THE LATIN JAZZ ROOTS OF JOE LOVANO

November 10, 2016 | by SFJAZZ

Joe Lovano (Photo by Jimmy Katz)

We asked the GRAMMY-winning tenor saxophonist, Joe Lovano how he got into playing Latin jazz, as well as the details of his various collaborations throughout the years.

Since the mid 70's when I moved to New York City, I've had the chance to play with some of the grand masters of Latin fazz: Machito, Mario Bouza and Ray Barretto. Experiencing the feeling and passion of the music from within the various ensembles was beyond words: being in the room with Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri; collaborating with Chucho Valdés for the first time in 2003; recording and playing with Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Danilo Perez; going to Cuba with the Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra in 1986 and later with my Street Band in 2002; touring in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Panama over the years... All of these things have given me a strong foundation to express myself in a free and open manner within the music. These influences run deep. I feel this Quintet that Chucho and I put together is playing some kind of Cosmic Universal Music.