet.” Dizzy Gillespie: “…the greatest pianist I’ve heard in the last 10 years” and Charlie Haden once remarked, “Gonzalo is the master of musical structures, he is a smart heart.” And so we need to say little more, only that Rubalcaba would also be on a list of Latin Jazz greats, but he is just as much in his element in the tiny intimate delicacies of a balad as he is pounding Afro-Cuban rythmns and one could not write a list mentioning the word Jazz, any Jazz, without him in it.
2. Astor Piazzolla - Bandoneon (Argentina)
Of all history’s great musicians and composers, only a few last the test of time and are passed down from generation to generation…Mozart, Bach, Elgar, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, to name a few. The Bandoneon player and composer, Astor Piazzolla, is certainly one of those. Born in 1941, in Mar del Plata, the Argentine transcended his genre of tango. To this day his towering compositions transport listeners onto sublime and intense musical journeys of emotional crescendos, ecstatic climaxes and melancholic descents. His music is as distinctive as it is beautiful, played in concert halls the world over by classical, jazz and tango ensembles alike.
3. Egberto Gismonti - Guitarist, Pianist (Brazil)
A virtuoso on both guitar and piano, Egberto Gismonti's work stands bodly at the crossroads of Brazilian Folk and the world of Jazz and Classical music. A masterful improviser. Gismonti’s blazing technique conjures a palette of other-worldly colours. Born in Carmo (Rio de Janeiro state) in 1947, Egberto studied piano and guitar as a child and went on to study composition, orchestration and analysis in Paris under the legendary Nadia Boulanger. On his last day as Boulanger’s student, she told him to “be a little irresponsible, just trust and break the rules,” and so he did, to beautiful results, at once daring and sublimely sensitive. He became immersed in the culture and music of indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and this influence continues to fertilise his work. His collaborations with percussionist Nana Vasconcelos (on another list) and his now legendary trio work with Norwegian saxohonist Jan Garbarek and American bassist Charlie Haden (yielding three albums, Magico, Folk Songs and Magico: Carta de Amor) are nothing short of magical.
4. Alex Acuña - Drums (Peru)
Alex Acuña is arguably Latin America’s most successful Jazz drummer. Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1965 he moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1974 Acuña moved to Las Vegas, working with artists such as Elvis Presley and Diana Ross, and the following year he joined the pinoeering group Weather Report, appearing on the seminal albums Black Market and Heavy Weather.
On leaving Weather Report, Acuña became one of Los Angeles' most sought after drummers for the world’ s most successful recording artists, including Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Plácido Domingo - a temptation too difficult to resist. Yet the Peruvian also continued his collaborations with leading Jazz musicians from Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Corea, to Dave Grusin, The Brecker Brothers, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito d'Rivera, Gonzalo Rubalcaba,Paco de Lucia and John Patitucci. At the age of 75, Acuña is considered a legend of the Jazz world, and to see why just check out this awesome footage with Wayne Shorter, Jow Zawinul, Jaco Pastorius, each musician pushing their own boundaries to make the pinoeering sound that Weather Report was.
5. Danilo Perez - Piano (Panama)
As a solo artist and as a collaborator with jazz giants from Dizzy Gillespie to Wayne Shorter, for over three decades, this Grammy Award Winning Panamanian Pianist-Composer has been lauded as one of the most creative forces in contemporary music. Born in Panama in 1965, Pérez started his musical studies when he was three with his father, a bandleader and singer. By 10, Danilo was studying the European classical piano repertoire at the National Conservatory in Panama. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in electronics in Panama, he studied jazz composition at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. While still a student, he performed with Jon Hendricks, Terence Blanchard, Slide Hampton, Claudio Roditi and Paquito D’Rivera. Quickly established as a young master, he soon toured and recorded with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Jack DeJohnette, Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Tito Puente, Wynton Marsalis, Gary Burton, and Roy Haynes. Pérez’ recent Global Jazz project blends Panamanian roots, Latin American folk music, West African rhythms, European impressionism. “He is not afraid of anything,” says Herbie Hancock. And you can certainly hear that in his music.
6. Gato Barbieri - Saxophone (Argentina)
Who’d have thought that Latin America’s most well-known Jazz saxophonist, would come out of the Pampas of Argentina? Known among his Jazz peers as the 'wild bull', Gato’s highly emotional playing, sporting a coarse, wailing sound struck a chord with fellow musicians and music fans alike. Moving to the US early on, Barbieri earned himself a place in the band of trumpeter Don Cherry and composer pianest Carla Bley and became a prominent member of the jazz avant-garde, making records that challenged harmonic and rhythmic conventions.
