Hugo Cruz, The History of Cuban Jazz, Jazz Appreciation Month Event

Cuban jazz history is an enormous universe of sounds, rhythms, and ways of living, and since its birth, has shared a significant connection with American jazz. In 1930, Mario Bauza, a brilliant Cuban composer, arranger and saxophonist, moved to New York and pioneered the partnership between Cuban and American jazz music after falling in love with the Big Band swing. After becoming the art director of Machito y sus Afro Cubans, his career was dedicated to bringing together notable American and Cuban jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Chano Pozo, among many others. Eventually, the American jazz style found its way into the melodies and rhythms of Cuban music on the island, in the sounds of bands such as Orchestra Cubana de Musica Moderna, creating a fusion that to this day continues to flourish and evolve. This presentation on Cuban jazz will highlight the important milestones of the development of Cuban jazz from 1930 to the present.

About the Artist

Hugo Alexander Cruz Machado is a Cuban-born, award winning, internationally renowned drummer and composer who has performed in South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, and the United States. Hugo is the leader of the group Caminos, who have made appearances at the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival 2019, Fábrica de Artes in Havana, Cuba, Highmark First Night Pittsburgh 2020, City of Asylum, The Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust events, The Frick Museum, and Con Alma, among others.

Caminos fuse rhythms and melodies of Afro-Cuban, Cuban, and American music, in an original contemporary expression that honors traditional Cuban form. In February 2022, Hugo released Caminos’ first album, Punto de Partida, featuring eight of Hugo’s compositions and celebrated musicians from Cuba and Pittsburgh.

While a resident of Cuba, Hugo toured regularly with Síntesis, a leading Afrocuban rock-fusion group. Hugo has performed in Havana’s largest jazz festival, Jazz Plaza, with acclaimed artists Dave Weckl and Victor Goines. He is a graduate of the Instituto Superior de Artes, the leading arts university of Cuba, and in 2014, won the award as the “best drummer” at the international Festival del Tambor Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam in Havana, Cuba.

Hugo has shared the stage and studio with many of Cuba’s leading musicians, such as La Trovuntivitis, Tony Guzmán y Su Poder Latino, Síntesis, Janio Abreu y Aire de Concierto, Adrian Berazain, Interactivo, Zule Guerra, and Mayco de Alma. Hugo performs and records with notable Pittsburgh artists, including Afro Yaqui Music Collective, Dr. James Johnson, Ernest McCarty Jr., Tubby Daniels, Dwayne Dolphin, Mark Strickland, Max Leake, and Poogie Bell. Hugo is a drum teacher at the Afro American Music Institute and has led workshops as a special guest at the University of Pittsburgh and several youth and cultural organizations throughout the city.

Updated March 29, 2022: Proof of vaccination and masking is not required for this event. This decision was made in response to low positivity levels in Allegheny County. We will continually monitor CDC, state and local health requirements and adjust as necessary. Individual touring productions may have their own health and safety requirements. Updates will be noted on individual event pages and in pre-show emails, if applicable.