Featured
Airto Moreira: Brazil’s Rhythmic Visionary and Global Jazz Pioneer
Few musicians have expanded the sound of modern jazz as profoundly — and as joyfully — as Airto Moreira. Born in Itaiópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, on August 5, 1941, and raised in Curitiba, Airto emerged as one of the most original percussion voices of the late twentieth century, bringing the textures, rhythms, chants, colours, and spiritual force of Brazil into the centre of contemporary jazz, fusion, world music, and Latin jazz. His art is impossible to reduce to a single role. He is a drummer, percussionist, vocalist, composer, bandleader, collaborator, sound painter, and musical bridge-builder whose career connects samba, baião, maracatu, Afro-Brazilian ritual sound, bossa nova, jazz improvisation, funk, rock, and Afro-Caribbean rhythmic consciousness.
Airto’s importance lies not only in his virtuosity, but in the way he changed the idea of what percussion could do in jazz. Before his arrival on the North American scene, percussion was often treated as colour, accent, or “exotic” decoration. Airto made it structural. He showed that berimbau, cuíca, pandeiro, caxixi, bells, shakers, chants, whistles, hand drums, bird calls, and body-sound could shape form, energy, atmosphere, and improvisational direction. His playing could be earthy and ceremonial, explosive and playful, delicate and orchestral. It could ignite a groove or dissolve time altogether.
His breakthrough came at a moment when jazz was searching for new possibilities. Miles Davis was opening the electric door with Bitches Brew; Chick Corea was creating the lyrical fusion language of Return to Forever; Weather Report was imagining a new collective sound world; CTI Records was giving jazz a lush, cinematic modern identity. Airto was central to all of these developments. He recorded with Davis, became part of Weather Report’s early orbit, helped define the original Return to Forever, and released a series of landmark albums as a leader that fused Brazilian traditions with modal jazz, funk, fusion, and global percussion.
At the heart of this story is also one of the great artistic partnerships in modern music: Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. Their marriage and musical collaboration created a sound that was unmistakably Brazilian yet borderless, intimate yet cosmic, rooted yet futuristic. Together they helped give Brazilian jazz fusion its most human voice — a voice of movement, breath, improvisation, rhythm, and spiritual searching.
For listeners of Brazilian music, Afro-Caribbean music, and jazz, Airto Moreira’s career offers a living map of cross-cultural creativity. His work reminds us that rhythm is not simply a pattern; it is memory, ancestry, ritual, dance, ecology, resistance, and imagination.
“Airto Moreira did not simply add Brazilian percussion to jazz; he changed the way jazz could breathe, move and imagine rhythm.”
Early Life and Musical Journey
Airto Guimorvan Moreira was born in southern Brazil, in Itaiópolis, and grew up in Curitiba. His musical gifts appeared early. The National Endowment for the Arts notes that he showed a talent for percussion as a child, had his own weekly radio program, and by age thirteen was already earning a living as a professional musician. By sixteen, he had moved to São Paulo, where he performed in nightclubs and on television.
This early professional life is crucial to understanding Airto’s later originality. He did not come to jazz as an academic exercise. He came through the lived musical environment of Brazil: dance bands, radio, television, local percussion practices, popular song, and regional rhythm. The sounds that formed him included samba, bossa nova, baião, northeastern Brazilian traditions, street percussion, and the hybrid urban music of mid-century Brazil. His musicianship developed in real working conditions, where rhythm had to move bodies and communicate instantly.
By the 1960s, Airto was part of Brazil’s rapidly evolving modern music scene. He played with Sambalanço Trio and became associated with Quarteto Novo, the influential ensemble whose 1967 self-titled album fused baião, samba, and modern jazz. Quarteto Novo — with Hermeto Pascoal, Theo de Barros, Heraldo do Monte, and Airto — remains one of the essential Brazilian instrumental groups of the period. Its music pointed toward a Brazilian jazz language that did not imitate North American models but absorbed them into Brazil’s own rhythmic and melodic imagination.
In 1968, Airto moved to the United States with vocalist Flora Purim. The move was decisive. In Los Angeles, he studied with the great Brazilian composer and arranger Moacir Santos, then moved to New York, where Flora was singing with South African singer Miriam Makeba, and Airto began entering the jazz world through musicians such as Walter Booker, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Desmond, Lee Morgan, and Joe Zawinul.
Zawinul’s connection proved historic. He introduced Airto to Miles Davis, who recruited him for the Bitches Brew sessions and the electric bands that followed. Airto’s participation in Davis’s music placed Brazilian percussion at the centre of one of jazz’s most radical transformations. On Bitches Brew, Miles Davis at Fillmore, and related electric-era recordings, Airto’s colours helped expand the rhythmic palette of jazz beyond swing and straight eighth-note fusion into something more layered, ritualistic, and open-ended.
After Davis, Airto moved through two more defining chapters of jazz fusion. He joined Weather Report for its 1971 debut album, then became part of Chick Corea’s original Return to Forever with Flora Purim, Stanley Clarke, and Joe Farrell. The first Return to Forever recordings gave fusion a different identity from the heavier electric sound of Davis: more lyrical, Brazilian, melodic, and airborne. Airto’s percussion and Flora’s voice were essential to that identity.
“For Airto, percussion is not decoration. It is voice, memory, ceremony, atmosphere and improvisational force.”
Artistic Evolution and Style
Airto Moreira’s artistic language can be understood through three interlocking principles: rhythm as voice, sound as environment, and tradition as living transformation.
First, rhythm is voice. Airto does not treat percussion as background. His playing speaks. It laughs, whispers, chants, interrupts, dances, and provokes. The drum kit, hand percussion, berimbau, cuíca, and found sounds become a vocabulary. In this sense, he belongs to a deep Afro-diasporic lineage in which percussion is not merely musical timekeeping, but a carrier of speech, ritual, and community.
Second, sound is environment. Airto often builds atmospheres rather than simply grooves. His recordings can suggest forest, street, ceremony, carnival, studio experimentation, or collective trance. This environmental quality became especially important in the fusion era, when artists were searching for new sonic spaces. Airto’s colours gave electric jazz a sense of earth and body.
Third, tradition is living transformation. Airto’s Brazilian roots are never presented as museum folklore. He brings them into conversation with jazz harmony, improvisation, funk bass lines, electric keyboards, rock energy, and Afro-Caribbean rhythmic kinship. His music understands that Brazilian and Afro-Caribbean traditions share deep African diasporic foundations: call-and-response, polyrhythm, dance orientation, ritual memory, layered percussion, and the creative tension between repetition and improvisation.
This is why Airto’s work resonates so strongly within Latin jazz. Although his primary cultural foundation is Brazilian, his rhythmic imagination speaks naturally across the Caribbean and the Americas. His music can sit beside Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and pan-Latin jazz traditions because it is built on the same fundamental recognition: rhythm is cultural knowledge.
His style also helped reshape the role of the percussionist in jazz ensembles. In Miles Davis’s electric bands, Airto added density and atmosphere. In Return to Forever, he brought buoyancy and Brazilian lyricism. In his CTI recordings, he created a polished yet earthy fusion of Brazilian percussion, jazz soloing, orchestral arrangement, and groove. In his later world music projects, he connected Brazilian sound to African, Indian, Middle Eastern, and global percussion practices.
The partnership with Flora Purim is central to this evolution. Flora’s voice — agile, luminous, wordless, sensual, and emotionally direct — became a perfect counterpart to Airto’s rhythmic imagination. Their recordings together blur the distinction between song and percussion, melody and atmosphere. Airto often appears across Flora’s albums, including Butterfly Dreams, Open Your Eyes You Can Fly, and Carry On, while Flora’s voice is a defining presence in Airto’s own music.