As a composer he also proved highly gifted, winning a Grammy for his score to “Last Tango in Paris” Bernardo Bertolucci’s sexually explicit 1972 film starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. By the mid-1970s, he moved towards soul-jazz and jazz-pop. Caliente! (1976) included his best known song, a rendition of Carlos Santana's "Europa". That and the follow-up album, Ruby Ruby (1977) were both produced by Herb Alpert. Barbieri recorded dozens of albums and continued recording and performing into the 21st century. Influenced by John Coltrane, his big, lush sound was distinctly his own and instantly recognizable, and this footage shows just why he was so loved by musicians and fans alike.
7. Hermeto Pascoal - Multi-instrumentalist (Brazil)
Famously referred to by Miles Davis as “that crazy Brazilian albino” Hermeto Pascaol was a musical law unto himself. The late great trumpeter also happened to call him "one of the most important musicians on the planet". Indeed, anything and everything was a musical instrument for the ever innovative Hermeto Pascoal, he literally could, and frequently would, make music out of a stone. Born in 1936 in the small farming town of Lagoa da Canoa, in Alagoas, he dropped out of school in fourth grade, because his school could not provide him with the resources for his short-sightedness. But his father, a musician taught his son how to play the accordion. Pascoal moved to Rio de Janeiro in the early 60s, where he began recording with the new generation of Brazilian musicians, such as Quarteto Novo. He went on to play with Miles Davis, appearing on Davis’s 1970 album Live-Evil and many others. This was a musician who had boundless talent and no boundaries, a combination that produced one of the most unique artists of the 20th century.
8. Michel Camilo - Piano (Dominican Republic)
Composer and pianist extraordinaire, Michel Camilo is known for his brilliant technique and a composer who flavours his tunes with the spice of Caribbean rhythms and jazz harmonies. Camilo studied for 13 years at the National Conservatory and was scouted by members of the Harvard University Jazz Band: when they visited the Dominican Republic and heard Camilo at a jam session, the bandleader encouraged him, 'You should be in the States'. And so the idea was planted. In 1979, Camilo moved to New York to study at The Juilliard School, and broke onto the international stage in 1983 when Tito Puente's pianist was unable to make a concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival. On a recommendation, Puente asked Camilo to play. Cuban reedman Paquito D'Rivera was in the audience and offered him a place in his band. For four years, Camilo toured internationally with D'Rivera and recorded two albums with him. He soon turned solo and his debut album Michel Camilo became a bestseller and held the top jazz album spot for ten consecutive weeks. Camilo's wonderful collaborative 2000 album with flamenco guitarist Tomatito won Best Latin Jazz Album in the first Latin Grammy Awards.
9. Chucho Valdés
Even though, like Rubalcaba, Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger Chucho Valdes crosses the line from Jazz to Latin Jazz and back again, a list of Jazz greats is inconceivable without him, if for nothing else than where he took Jazz with his incredible band Irakere in the 70s and 80s. Inspired by US jazz pianists as Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk, Valdes quickly formed his first jazz trio and began a fruitful period that found him landing several high-profile performance jobs in hotels around Havana. In 1970, Valdes and his combo became the first Cuban jazz group to perform abroad after appearing at the Jazz Jamboree International Jazz Festival in Poland. In 1973, Chucho formed the innovative and highly influential Jazz ensemble Irakere. With its unique mix of jazz, rock, funk, classical and traditional Cuban rhythms, Irakere was an explosive and creative ensemble that quickly caught the attention of international audiences. With its Grammy winning 1979 self-titled concert album, recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival. Chucho is been revered by musicians around the world every since as one of the pioneers of modern Jazz, whether Latin or not.
10. Pedro Aznar, vocals & bass (Argentina)
Emerging from one of the most famous pop groups in Argentina, the voice of Pedro Aznar helped define the sound of Sui Generis sound. He joined the Pat Metheny Group in 1983 as multi-instrumentalist and vocalist and won three Grammy Awards with the group for "First Circle" (1984),"Letter from Home" (1989) and "The Road to You" (1993). Never betraying the roots of Argentine pop music, Aznar’s unique vocal tone and range combined with his talent as producer, composer, arranger, instrumentalist has earned him the respect from the world’s best musicians.
And one for luck....no. 11. Tino Contreras - Drums (Mexico)
Born in Chihuahua in 1924 to a family of musicians, Contreras is a Mexican jazz master drummer who for more than six decades has melded Latin influences with free jazz, psychedelia, avant-garde experimentation, and global sounds from Egypt, India, Turkey, and elsewhere. Tino’s career started in the 1950s, and has seen him share stages with many of the greats – including Dave Brubeck, Cannonball Adderley and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Now in his nineties, Contreras continues to play, record, and receive recognition for his contribution to Mexican jazz and beyond.
End note: while we have included drummers in this list there were simply too many great percussionists to fit in. Fear not, they are part of another great list coming your way soon with the likes of Giovanni Hidalgo, Angá, Pedrito Martinez, Luisito Quintero, Pedrito Martinez and Nana Vasconcelos, to name just a few.
In the meantime, find our selection of Latin Jazz pioneers here
