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Latin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States.

The two main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian and Afro-Cuban.

• Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova and samba.
• Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz includes salsa, merengue, songo, son, mambo, bolero, charanga and cha cha cha.

Latin Jazz originated in the late 1940s when Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Kenton began to combine the rhythm section and structure of Afro-Cuban music, exemplified by Machito and his Afro-Cubans, with jazz instruments and solo improvisational ideas. Stan Kenton released an arrangement of the Afro-Cuban tune The Peanut Vendor, which is considered by many to be the first authentic Latin Jazz recording.

In 1947, Dizzy Gillespie collaborated with Machito conga player Chano Pozo to perform the "Afro-Cuban Drums Suite" at Carnegie Hall. This concert brought Latin-Jazz into mainstream awareness, and Pozo remained in Gillespie's band to produce "Cubana Be, Cubana Bop".

In comparison to American Jazz, Latin Jazz employs straight rhythm, rather than swung rhythm. Latin Jazz rarely employs a backbeat, using a form of the clave instead. The conga, timbale, güiro, and claves are percussion instruments which often contribute to a Latin sound.

Samba originates from nineteenth century Afro-Brazilian music such as the Lundu. It employs a modified form of the clave. Bossa Nova is a hybrid music based on Samba's rhythm but influenced by European and American music from Debussy to US jazz. Bossa Nova originated in the 1960s, largely from the efforts of Brazillians Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, and American Stan Getz. Its most famous song is arguably The Girl from Ipanema sung by Gilberto and his wife, Astrud Gilberto.

Latin jazz music, like most types of jazz music, can be played in small or large groups. Small groups, or combos, often use the Be-bop format made popular in the 1950s in America, where the musicians play a standard melody, many of the musicians play an improvised solo, and then everyone plays the melody again. In Latin jazz bands, percussion often takes a center stage during a solo, and a conga or timbale can add a melodic line to any performance.

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• CarHabana When the Manouche/Gipsy Jazz meet the Cuban Jazz

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Jazz standard - Jazz royalty