Units 8 & 9 – Latin Influences, Golden-Age Musicals, and Modern Jazz

Vocabulary flashcards covering Latin-music integration, Broadway’s Golden Age, the rise of bebop, and 1950s pop-vocal artistry.

Clave Rhythm

Fundamental two-bar Afro-Cuban rhythmic pattern that underlies many Latin styles.

Forward (Son) Clave

Standard clave sequence heard as boom–boom-boom | boom-boom.

Reverse (Rumba) Clave

Inverted clave pattern; second measure accents come first.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk

19th-c. New Orleans pianist whose works introduced Latin rhythmic color to U.S. classical music.

Souvenir de Porto Rico, Op. 31

Gottschalk piano march mixing Puerto Rican folk melody with Afro-Caribbean rhythms.

Desi Arnaz

Cuban bandleader who brought Latin music to 1950s TV through «I Love Lucy.»

«I Love Lucy» (1951-57)

First mainstream TV show to spotlight a Latin musician and sound, normalizing Latin rhythms in U.S. pop culture.

Latin Music Assimilation – Stage 1

Pre-1940s phase when Latin dances (rumba, habanera) were treated as exotic novelties.

Latin Music Assimilation – Stage 2

1930-50s hybrid period: U.S. pop and Latin forms fused, creating crossover hits.

Latin Music Assimilation – Stage 3

Rock-era absorption: Latin instruments and rhythms embedded in R&B, rock, and mainstream pop.

Habanera

Cuban dance rhythm (♩ ♪ ♩ ♩) that influenced tango, ragtime, and Bizet’s «Carmen.»

Tango

Argentinian partner dance, popularized in U.S. by Vernon & Irene Castle (1913).

Don Azpiazú

Leader of Havana Casino Orchestra whose 1930 hit «El Manisero» launched the rumba craze.

«El Manisero» (“The Peanut Vendor”)

Best-selling 1930 rumba single introducing authentic Afro-Cuban sound to New York.

Xavier Cugat

Spanish-born bandleader who simplified Latin rhythms for U.S. ballroom and film audiences (1930s-50s).

Cole Porter

Tin Pan Alley composer who adopted Cugat-style rhythms in songs like «Begin the Beguine.»

«Begin the Beguine» (1935)

Porter hit that codified a softened rumba beat for U.S. pop listeners.

Latin Barrio (East Harlem)

Early-20th-c. New York neighborhood where Puerto Rican & Cuban musicians created uptown styles.

Downtown Latin Style

Commercial, simplified Latin music aimed at white audiences; lighter percussion.

Uptown Latin Style

Afro-centric, percussion-heavy Latin music serving immigrant communities; birthplace of mambo.

Mambo

1940s New York dance genre blending Afro-Cuban son with big-band jazz horns.

Machito (Frank Grillo)

Singer who, with Mario Bauzá, founded the Afro-Cuban jazz orchestra that birthed mambo.

Mario Bauzá

Cuban trumpeter/arranger who fused jazz harmonies with Afro-Cuban rhythms in Machito’s band.

Tito Puente

«Mambo King» whose vibraphone-led big band balanced Afro-Cuban rhythm and jazz swing.

Rodgers & Hammerstein

Composer-lyricist duo whose shows («Oklahoma!» 1943 et al.) defined Broadway’s Golden Age.

Oklahoma! (1943)

Breakthrough musical integrating songs, dance, and story; launched Broadway’s modern era.

South Pacific (1949)

R&H musical tackling racism; features «You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.»

«Some Enchanted Evening»

Operatic love ballad from South Pacific sung by Ezio Pinza.

Leonard Bernstein

Classically trained conductor/composer who merged jazz, Latin, and symphonic styles in «West Side Story.»

Stephen Sondheim

Lyricist (later composer) whose wordplay and realism enhanced «West Side Story» (1957).

West Side Story

1957 Bernstein/Sondheim musical retelling «Romeo & Juliet» amid NYC gang rivalry; mixes jazz & Latin.

Bebop

Early-1940s jazz style marked by fast tempos, complex harmonies, and virtuosic improvisation.

Cool Jazz

Post-bop style featuring relaxed tempos and lighter tone; contrasted with bebop’s aggression.

Charlie Parker

Alto sax innovator who codified bebop vocabulary; nicknamed «Bird.»

Dizzy Gillespie

Trumpeter/co-architect of bebop, famous for bent horn and Afro-Cuban experiments like «Manteca.»

Thelonious Monk

Pianist-composer known for angular melodies and dissonant harmonies within the bebop idiom.

Bebop Characteristics

Rapid tempos, asymmetrical «be-BOP» phrases, extended chords, and liberated rhythm section.

Jazz at the Philharmonic

Norman Granz concert series (1944-57) that moved jazz from clubs to concert halls.

Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ)

John Lewis-led group merging chamber-music formality with bebop intricacy; famous for «Django.»

Third Stream Music

Fusion of classical techniques with jazz improvisation, championed by MJQ and Bernstein.

Standard (Popular Song)

Pre-1945 composition continually re-interpreted by later singers, e.g., «I Only Have Eyes for You.»

Song Interpretation

Post-1945 practice of personalizing standards through new tempos, grooves, and vocal nuances.

Nat King Cole

Jazz-piano-turned-pop singer; warm baritone on hits like «Unforgettable» and first black TV host.

«Unforgettable» (1951)

Nat King Cole ballad emblematic of lush orchestrated 1950s pop.

Frank Sinatra

Iconic vocalist who shifted from big-band crooner to jazz-influenced pop stylist; co-founded Reprise.

«You Do Something to Me»

Cole Porter tune transformed by Sinatra from foxtrot into swinging jazz number.

Television Boom (1950s)

New medium that propelled pop stars and variety shows, reshaping music promotion.

LP (33 rpm)

Introduced 1948; enabled long-form albums for musicals, jazz, and classical works.

45 rpm Single

1949 format ideal for hit songs across pop, R&B, country, and emerging rock.