Together they formed bands, toured internationally, recorded for major labels, and eventually created the Fourth World ensemble, a group that extended their Brazilian-jazz-fusion language into global music territory with José Neto, Gary Brown, and Jovino Santos Neto.
“Airto and Flora Purim created one of the most distinctive partnerships in modern Brazilian jazz — intimate, spiritual, rhythmic and borderless.”
Comprehensive Discography
The following discography focuses on Airto Moreira’s principal albums as leader or co-leader, including key collaborative projects with Flora Purim, Mickey Hart, Joe Farrell, Fourth World, Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, Jacob Anderskov, and Ricardo Bacelar. It does not attempt to list every sideman appearance, as Airto’s session credits are extensive and span hundreds of recordings.
Natural Feelings — 1970
Airto Moreira’s debut as a leader introduced the essential ingredients of his musical language: Brazilian percussion, jazz improvisation, vocal colour, and deep rhythmic intuition. Featuring collaborators such as Flora Purim, Ron Carter, Sivuca, and Hermeto Pascoal, the album connected Brazilian modernism with the emerging possibilities of jazz fusion. Its atmosphere is earthy, exploratory, and intimate, framing percussion as a central expressive force rather than decorative accompaniment.
Seeds on the Ground: The Natural Sounds of Airto — 1971
This early recording deepened Airto’s connection to Brazilian roots, emphasizing organic percussion textures, vocal effects, and folkloric rhythmic imagination. The album’s title accurately reflects its aesthetic: natural sounds, ritual feeling, and the sonic landscape of Brazil. It remains one of his most culturally grounded works, bridging northeastern Brazilian traditions, samba, and experimental jazz sensibility.
Free — 1972
Released on CTI, Free is one of Airto’s landmark albums and a defining statement of Brazilian jazz fusion. With major collaborators including Flora Purim, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Hubert Laws, Joe Farrell, George Benson, and arranger Don Sebesky, the album blends Brazilian rhythm, modal jazz, funk, and orchestral colour. It helped establish Airto as a visionary bandleader who made Brazilian percussion central to jazz’s new electric language.
In Concert — 1973
In Concert captures the dynamic performance energy that made Airto such a compelling live artist. His stage language combines percussion, vocals, physical movement, humour, and spontaneous interaction, transforming performance into a communal rhythmic event. The album is valuable because it documents the theatrical and improvisational dimension of his artistry, showing how his music expanded in front of an audience.
Fingers — 1973
One of Airto’s most celebrated CTI-era albums, Fingers includes the classic “Tombo in 7/4,” among his most enduring compositions. The recording combines Brazilian rhythmic sophistication with jazz-funk, electric fusion, and polished studio production. Its grooves are both danceable and intricate, demonstrating Airto’s gift for making complex meters and layered percussion feel natural, joyful, and accessible.
Virgin Land — 1974
Virgin Land continued Airto’s exploration of Brazilian percussion within the sound world of 1970s electric jazz. The album reflects the open musical climate of the period, combining spacious arrangements, electric instruments, layered percussion, and melodic improvisation. It stands as part of his fertile mid-1970s creative run, when his work as a leader paralleled his high-profile collaborations across jazz and fusion.
In Concert with Eumir Deodato — 1974
This collaboration placed Airto alongside Eumir Deodato, another Brazilian artist who helped shape the international sound of jazz-funk and orchestral fusion. The recording highlights the shared Brazilian rhythmic intelligence both musicians brought to the global stage. It also reflects the CTI-era aesthetic of elegant production, strong grooves, and sophisticated arrangements rooted in Brazilian and jazz traditions.
Identity — 1975
Identity is one of Airto’s most revealing titles, exploring the layered artistic identity of a Brazilian musician working at the centre of jazz fusion. The album is rhythmically vibrant, vocally expressive, and cosmopolitan, combining Brazilian percussion with electric jazz, funk, and global colour. It shows Airto sounding unmistakably Brazilian while fully participating in the international fusion movement of the 1970s.
Promises of the Sun — 1976
Promises of the Sun leans into warmth, groove, and melodic accessibility while retaining Airto’s deep rhythmic personality. The album reflects the optimism and sunlight suggested by its title, balancing sophisticated Brazilian percussion with jazz-fusion textures. It is an inviting recording that demonstrates his ability to make complex rhythmic ideas feel generous, lyrical, and open to a broad audience.
I’m Fine, How Are You? — 1977
This late-1970s album places Airto’s Brazilian percussion language within a more polished contemporary jazz-funk and pop-oriented setting. Its conversational title mirrors the album’s approachable spirit, while the music retains his unmistakable rhythmic signature. Rather than pushing toward avant-garde experimentation, the recording shows Airto integrating his sound into the broader production aesthetics of the period.
Touching You… Touching Me — 1979
Touching You… Touching Me earned Airto a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Recording, confirming his visibility beyond the jazz-fusion world. The album represents his late-1970s synthesis of Brazilian jazz, vocal textures, percussion, and accessible melodic writing. Its recognition by the Recording Academy helped affirm Airto’s importance within the wider Latin and international music landscape.
Flora Purim & Airto Moreira Live at the Hollywood Bowl 1979 — 1979
This live recording documents the remarkable artistic chemistry between Airto and Flora Purim in a major concert setting. Their performances together often blurred the line between concert, ritual, and celebration, combining Brazilian rhythm, wordless vocals, improvisation, and emotional immediacy. The album is an important document of their shared sound at the height of their international influence.
Return to Forever — 1980
Although not to be confused with Chick Corea’s band of the same name, Airto’s Return to Forever inevitably recalls his foundational role in the original Return to Forever sound. The album reflects the lyrical, Brazilian-inflected fusion language that he and Flora Purim helped bring to Corea’s early group. It stands as a continuation of Airto’s commitment to melody, rhythm, and open-ended jazz exploration.
Däfos — 1983 / 1989
Created with Mickey Hart and Greg Ellis, Däfos belongs to Airto’s global percussion chapter and explores rhythm as a complete sound world. The album moves beyond conventional jazz structures, focusing on resonance, texture, ritual, and the physical force of percussion. It is essential for listeners interested in Airto’s role as a sonic explorer and his connection to international percussion traditions.
Missa Espiritual / Misa Espiritual — 1983
Missa Espiritual reflects Airto’s lifelong interest in spirituality, ceremony, and the healing dimensions of sound. The project links Brazilian percussion, voice, sacred atmosphere, and global ritual feeling in a deeply personal way. Rather than functioning as a conventional jazz album, it presents music as meditation, prayer, and spiritual communication.
Latino / Aquí Se Puede — 1984 / 1986
Often associated with Airto’s Montuno period, Aqui Se Puede places his Brazilian vocabulary within a broader Latin jazz context. The album is meaningful for listeners of Afro-Caribbean and pan-Latin music because it brings Brazilian percussion into conversation with wider rhythms of the Americas. Its sound reinforces Airto’s ability to move between cultures while maintaining a distinct Brazilian identity.
Three-Way Mirror — 1985
A collaboration with Flora Purim and saxophonist/flutist Joe Farrell, Three-Way Mirror brings together three artists deeply connected to the lyrical side of jazz fusion. Farrell’s melodic voice, Flora’s singing, and Airto’s percussion create an intimate, fluid, and reflective sound. The album’s title suggests a musical dialogue among equals, with each artist refracting the others’ expressive strengths.
