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| Value for Money | 5/10  |
|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4/10 |
Full review by
jfderry
expert review 
on 9th Sep 2004
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John Storm Roberts, Latin Jazz: The First Fusions - 1880s to Today - In Latin Jazz, John Storm Roberts expounds a fascinating thesis that claims to trace Latin musical influences all the way back to the incipience of ragtime, and therefore jazz, and indeed all contemporary American music since. Now, you don't have to be a fan of Wayne Shorter's Native Dancer to appreciate that Latin music has had an enormous influence on jazz, pretty much throughout its history, but the argument suffers slightly from the chronological patchiness of its subject matter, struggling to note every occurance of a Latin-influenced recording in burgeoning support of a growing popularity in Latin music - whereas one perspective might argue that Latin-influenced jazz has always remained at levels of background popularity, akin to the many musical styles that have been drawn on during the evolution of jazz, without the need to eclipse one-another.
However, the book at least presents a jazz history that extends beyond 1965 and is intelligent enough to include electric forms unlike Ken Burn's Jazz series.
This book is a study with the downside that it is as dense as a study text book and the upside that it is brilliantly researched. Scant early occurrences soon led to an overwhelming presence of Latin-influenced jazz, such that little else seemed possible without its influence. This seemingly led to Cubop and the proliferation of covers of Duke Ellington's The Peanut Vendor and the rise to fame of Tito Puente, the big-band originator of the vibrophone (vibes).
The book's coverage does not extend as far as flamenco and therefore Paco de Lucia, The Guitar Trio, Larry Coryell, Al Di Meola, The Translators and Belo Horizonte, etc.), other than to state that all jazz forms are probably rooted in Latin influences plus explicit mention of Miles Davis outings into Latin rhythm with the addition of Airto Moreira as percussionist (Miles Davis recordings with Airto are Big Fun, Live Evil, Hill Auditorium 2/21/70, Get Up With It, Directions, plus McLaughlin's My Goal's Beyond).
Latin Jazz is an excellent literary resource that opens up a whole new angle from which to appreciate the music. Whether you like your salsa hot or mild, this is probably a book you'll want to dip into.
jfderry's review and ratings | 371 words
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