How Wynton Marsalis Brought Lincoln Center to Cuba

Live in Cuba debuts

By the Cuba Journal staff

Nine-time Grammy Award-winner Wynton Marsalis’ newest album has a Cuban twist.

Released last week, Live in Cuba features the first-ever performances by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Cuba.

Recorded in front of a sold-out crowd at Havana’s Melia Theatre in October 2010, the two-disc album explores the connections between American jazz and Afro-Cuban music.

The jazz orchestra traveled and played all over the Cuban capital, mixing Afro-Cuban music and jazz, always to a sold-out crowd.

““We had no idea. The hall was vibrating with the intense energy of discovery,” Marsalis says. “We were finding each other, and this opportunity has forever changed our lives.”