Humble People — 1985
Recorded with Flora Purim, Humble People reflects the couple’s continued commitment to Brazilian song, jazz improvisation, and rhythmic warmth during the 1980s. The album balances accessibility with musical sophistication, placing voice and percussion at the centre of its identity. It is part of the long creative partnership through which Airto and Flora sustained Brazilian jazz fusion across changing musical trends.
The Magicians — 1986
The Magicians continues the Airto-Flora partnership with a focus on Brazilian jazz, vocal improvisation, and global fusion colour. The title suits their artistic chemistry: together, they often seem to conjure music from rhythm, breath, atmosphere, and instinct. The album captures their ability to transform song-based material into something expansive, spiritual, and rhythmically alive.
The Sun Is Out — 1987
This Flora Purim and Airto Moreira collaboration carries the warmth, lyricism, and Brazilian optimism suggested by its title. The album reflects their shared gift for blending songcraft, percussion, and jazz improvisation into a welcoming but sophisticated sound. It belongs to the body of work that kept their musical partnership active and expressive through the 1980s.
Airto Moreira & Flora Purim Live at Jazzfest Bremen 1988 — 1988
This live document captures the international reach of Airto and Flora’s music during a period when Brazilian jazz fusion had found enthusiastic audiences around the world. The performance highlights their chemistry, rhythmic command, and ability to turn concerts into communal experiences. It also confirms their importance as global ambassadors of Brazilian jazz expression.
The Colours of Life — 1988
A collaboration with Flora Purim, The Colours of Life emphasizes the couple’s interest in music as a celebration of movement, feeling, and transformation. Its title reflects a recurring theme in their work: life expressed through rhythm, voice, colour, and improvisation. The album is lyrical and expansive, continuing their long exploration of Brazilian jazz fusion.
The Other Side of This — 1988 / 1992
The Other Side of This is one of Airto’s most spiritually oriented projects, exploring music’s relationship to healing, inner experience, and the unseen world. The album is less focused on conventional jazz structures and more concerned with atmosphere, percussion, and ritual sound. It offers a revealing portrait of Airto as a musician whose art reaches beyond entertainment into spiritual inquiry.
Samba de Flora — 1989
Samba de Flora serves as both a tribute to Flora Purim and a reaffirmation of Airto’s Brazilian roots. The album places samba at the centre of its identity, not merely as a genre but as memory, affection, movement, and cultural grounding. It is a warm and personal recording that reflects the emotional depth of Airto and Flora’s partnership.
Struck by Lightning — 1989 / 1990
Struck by Lightning captures the electricity and unpredictability that often define Airto’s playing. His percussion can change the character of a piece instantly, arriving like weather and reshaping the musical atmosphere. The album belongs to his late-1980s and early-1990s output, when he continued to explore contemporary settings while preserving his rhythmic individuality.
Killer Bees — 1993
Killer Bees marked a strong later-career statement, featuring Flora Purim and major collaborators connected to jazz and fusion circles. With contributions associated with musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Mark Egan, and Hiram Bullock, the album returned Airto to a high-profile leader setting. Its sound is energetic, contemporary, and rhythmically charged, reaffirming his ongoing creative relevance.
Fourth World — 1993 / 1995
Fourth World was both an ensemble and a concept, bringing together Airto, Flora Purim, José Neto, Gary Brown, and Jovino Santos Neto. The project extended Brazilian jazz into a global music language shaped by improvisation, electric textures, and cross-cultural percussion. Its importance lies in its refusal of narrow categories, presenting Brazilian-rooted music as open, borderless, and forward-looking.
Jump — 1995
Jump continued Airto’s 1990s activity as a leader, reflecting the decade’s growing interest in global fusion, contemporary grooves, and world music textures. The album shows him engaging with modern production environments while maintaining the rhythmic personality that had defined his career. It is a reminder that Airto remained creatively active rather than resting on his 1970s legacy.
Homeless — 2000
Released by Melt 2000, Homeless brought Airto into a more dance-oriented global fusion setting. The album features high-energy rhythms and contemporary textures, while also including the family dimension of vocals from Diana Moreira Booker. It demonstrates Airto’s willingness to engage with new audiences and rhythmic contexts while preserving the spiritual and percussive core of his music.
Revenge of the Killer Bees — 2000
Revenge of the Killer Bees revisits the energy of Killer Bees within a later global-fusion framework. The album shows Airto continuing to search for fresh rhythmic settings and contemporary sonic possibilities. Rather than functioning as a nostalgic sequel, it reinforces his lifelong habit of renewing his vocabulary through collaboration, groove, and exploration.
Life After That — 2003
Life After That is one of Airto’s strongest later-career albums, bringing together Brazilian jazz, Latin jazz, Afro-Brazilian rhythm, fusion, MPB, jazz-funk, and worldbeat elements. The recording feels mature, reflective, and expansive, shaped by decades of musical experience. It presents Airto as an elder statesman of global jazz who still plays with curiosity, warmth, and rhythmic authority.
The Boston Three Party — 2007
A collaboration with Chick Corea and Eddie Gomez, The Boston Three Party reconnects Airto with musicians central to post-bop and fusion history. The compact trio setting highlights his interactive abilities as an improviser, not only his colouristic gifts as a percussionist. The album is significant because it places him in a direct jazz conversation with longtime peers of extraordinary stature.
Ears to the Ground — 2008
Recorded with Danish pianist Jacob Anderskov, Ears to the Ground reflects Airto’s openness to younger international improvisers and more exploratory settings. The title perfectly captures his artistic method: listening closely to the earth, to rhythm, to space, and to the musicians around him. It is a thoughtful late-career collaboration that emphasizes sensitivity as much as virtuosity.
Live in Berkeley — 2012
This live album with Flora Purim documents the continued vitality of their long performance partnership. Decades after their first collaborations, Airto and Flora still project a sound rooted in Brazilian rhythm, vocal freedom, improvisation, and shared musical memory. The recording stands as a living archive of one of the most important partnerships in Brazilian jazz fusion.
Aluê — 2017
Aluê marked an important late-career return and included collaborators such as Diana Moreira Booker and José Neto. The album revisits elements of Airto’s early musical world while placing them in a contemporary setting, including a renewed version of the title piece associated with Seeds on the Ground. Its Latin Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Album confirmed the continued relevance of Airto’s creative voice.
Eu Canto Assim — 2021
Eu Canto Assim highlights Airto’s identity as a vocalist and interpreter of Brazilian songs, an aspect of his artistry that reaches back to his childhood radio performances. While he is best known internationally as a percussionist, singing has always been part of his expressive language. The album offers a more intimate view of Airto, foregrounding voice, memory, and Brazilian musical character.
Airto & Flora: A Celebration — 60 Years: Sounds, Dreams & Other Stories — 2023
This multi-disc retrospective celebrates six decades of Airto and Flora Purim’s shared musical universe. It offers an expansive entry point into their Brazilian jazz, fusion, spiritual, and global music legacy. More than a compilation, it functions as a historical document of one of modern music’s great creative partnerships, tracing the evolution of their sound across generations.
Maracanós — 2026
Airto’s 2026 collaboration with pianist, composer, and producer Ricardo Bacelar, featuring Flora Purim, demonstrates that his creative journey remains active. With tracks such as “Pé no Chão,” “Mestre Novo da Guiné,” “Bumbo Meu Boi,” “Voo da Tarde,” and “Maracanós,” the album reconnects Airto with contemporary Brazilian music. It reaffirms the values that have shaped his career: percussion, ancestry, improvisation, collaboration, and cross-cultural imagination.
