Dave Liebman – Ceremony

The National Endowment of the Arts’ Jazz Master, Dave Liebman, was born in New York City on September 4th, 1946 during a period of change in jazz, one that has yet to be properly documented by even its most noted musicians, writers, filmmakers, and serious academics. It was a time when Afro-Cuban based dance music and its driving polyrhythms were taking the city, and eventually the country, by storm. At its epicenter was the Machito Afro-Cubans, a big band led by the amazing multi-instrumentalist (clarinet, alto sax, lead trumpet) Mario Bauzá and his brother-in- law Frank Grillo (Machito). Thus Afro-Cuban jazz, the first form of Latin jazz, was born and Afro-Cuban percussion would become part of mainstream jazz in America.