Field Trip: International Rhythms of Jazz—From Clave to Afro-Pop!

These performances are for DC public and charter schools only. They are not open to the public.

The performance will start at 10:30 AM and will run for 75 minutes. Doors open a half an hour before the performances.

DC Jazz Festival “International Rhythms of Jazz: From Clave to Afro-Pop!” field trip will explore connections between jazz and African and Cuban rhythms featuring the Pedrito Martinez Group

An in-person pre-field trip workshop will present the intersections. Since the 19th century, Afro-Cuban rhythms have been evident in New Orleans both through direct contact with Cubans and through the Cuban-influenced music of Mexican and other Latin American immigrants. Jelly Roll Morton and his future bandmate Lorenzo Tio Jr., a Creole clarinetist who also had Mexican roots, also combined those influences. Morton once said: “If you can’t manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning.” An examination of the key elements of each genre displays a generational extension of jazz and a continuum of African-American music and African rhythms.   

This program is made possible the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Additional support is provided by the Galena Yorktown Foundation. 

For more information, email Heidi Martin at heidi@dcjazzfest.org.