“Airto’s career forms a living bridge between Brazil, Afro-Caribbean rhythmic traditions, jazz fusion and the global music imagination.”
Awards, Nominations, and Achievements
Airto Moreira’s career has been recognized through formal awards, nominations, institutional honours, critics’ polls, and his participation in Grammy-winning ensembles.
1980 — Grammy Nomination: Touching You… Touching Me
Airto received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Recording for Touching You… Touching Me at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy lists him with one Grammy nomination in this category.
1991 — Grammy-Winning Ensemble: Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum
Airto contributed to Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, a Grammy-winning world music project that brought together major percussionists from around the world, including Giovanni Hidalgo, Zakir Hussain, Babatunde Olatunji, and others.
1992 — Grammy-Winning Ensemble: Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra
Airto and Flora Purim also appeared with Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, whose Live at the Royal Festival Hall was a Grammy-winning concert album.
2002 — Order of Rio Branco, Brazil
Brazil honoured Airto Moreira and Flora Purim with the Order of Rio Branco for cultural merit, recognizing their contributions to Brazil’s international cultural presence.
2018 — Latin Grammy Nomination: Aluê
Airto’s Aluê was nominated for Best Instrumental Album at the 19th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The Latin Recording Academy lists Airto with one Latin Grammy nomination for this project.
1973 onward — DownBeat Poll Recognition
Airto’s impact on jazz percussion was so significant that DownBeat added a percussion category to its readers’ and critics’ polls, a category he has won more than twenty times since 1973.
2026 — NEA Jazz Master
In 2026, Airto Moreira was named an NEA Jazz Master, one of the highest honours in American jazz. The National Endowment for the Arts identifies him as a drummer, percussionist, composer, and educator, recognizing the breadth of his contribution to jazz history.
The Enduring Legacy of Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira’s legacy is not confined to a list of recordings, prestigious collaborations, or awards. His true achievement is that he changed the sound of jazz. He opened a door through which Brazilian percussion, Afro-diasporic rhythm, environmental sound, vocal expression, and spiritual energy could enter modern improvisation as equal partners.
He helped Miles Davis’s electric music become more expansive and mysterious. He helped Return to Forever become more lyrical and Brazilian. He helped Weather Report’s early sound world become more open to global colour. He helped CTI-era fusion find a warmer, earthier rhythmic identity. He helped Flora Purim create one of the most distinctive Brazilian jazz vocal universes of the last half-century. He helped later generations understand that percussion could be melodic, structural, atmospheric, theatrical, and sacred.
For Brazilian music enthusiasts, Airto is a guardian of rhythm who never allowed tradition to become static. For Afro-Caribbean and Latin jazz listeners, he is a crucial figure in the wider music of the African diaspora in the Americas. For jazz audiences, he is one of the musicians who made the music larger — geographically, rhythmically, spiritually, and imaginatively.
His 2026 recognition as an NEA Jazz Master feels not like a closing chapter, but like a public acknowledgment of what musicians and listeners have known for decades: Airto Moreira is one of the great architects of global jazz sound.
As recent projects such as Aluê, the Airto and Flora retrospective, and Maracanós suggest, his artistic path remains active and open. At this stage of his life, future work may come through new recordings, archival releases, intergenerational collaborations, educational contributions, or the continued rediscovery of his vast catalogue. Whatever form it takes, Airto’s music will continue to invite listeners into a world where rhythm breathes, sings, remembers, and transforms.
To enter Airto Moreira’s discography is to enter one of the richest cross-cultural journeys in modern music — a journey from southern Brazil to New York, from samba to electric jazz, from ritual percussion to global fusion, from Miles Davis to Flora Purim, from the earth to the cosmos, always guided by the unmistakable pulse of a master.
References
All About Jazz. “Maracanós — Airto Moreira.” All About Jazz, 2026.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/album/maracanos-airto-moreira
AllMusic. “Airto Moreira Biography, Songs, & Albums.” AllMusic.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/airto-moreira-mn0000609992
AllMusic. “Life After That — Airto Moreira.” AllMusic.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/life-after-that-mw0000317988
Grammy Awards. “Airto Moreira.” The Recording Academy.
https://www.grammy.com/artists/airto-moreira/5531/
Latin Grammy Awards. “Airto Moreira.” The Latin Recording Academy.
https://www.latingrammy.com/artists/airto-moreira/34206-01
Los Angeles Philharmonic. “Airto Moreira.” LA Phil Artist Biography.
https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/artists/3721/airto-moreira
National Endowment for the Arts. “Airto Moreira.” NEA Jazz Masters.
https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/airto-moreira
Wikipedia contributors. “Airto Moreira.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airto_Moreira
On March 26, 1996, inside the wood-panelled EGREM/Areito studios in Centro Habana, a group of musicians gathered without knowing they were about to make one of the most consequential recordings in modern Cuban music. The repertoire reached deep into son, bolero, danzón and canción, and behind every note stood decades of experience.
Cuban bandleader Juan de Marcos González, American guitarist and producer Ry Cooder, and British producer and World Circuit co-founder Nick Gold brought together veterans including Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa, Compay Segundo, Rubén González and Omara Portuondo. Over seven extraordinary days, they recorded Buena Vista Social Club, an album whose intimacy would eventually travel around the world.
Thirty years later, the record has sold more than eight million copies, inspired Wim Wenders’ Oscar-nominated documentary, returned Cuban masters to international prominence and found new life on Broadway. Now World Circuit Records marks the anniversary with a “Pearl Sunrise” double-LP edition that brings the story back to where it began: musicians sharing a room.
The Magic of EGREM Studios and the Havana Sessions
The Buena Vista story has always carried the aura of chance. Gold’s original Havana project envisioned a collaboration between Cuban and West African musicians. When the African participants were unable to make the journey, attention shifted toward the extraordinary musicians already available in Cuba.
What followed was not so much the “discovery” of unknown artists as the international reintroduction of musicians with deep histories of their own. Compay Segundo had spent decades within the son tradition. Rubén González was one of Cuba’s most distinctive pianists. Omara Portuondo was already a major singer. Eliades Ochoa brought the rural pulse of eastern Cuba, while Ibrahim Ferrer emerged as one of the project’s defining voices.
The EGREM room became part of the album’s character. Large, resonant and wood-panelled, it allowed the ensemble to record largely as a live unit, preserving the responsive quality of musicians hearing one another and shaping the performance collectively. World Circuit credits that environment with playing a major role in the final recordings’ singular sound.
That atmosphere is audible throughout. González’s piano converses with singers and rhythm section; Orlando “Cachaíto” López gives the music its supple bass foundation; Compay Segundo carries both pulse and memory; Ferrer turns a lyric into intimate speech. Cooder’s role was most effective when unobtrusive, helping create conditions in which the musicians’ individual personalities remained central.
The result was neither glossy modernization nor museum reconstruction. It sounded alive because it was allowed to breathe.
From Local Treasure to Global Phenomenon
When Buena Vista Social Club appeared internationally in 1997, few could have predicted the scale of its reception. The album moved far beyond specialist audiences and became a gateway into Cuban music for listeners around the world.
“Chan Chan,” written by Compay Segundo, became its defining invitation. Built on a circular guitar figure and an unhurried groove, the song became both the album’s opening statement and its unofficial anthem—an instantly recognizable portal into the sound of Buena Vista.
