Learning Afro-Cuban and Brazilian Styles

The intermediate level composer should become familiar with Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music and its influence on the music for jazz ensemble and jazz combo. Cuban trumpeter Mario Bauza, trumpeter/composer Dizzy Gillespie, Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo, and many others highly influenced Afro-Cuban music that is very common today. An exploration of son clave and rumba clave styles, and their importance to the mambo, cha- cha-cha, bolero, rumba, and Afro-Cuban § dance styles must be studied to incorporate the many elements into compositions (Dunscomb and Hill, 2002).

“Manteca” (1947), composed by Dizzy Gillespie, Luciano “Chano” Pozo, and Walter “Gil” Fuller, is a long-standing and often arranged composition for the jazz ensemble. The original features the conga drums and bass in the introduction, followed by a layering of riffs. Gillespie completes the layering of instruments by adding a short bebop- style solo. The piece is a good example to include in composition instruction due to the inclusion of jazz, bebop, and Afro-Cuban styles. The piece features multiple call-and- response riffs, shout choruses, and a bebop-infused solo section that is combined with the continued playing of the patterns on the conga drums.

After listening to “Manteca,” essential questions could be as follows:
- What is unique about the introduction of “Manteca?”
- What is the role of the conga drums and the double bass in the introduction of “Manteca?”
- What composition techniques are used in the introduction of “Manteca”?
- In what way does Gillespie alternate the riffs in the introduction of “Manteca”?

- What composition techniques exist at the start of the A section of “Manteca”?
- What musical style changes happen in the bridge of “Manteca”? (The melody is played without syncopation, yet the double bass is playing a walking part as in jazz swing style; the trumpets answer the saxophone melody with a part featuring swing rhythms and articulation; Gillespie solos in a ballad-like style, etc.)

Such questions can inform future compositional approaches. To enhance the study of Afro-Cuban music, the music of Mario Bauza, Cachao, Paquito D’Rivera, Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, and many more can provide foundational concepts relating to composition for the jazz ensemble (Dunscomb and Hill, 2002).

The young composer needs to learn a variety of styles to gain familiarity and for potential future use in their compositions. The Brazilian bossa nova style is a combination of the samba style, with jazz harmony and often 32-bar song form (Spitzer, n.d.). Antonio Carlos Jobim composed over 300 bossa nova songs; Jobim and Joao Gilberto popularized the style (Dunscomb and Hill, 2002). Gilberto’s album Chega de Saudade (1959) featured the bossa nova style throughout. His 1963 collaboration with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, Getz/Gilberto, provides multiple stylistic models throughout.

Although syncopation does exist in Brazilian styles, swing articulation and style are not typically applied. The bossa nova rhythm section will feature a rhythmic comping style in the guitar, a piano style that is fairly sparse yet could compliment and alternate playing with the guitar when possible, a bass guitar/double bass rhythmic style featuring half notes that align with the bass drum at times, or other rhythms that employ a harmonic style featuring chord roots, fifths, and passing tones. The drum set should not be overplayed but should emulate the percussion styles of the samba orchestra.

Additional Brazilian styles include samba, samba modern, and Baiao. Additional Brazilian composers include Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim (Dunscomb & Hill, 2002). Additional concepts for the intermediate jazz composer include the discussion of expanded harmonic and melodic ideas including mo- tivic development, modes, extended forms, chord progressions etc. An added focus on the role of the rhythm section instruments is needed, discussing piano and guitar comping styles, bass line construction, drum set fills, rhythmic set-ups, and the importance of the rhythm section as a foundational section of the jazz ensemble.