The word “jazz” as a descriptor of music first appeared in the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1915, yet by then what would eventually nurture the rhythms and dance qualities of jazz were already finding their ways into the territories of the Caribe, then to Cuba and Brazil, before finally flooding into the all of Pan America.
Having heard the recent performance of Gabriela Ortiz's “Antropolis” by the newly formed Harmonium of Texas orchestra, I was anxious to know more about the dance halls and ballrooms of Mexico where rhumbas and mambos kept crowded dance floors alive with bands such as La Sonora Santanero playing music to which it is said Che Guavara would twirl.
By the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, music recognizable as jazz to our 21st century ears was alive throughout Pan America. An apparent steady stream of bands and singers would play various venues in Mexico City. The city's Teatro de la Ciudad seems to have been a favorite destination for jazz, classical and all sorts of other music styles. That's where I heard saxophonist Dexter Gordon play one Saturday night in 1981. I was so amazed by his playing and the playing of his sidemen, including Rufus Reid on bass, that I came back the following day for a matinee. The following Sunday I found myself back at the Teatro de la Ciudad, this time onstage with the Mexico City Philharmonic. It was, and still is, a magical place to hear music, well worth a trip to what Gabriela Ortiz describes as the “very complex, but fascinating” Mexico City.
Duke Ellington crossed numerous borders throughout Latin America when he toured there in 1968. Even as he and his band entertained with their music, Duke was absorbing the sounds around him. At tour's end, Ellington wrote his "Latin American Suite," a work which was premiered at Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes in September 1968.
For the adventurous traveler, willing to include Mexico City part of their itinerary, I have now mentioned two performance venues that are a must-see, and the wonderful thing is, Teatro de la Ciudad and Bellas Artes are both located in the city's historic center. You could even step into Sanborn's for a morning coffee or mid-day comida.
There's one more venue you should visit in Mexico City, and that is the Sala Nezahualcóyotl, with arguably the best acoustics in the Americas. The progressive Mexican band, Sacbe, would play there as did the crossover(y) Oregon.
Not all performance spaces are created equal, and nowhere is the contrast more apparent than when one walks from the Sala Nezahualcóyotl to the Sala Ollin Yolitzli, the home base of the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México. The only reason I even mention Ollin Yolitzli is that's where I happened upon a solo concert by Chick Corea, surely only a month or two separated from my having heard Dexter Gordon.
I was able to get a seat very near the stage, which might have been the best seat in the house. Chick Corea was quite affable with the audience and sounded great, especially when he launched into his solo version of “Spain.”