The record went on to sell more than eight million copies. At the 40th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1998, Buena Vista Social Club won Best Tropical Latin Album, confirming that the project had crossed cultural and commercial boundaries without surrendering its identity.
Wim Wenders’ 1999 documentary expanded that impact. By following the musicians in Havana and on international stages, the film gave audiences a visual and human dimension to voices they had come to love. It earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature and helped transform Ferrer, Segundo, González, Portuondo and their colleagues into international cultural figures.
The album also opened the way for a broader World Circuit catalogue of Cuban projects, including major recordings by Ferrer, Portuondo, González and Guajiro Mirabal. Buena Vista became not an endpoint, but a doorway.
From Havana to Broadway
Perhaps the clearest proof of the album’s longevity is its remarkable 21st-century theatrical life.
Buena Vista Social Club opened at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 19, 2025, reshaping the album’s cultural memory into a dramatic work inspired by the musicians and the history surrounding their music. Its song score is sung entirely in Spanish, while the dramatic scenes are performed in English—a format World Circuit describes as a Broadway first.
At the 2025 Tony Awards, the production earned four competitive wins: Natalie Venetia Belcon for Featured Actress in a Musical, Jonathan Deans for Sound Design, Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck for Choreography, and Marco Paguia for Orchestrations. The musicians in the show’s band also received a Special Tony Award, giving the production five Tony honours in total.
In February 2026, the Original Broadway Cast Recording won the GRAMMY Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. Music first captured in Havana three decades earlier had not merely survived; it had found a new dramatic language and another award-winning recorded life.
That momentum continues with the 2026–27 U.S. national tour, which began in Buffalo on September 12, 2026, before moving through cities across the United States. The Buena Vista story has become a living cultural work, continually rediscovered by new audiences.
The 30th Anniversary “Pearl Sunrise” Edition
World Circuit’s Buena Vista Social Club: 30th Anniversary Edition, released September 4, 2026, turns attention back to the original record.
Pressed on “Pearl Sunrise” colored double vinyl, the set uses the 2021 remaster and arrives in a gatefold sleeve with a 20-page collectible booklet. It is the third title in World Circuit Records’ 40th Anniversary reissue series.
The edition wisely avoids trying to reinvent the album. The 2021 remaster preserves the qualities that have always defined Buena Vista Social Club: natural room ambience, detailed acoustic instruments, warm voices and the uncanny sensation that the listener is sitting near the ensemble rather than hearing music assembled behind studio glass.
For collectors, the most significant addition is Side D, which gathers five rare bonus recordings:
- “Vicenta”
- “La Pluma”
- “A Tus Pies”
- “La Cleptómana”
- “Orgullecida (Alternate Trio Take)”
These tracks deepen the historical experience of the sessions rather than distracting from it. They offer further glimpses of repertoire and chemistry, suggesting just how much musical possibility surrounded those seven days at EGREM.
The pearl-colored vinyl gives the edition a commemorative identity, while the gatefold presentation and booklet transform it into both an archival object and a listening experience. For listeners who already own the album, the attraction is not simply another pressing, but a physical edition designed to mark the distance the music has travelled.
World Circuit at 40
The reissue also arrives during World Circuit Records’ 40th anniversary, placing Buena Vista Social Club within a broader story of cultural exchange.
Under Nick Gold’s direction, the label has spent four decades connecting international audiences with music from Cuba, West Africa and beyond. Its catalogue includes landmark work by Ali Farka Touré, Oumou Sangaré, Toumani Diabaté, Orchestra Baobab and Fatoumata Diawara, as well as recordings involving Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela and numerous Cuban artists.
World Circuit’s strongest releases have always trusted specificity: distinctive artists, careful production and the belief that audiences will respond to music on its own terms.
Buena Vista Social Club remains the clearest example of that philosophy.
Thirty Years Later
Thirty years can turn almost any landmark album into a monument. Buena Vista Social Club has resisted that fate because it still feels less like history than presence.
“Chan Chan,” “Dos Gardenias,” “El Cuarto de Tula,” “Candela” and the title track retain the warmth, humour, longing and spontaneity that allowed them to travel so widely. The musicians never sound as though they are performing their own legend. They sound like people making music together.
That may be the album’s deepest achievement. It restored global attention to remarkable Cuban artists, but it did so through performances that never required historical explanation to communicate.
The Broadway production has carried those songs to another generation. The national tour is extending their reach again. And the “Pearl Sunrise” 30th Anniversary Edition now offers listeners another reason to return to the source.
For longtime admirers, it is a beautifully presented way to revisit an essential recording. For collectors, the bonus material and expanded package make it a meaningful edition. For new listeners, it is an invitation to enter the same room that opened in Havana in March 1996.
Drop the needle on “Chan Chan,” and thirty years disappear.
References
World Circuit Records. “Buena Vista Social Club 30th Anniversary Vinyl Edition.” Official press release, 2026. Source for the anniversary edition, original Havana sessions, sales history, musicians, Broadway resurgence, World Circuit history and bonus material.
The Recording Academy. “40th Annual GRAMMY Awards.” GRAMMY.com. Official record of Buena Vista Social Club winning Best Tropical Latin Album at the 1998 GRAMMY Awards. (Grammy)
The Recording Academy. “Best Musical Theater Album — 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards.” GRAMMY.com, 2026. Official record of the Buena Vista Social Club Original Broadway Cast Recording’s GRAMMY win. (Grammy)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “The 72nd Academy Awards — 2000.” Official record of Wim Wenders and Ulrich Felsberg’s Buena Vista Social Club nomination for Documentary Feature. (Oscars)
The American Theatre Wing / The Broadway League. “Buena Vista Social Club.” TonyAwards.com. Official production, nomination and award record for the 2025 Broadway musical. (Tony Awards)
Buena Vista Social Club — The Musical. Official U.S. National Tour schedule, 2026–27. (Buena Vista Musical)
For three days in August, downtown San José, California, was the epicenter of some great music in the SF Bay Area. We heard bands that put a contemporary spin on music of the last century, from the Latin soul sounds of Joe Bataan to the sophisticated singing of René Marie, and a particular highlight for me was the performance by the one and only Patti LaBelle. This year marked forty years that the Festival has been in existence, and I hope it goes on for at least forty more years. With new director Christian Vela doing an outstanding job of booking, the future of the Festival looks bright.
Friday Night: Soul, Zydeco, and Latin Rhythms
MC for the Main Stage was Greg Bridges, a mainstay in Bay Area radio for many years, currently at KCSM 91.1 on the FM dial. It is always reassuring to hear his voice at the Festival, as I know some enjoyable music will follow. Sure enough, Adi Oasis came out that Friday night and gave a good opening performance. Handling the vocals and the electric bass playing, she impressed the crowd with her musicianship. Oasis brought us back to 1998 with her version of Lauren Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” mixed in with some slow jams and her own material. Oasis’ music was a nice way to ease into the Festival atmosphere.
On the Blues/BigEasy Stage, local group Zydeco Flames held forth with their southern Louisiana sound. They took some familiar New Orleans favorites like Fats Domino’s “Hello Josephine” and “Iko Iko,” added some washboard and accordion and turned them into Zydeco tunes. One of the most notable songs was an original waltz called “Never Alone.” Then the dancers came out in full force when they broke into Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya.” Rock guitar wafted through B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone” and The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There.” Zydeco Flames proved that any tune can be turned into a Zydeco song.
Moving on to the Latin Tropical Stage, 83-year-old Joe Bataan and his band revived the Latin-soul sounds that he pioneered in the ’60s. There were echoes of Doo Wop and classic ’50s R&B along with the conga drum to give the music a Latin twist. Bataan was in good spirits, starting off singing “The Lord’s Prayer” with his wife and then getting into some serious boogaloo. He dedicated one song to the Philipinos and another to the Puerto Ricans, even plunging into some of what could be called “Oldies But Goodies.” The horn players, C.P. Salas (tenor saxophone) and Tony Hernández (trumpet), kept the old-school vibe going. Guitarist Adrian Carmine took a solo turn singing that old chestnut “Daddy’s Home,” and Bataan showed he could croon with the best of them on “I Wish You Love.” The packed crowd reveled in the nostalgia-laden music, proving that Joe Bataan is back!
My friend Jonathan told me about Thee Sinseers several weeks before I caught them at the Festival, and if it is ’60s Rhythm & Blues with a Mexican flair, there is no better band. Led by the vocals of Joey Quiñones, Thee Sinseers lay down a heart-on-your-sleeve, slow jam sound that never lets up. Teasing the audience with the horn riff from Tower of Power’s “You’re Still A Young Man,” they took us back to a time when cars were big, and everyone went to the soda fountain to put quarters in the jukebox. Proud of their East Los Angeles heritage, the group plays a kind of updated version of LA bands from the ’60s like Thee Midnighters. “Little” Willie Garcia, lead vocalist of Thee Midnighters, must be very happy to hear this music seeing a resurgence in popularity.
Saturday: New Voices and Veteran Masters
On to Saturday, where the Monterey Jazz Vocal Ensemble sang with great harmony in the San José Art Museum. Comprised of high school students and recent high school graduates, the Ensemble performed a variety of tunes from all over the map. With 12 singers (7 women and 5 men), they poured out a strong, tight-knit sound. Backed by a quartet of high school-age musicians, the Ensemble sang Chick Corea’s “You’re Everything” and a bossa nova-tinged “Angel Eyes.” It was a most enjoyable way to start the second day of the Festival.
Drummer Mike Clark’s Post Boptet band took the early afternoon slot at the Montgomery Theater, going through an exciting hour of contemporary music. The Post Boptet boasts a superb lineup: Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Craig Handy (tenor saxophone), Essiet Okon Essiet (acoustic bass) and David Kikoski (piano). They began with a very appropriate tune, “East Broadway Rundown” by the recently departed Sonny Rollins. After a wonderful ballad featuring Henderson, they played a jazz/funk hybrid called “Loft Funk,” where Clark got to display his formidable chops on drums. Then in a kind of tribute to Herbie Hancock, the band dug into his composition “Toys.” Three of the members of the band were employed by Hancock at various points in his career: Henderson during the Mwandishi period, Clark during the Head Hunters time and Handy on the road with Herbie. All three musicians have ties to the SF Bay Area: Henderson played music and practiced psychiatry in the Bay for many years, Handy is the son of John Handy, born in Oakland, and Clark was born in Sacramento. New York-based pianist Kikoski has played with a wide range of jazz musicians, so it was a treat to finally see him live. With his white hair flying in all directions, Kikoski was in constant motion, swaying to the music, seemingly possessed. Clark’s new album, Kuan Ganjo (Time Without Beginning), has the same cast minus Kikoski and adds Patrice Rushen. It is definitely worth a listen or two or three.
Back at the Main Stage, Parlor Greens were into their set, a groove-oriented Hammond B3, electric guitar and drum sound harkening back to the ’50s and ’60s soul/jazz records. The guitarist Jimmy James laid down tantalizing chords and single-line notes while Tim Carman supplied the heavy backbeat. The organist was a fill-in for Adam Scone and did a very nice job during their set. An interesting thing happened during Parlor Greens’ set: James said they were going to play a Dolly Parton song and the audience had to guess which one. Well, this is a hip crowd, and they came up with “Jolene” right away. Again, it was reassuring to find out that the organ trio concept is still alive and being taken a step forward with Parlor Greens.
One of the great things about the Festival is finding new acts that are surprisingly good. Such was the case with the Nicole Zuraitis Quartet, an original singer/pianist/songwriter, whose self-deprecating manner and voice charmed the crowd. Starting with her own compositions, Zuraitis sang and played piano with wondrous dexterity. The band, husband Dan Pugach (drums), Sam Weber (acoustic bass) and Idan Morin (electric guitar), supported Zuraitis with steady assurance. After singing her own tunes, Zuraitis then broke into a series of covers: “Jolene” (hearing it a second time in the space of an hour), “The Nearness of You,” “Wichita Lineman” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” all done with taste and feeling.
Roger Glenn, preeminent musician extraordinaire, plays 18 different instruments and presented his group that Saturday afternoon to a very enthusiastic audience at the Signia Regent Stage. Taking most of the material from his 2025 album My Latin Heart (produced by special guest Ray Obiedo), the group navigated seven tunes, enjoying every moment. Switching between vibes, flute, alto saxophone and percussion, Glenn made the most of his countless abilities. Obiedo contributed his composition “Child’s Dance” and his inimitable stinging electric guitar. Glenn noted early on that he and Obiedo have been playing music together for 55 years, quite a long and fruitful association. Longtime band members, Marcos Silva on electric piano, Robb Fisher on acoustic bass, Michelle Gerlitz on congas and percussion and newcomer Kelly Fasman on drums played with supreme cohesion. Late in the set, Gerlitz and Glenn picked up chekeres and held the audience spellbound for a while. Glenn and company left a prodigious amount of excellent music in our ears that afternoon.
Saturday Evening: Afro-Cuban Fire and Patti LaBelle
The Main Stage hosted the always enjoyable Afro-Cuban All Stars led by Juan De Marcos González. The talent level in Cuba is so deep that I didn’t recognize any of the current band members. It might be that the original group had some of the older established artists, and many have passed away or are unable to travel. Be that as it may, the All Stars were in fine form that evening, showcasing a singer with a declarative style. As De Marcos González stayed in the background playing the güiro, the band executed intricately arranged passages. Horns and percussion were tightly knit together in a delicate balance.
A short walk to the Latin Tropical stage where Orquesta Akokán began their re-creation of classic Cuban music from the ’40s and ’50s. Focusing on the Mambo, Orquesta Akokán brought back that familiar sound from the past. Pianist and arranger Michael Eckroth dove deep into the genre, respecting the past and adding his own ideas to create a modern take. The music was enhanced by the vocals of Kiko Ruiz, who handled the crowd, exuding natural charisma. The electric tres guitar combined with the soaring horns made the set quite enjoyable. Akokán means from the heart in Yoruba, and the group proved that they had plenty of it on that sultry night in San José.
Wedged in between Orquesta Akokán and headliner Patti LaBelle, Jubu Smith soulfully sang and played guitar. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Jubu borrows liberally from gospel, soul, blues and funk to display his singular electric guitar playing. Last year he was seen at the Summer Festival backing up Lilah Hathaway; this year headlining the Blues/Big Easy Stage. Hammond B3 organ (Mike Halberg), electric bass, and drums backed Jubu’s compelling vocals and superior guitar work. B.B. King’s immortal “The Thrill Is Gone” was a perfect vehicle for Jubu’s mastery. Nodding our heads, the crowd acknowledged Tony! Toni! Toné!’s song “Anniversary,” which the normally reserved Jubu said he helped the group record. After a long time spent backing other artists, Jubu finally struts his stuff and leads his own group.
The ageless Patti LaBelle sang her way into our hearts with fire and consummate expertise. At 82 years young, LaBelle showed absolutely no signs of slowing down. All the high and low notes were there; a stellar performer, having the time of her life. Her longtime pianist/musical director, Sam Lewis, made all the musical transitions smooth and seamless. One of her backup singers took center stage for the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” while LaBelle was busy changing her wig and clothing. LaBelle returned to the stage and continued to entrance all the folks, from the front of the stage to those seated in the back in their lawn chairs.
Sunday: Ska, Miles Davis, and René Marie
The first act on Sunday, hitting the Main Stage at precisely 1 p.m., the Western Standard Ska Orchestra took us back to Jamaica in the ’50s, when Ska music was at its peak. Trumpeter Eitan Avineri directed the band, some twenty instruments including a full horn section; trumpets and saxophones filled the stage along with guitar, acoustic bass and drums. Invoking the sounds of yesteryear and using the template of the Skatalites (The group who invented ska), the Orchestra blasted out a huge, powerful sound. Using Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder,” the Orchestra left no doubt that Ska and Jazz could co-exist in the same song. I found myself bopping up and down to the highly percussive ska rhythm, another unexpected musical treat.
Educator and bassist Marcus Shelby led a nonet which faithfully revisited the Miles Davis session Birth Of The Cool. Highly appropriate choice of material, as this year many artists are celebrating Miles’ centenary. Each selection introduced by Shelby received an informative description, noting the composer and the principal soloist. The nonet, composed of all Bay Area musicians, featured Heidi Tretheren (horn), Remee Ashley (trombone), Mike Olmos (trumpet), Tony Pebbles (alto saxophone), Melecio Magdaluyo (baritone saxophone), Jonathan Seiberlich (tuba), Greg Jacobs (piano), Jamal Ramírez (drums) and Marcus Shelby (acoustic bass). Especially notable contributions came from Olmos, Pebbles and Magdaluyo as they filled the shoes of Miles Davis, Lee Konitz and Gerry Mulligan. The music still sounded quite fresh, even though the record was made almost 80 years ago. “Boplicity,” “Jeru” and “Budo” came to precise and vivid life under Sheiby’s direction. Birth of the Cool was not treated as some museum piece by this group—to be dusted off and only played on special occasions—instead as a vital part of American music history.
I was really looking forward to hearing Lakecia Benjamin, having experienced her wonderful alto saxophone playing. To my surprise, she could not make the gig; instead, the replacement was the marvelous vocalist René Marie. Backed by an exceptional trio—Xavier Davis on piano, Elias Baily on acoustic bass and Quentin E. Baxter on drums—Marie sang a medley of tunes around the theme of imagination; the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” was the core, with a deviation into John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Marie told a great story associated with her original tune, “Colorado River Song.” Her trip down the river with a man resulted in a wonderful thing: marriage. There was a call-and-response scat singing with the audience, where Marie showed off her considerable scat singing abilities. Marie captivated the crowd with her warm and inviting songs, a pleasant surprise for everyone.
The Women Who Lit Up the Festival
Sure, there were some cool moments in the Festival: Joe Bataan crooning, Afro-Cuban All Stars dealing, Jubu Smith playing guitar, even the Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra skanking, but the soul of the summer Jazz Fest belonged to the women, who played and sang their hearts out.
The Festival this year was worth attending due in no small part to the powerful women who graced all of the stages. From Adi Oasis to Nicole Zuraitis, on to Patti LaBelle and ending with the incomparable René Marie, women and their considerable gifts made the Festival exceedingly bright.
Artists Performing at the San José Summer Jazz Fest 2026
Photo Gallery by Brooks Geiken (click to enlarge)
The Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference 2026 returns for its third edition from September 25 to 27, bringing together musicians, educators, students, and audiences to celebrate the growing presence of Latin jazz in Canada. At the center of the conference is Cuban pianist, composer, and musical director Miguel de Armas, whose journey from Cuba to Canada has shaped both his artistic career and his vision for creating a stronger Latin jazz community in Ottawa.
The story of the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference (OLJC) is, in many ways, a story of growth, discovery, and community. From its first edition in 2024 to the second in 2025, the conference has steadily expanded its reach while remaining committed to its original purpose: creating a space in Ottawa where Latin jazz can be heard, discussed, studied, and experienced as part of Canada’s multicultural musical landscape.
Those first two editions also made something increasingly clear: there is a growing audience and a growing community for Latin jazz in Ottawa. The conference has become more than a series of performances. It is developing into a platform for cultural exchange, artistic discovery, education, and collaboration among musicians from different backgrounds and generations.
Miguel de Armas has played a central role in that evolution. His own journey has profoundly influenced the way he approaches the conference. His perspective is rooted not only in his experience as a musician, but also in his desire to recognize and showcase the talent that already exists within Canada’s diverse communities.
That was one of the central themes of our conversation as we looked ahead to the 2026 edition: how can the conference continue to grow while remaining open to new voices, new ideas, and the next generation of Latin jazz musicians?
That question brought us back to the beginning. Looking at the first two editions, I asked Miguel how he felt the conference had evolved and what lessons had helped shape this year’s edition.
Miguel de Armas: From Cuba to Canada
To understand the conference, it is also important to understand Miguel.
Trained musically in Cuba, de Armas developed a career connected to some of the most important experiences in Cuban popular music and contemporary jazz. He was a founding member of N.G. La Banda, one of the defining groups of the Cuban timba movement, and throughout his career in Cuba he worked and recorded with numerous artists and projects, building extensive professional and international experience.
Since moving to Canada, Miguel has continued to develop his career as a pianist, composer, arranger, and musical director. In Ottawa, he created the Miguel de Armas Quartet and later founded the Ottawa Latin Jazz Orchestra, a project that brings together members of the Cuban diaspora with musicians born or trained in Canada.
The orchestra combines original compositions, traditional Cuban melodies, jazz improvisation, and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
But perhaps one of Miguel’s most interesting qualities is not simply his work as a musician. It is the way he observes the musical community around him.
He explained this to me during our conversation. For Miguel, organizing a conference like this means constantly looking, listening, and discovering.
“I have the time to go out there and discover each artist. That’s what we always do.”
That sentence says a great deal about his philosophy. Miguel does not seem to view programming simply as a list of established names. Instead, he sees it as a process of discovery.
A Conference That Learns From Itself
When I asked him how the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference had evolved through its first two editions and what lessons had helped shape the 2026 edition, his answer was very clear: the conference has to continually learn from itself.
After each edition, the team talks with artists, collaborators, and participants to hear their impressions, identify problems, and find ways to improve.
“Every time an edition ends, we sit down with the people who have been part of it and ask how the conference was, what we can improve, and what we can do differently.”
I found this particularly important because it explains one of the characteristics that distinguishes the project. The goal is not to repeat the same model every year.
“Every year we have to keep building on it and make it better.”
That self-critical attitude is also present when Miguel talks about the conference’s long-term vision. For him, the success of an edition is not measured only by audience numbers or by the names appearing on the program. After every conference, the team needs to listen to the audience, evaluate the response, and determine what can be improved.
“We will get together, draw our conclusions, see how the audience responded, look at the reactions, and then try to improve the next edition.”
In other words, the conference is conceived as an evolving process.
Canada’s Multicultural Talent Takes Center Stage
The third edition introduces another particularly significant emphasis: celebrating the extraordinary talent of Canada’s multicultural diaspora and its growing influence on the evolution of Latin jazz.
For Miguel, this direction did not emerge from an abstract concept. It came from something he has been observing personally in the Canadian music scene.
Over the past few years, he has been listening to musicians, attending concerts, following projects, and discovering artists who may not yet have the visibility they deserve.
“There is so much talent. And that is also what the conference is about: highlighting the cultural talent we have here in Canada.”
That “we” is important. For Miguel, Canadian Latin jazz should not be understood simply as music imported from Latin America. It is also music being transformed by the communities and artists who live and work in Canada.
And this brings us to one of the major themes of the 2026 conference: belonging.
Miguel believes that when Canadian audiences begin regularly hearing these artists, something changes. The Latin American musician is no longer perceived as an outsider and begins to become part of Canada’s cultural landscape.
As he told me:
“They begin to feel that they are artists who also belong here… and then they feel proud.”
For Miguel, that phenomenon is fundamental. He points to Hilario Durán as an example of another Cuban musician who has developed an extraordinary career in Canada.
“Hilario is Cuban, but he is also a Canadian musician.”
That sentence summarizes much of the philosophy behind the conference: it is not about choosing one identity over another, but recognizing the identities that coexist and enrich one another.
Discovering Artists Before They Become Well Known
One of the things I found most interesting in our conversation was learning how Miguel puts together the conference program.
His method is quite simple: listen.
He told me, for example, that he discovered Joy Lapps at Sunfest. He heard her perform live, watched her connect with the audience, and immediately became interested in her project.
“As an audience member, I watched her show and saw how she interacted with the audience.”
And that was where the invitation began.
With pianist Orlando Cardoso, the process was different. Miguel did not know him personally, but he did what he calls “the homework”: he followed his career, listened to his music, and became particularly interested in his recent work.
“This young man is serious, and he has a different proposal.”
That search for new voices explains the diversity of the 2026 program, which brings together artists from different backgrounds and generations.
Miguel also emphasizes the importance of balancing established figures with emerging artists.
“We have to go looking for the generations that are coming, because they bring their own language, their own way of doing things, and their own artistic vision.”
That balance appears to be one of the conference’s fundamental principles.
Hilario Durán: Memory, Experience, and Passing It On
The participation of Hilario Durán occupies a special place in the third edition.
For Miguel, this is not simply a matter of inviting an internationally recognized musician. There is a personal relationship that goes back to Cuba and, above all, an admiration that began many years ago.
When we talked about Hilario, Miguel remembered how young Cuban musicians of his generation followed his work and tried to learn his solos.
“Hilario was the reference point. We all wanted to learn his solos.”
But Miguel also emphasizes something he considers essential: Durán’s extraordinary preparation as a pianist, composer, and orchestrator.
He remembers Durán’s classical training, his work with Cuba’s Orquesta de Música Moderna, and his experience performing with musicians of the highest caliber, including Arturo Sandoval. All of that experience, he says, allowed Durán to arrive in Canada with an exceptionally strong professional foundation.
“He arrived with all the tools he needed to build a successful career here.”
In this third edition, Durán will not only perform. His participation will also have an educational dimension, particularly important for young musicians and students.
For Miguel, that generosity as a teacher is one of Durán’s greatest qualities.
“He is extremely generous when it comes to teaching.”
Durán’s presence therefore represents a connection between generations: a musician who was a reference point for a generation of young Cuban musicians, and an artist who has now become a reference point for a new generation of musicians in Canada.
Learning the Language of Latin Jazz
The educational dimension of the conference is another one of its pillars.
This year there is a special emphasis on Afro-Cuban rhythmic traditions and on strengthening the teaching of Latin jazz in Canada. For Miguel, this education is necessary because Latin jazz cannot simply be reduced to a label.
“It has its own language, its own way of feeling and organizing rhythm.”
He explained that even Canadian musicians with strong jazz backgrounds can initially find themselves challenged when they have to play certain Afro-Cuban rhythms.
“At first they are a little intimidated, but as time goes by, they become more flexible.”
The key, according to Miguel, is direct experience.
It is not enough to hear an explanation about these rhythms. Musicians need to play them, experience them, and interact with musicians who understand them from within.
“It is one thing to hear someone explain it. It is another thing to become involved in the project. That is when things change.”
This idea of immersion connects directly with the educational mission of the conference. The goal is not simply to talk about Latin jazz, but to create opportunities to experience it.
Inclusion as a Way of Building Community
Another concept that appears repeatedly throughout our conversation is inclusion.
The conference seeks to present established artists while also creating opportunities for emerging musicians and lesser-known projects.
“The conference has always been about inclusion, about bringing in young talent and international artists.”
Miguel believes that one generation cannot simply reproduce itself. More experienced musicians have a responsibility to seek out those who are coming next.
And this has a much broader cultural dimension.
As Canadian audiences discover these sounds and artists, a sense of belonging develops. Latin jazz begins to be recognized not as a peripheral expression, but as part of the country’s cultural landscape.
In this sense, the conference serves a purpose that goes beyond the stage: it helps build community, develop audiences, create opportunities, and establish relationships.
The National Arts Centre as a Partner
The relationship with the National Arts Centre has also been fundamental to the conference’s growth.
The first and second editions presented a well-organized project, a three-day program featuring concerts, panels, workshops, and networking opportunities.
The third edition continues that relationship, once again making the National Arts Centre a central venue for the conference.
For Miguel, this relationship represents much more than having access to a prestigious stage.
He remembers his early experiences at the NAC and the process of building an audience through consistent work.
“Working hard to build your own audience, to make people believe in you, and being truthful and sincere about what you represent is very important.”
Over time, that work creates trust.
“Now, when we present something, they say, ‘This is going to have quality.’”
That “seal of quality,” as Miguel describes it, is one of the important consequences of building a strong relationship with an institution like the National Arts Centre.
It also contributes to giving Latin jazz greater visibility and recognition within Canada’s cultural landscape.
Looking Ahead
At the end of our conversation, I asked Miguel where he sees the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference five years from now.
His answer was once again consistent with everything he had said throughout our conversation.
He did not talk about turning the conference into a personal project or imposing a permanent formula. He talked about evolution and continuity.
“Evolving, obviously.”
And then he added something that I found particularly revealing:
“There is no exclusivity here. There is inclusivity.”
Perhaps that is the best way to summarize the spirit of the conference, and especially of this third edition.
The Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference was created to open a space for Latin jazz in Ottawa. And that space includes different generations, cultures, musical languages, and immigrant experiences.
“Since the beginning, the conference has been looking at the talent that already exists in Canada and recognizing that much of the future of Latin jazz is being built right here.”
Miguel de Armas knows this because he is seeing it firsthand. He hears it on stages, discovers it at concerts, talks to musicians, and follows their projects. Above all, he understands that a musical scene can only grow if there is a willingness to listen to those who are coming next.
The third edition of the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference is not intended to close a chapter. On the contrary, it is designed as another chapter in a story that is still being written.
And, true to Miguel’s spirit, once the conference is over, the work will begin again: listening, asking questions, evaluating, learning, and looking for new ways to make it better.
Because, as Miguel himself told me, the conference must continue to evolve.
And perhaps that is precisely its greatest strength.
-
25 Most Read Posts13 years agoJuan García-Herreros “Snow Owl” – Normas
-
25 Most Read Posts14 years agoEdy Martínez, the Music Architect Behind the Piano
-
25 Most Read Posts16 years agoRaphael Cruz Reaffirms His Commitment To Latin Jazz!
-
25 Most Read Posts11 years agoRubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta: Son de Panamá