"In the early '80s, a friend gave me... a record that complicated my life." "It got me hooked on Latin jazz." "In 1 995, for the final scene of my film, Two Much... some of my favorite musicians... played in Miami's Lincoln Road." "It was a highlight of my filmmaking career." "A magical night." "I was filming the miracle of music." "That's when I began dreaming... of a whole film about this most exciting form of music." ""CALLE 54"" ""New Jersey"" "Paquito D'Rivera was born with a sax." "Tito Rivera, his father, a classical saxophonist... ordered Paquito's first sax when he was only three." "Paquito became a child prodigy." ""The world's smallest sax player"" ""Paquito D'Rivera"" "I owe a great debt to Paquito." "There's no remedy for the blues like the sound of his sax." "A Paquito solo can brighten the darkest day." "Dad's best gift wasn't my sax but my mother." "Eliane Elias-- Latin jazz in all its elegance." "Born in Sao Paolo, she was the daughter of a classical pianist." "She began playing piano in her teens with Vinicius de Moraes... remaining with him until his death." ""Puerto de Santa Maria" "(Cadiz, Espana)"" "For years, there were many attempts to merge flamenco and jazz." "Most remained attempts, impressive as some were." "Chano Dominguez was the first "bilingual"musician of the form." "His music produced a miracle-- a handshake between Monk and Camaron." ""The Bronx" "(New York)"" "In the late '60s..." "Puerto Ricans clashed with police." "It climaxed in an assault on a Bronx precinct house." "The quarter was dubbed "Fort Apache. "" "Hence the name of the group formed by the Gonzalez brothers..." "Jerry and Andy.' The Fort Apache Band." "Andy visits the old family home where he andJerry grew up." "Some of the big hits of the '70s were created here." "Here, tradition and the avant-garde, old and new, merged." "Dizzy Gillespie played with them when they were still kids." "The room under the stairs was Jerry and Andy's." "Jerry's back in his parents'homeland" "Puerto Rico." ""San Juan" "(Puerto Rico)"" "He's the poete maudit of Latin jazz, the last Caribbean pirate." "No one's ever seen him without his trumpet." "Yeah." "And I wanna hear three clicks before the downbeat." "Let's do it!" "Okay." ""Betty Talks about Liz"" "Michel Camilo is one of the top all-round musicians." "Whether it's jazz, classical, Latin American music or film music..." "Michel is in his element." "Every time I see him play..." "I feel like I'm witnessing a miracle." ""New York"" "Little horsey, how's it going?" "Gato Barbieri was the revolutionary of Latin jazz." "Aproduct of May '68, he is one of the last survivors." "I was famous from the '7 0s up till '82." "It was a great time because things... were electric between music and filmmakers." "We formed one big family" "Glauber, Godard, Pasolini..." "Antonio das Mortes." "It's impossible to live without Rossellini." "I stopped recording in '82... and I only started again in '96... because I saw music was like a toboggan... going downhill fast." "For years I lived in a cocoon... cut off from everything." "The mood wasn't like before, understand?" "The cinema back then, the music back then... that's all changed now." "All I want is to play." "That's what makes me feel free." "It's cold out, but... it was a nice journey." "I wrote this piece... like it was for a movie." "First we're in Macchu Picchu, then we'll be in Bolivia." "I'm quiet as a lagoon bird... but sometimes I'm a puma." "This is my mother, Ercilia Ortiz Puente." "Okay, let's get started." "This is the restaurant ofTito Puente." "At your service." "Let me show you a few of our murals... designed to help our young people... remember our music, our culture." "This is the king of Latin jazz, who wrote "Manteca"..." ""Tin Tin Deo" and "Night in Tunisia"... and all those famous standards, Dizzy Gillespie." "We're indebted to him for the growth of Latin jazz." "Here's one of my mentors, Mr. Mario Bauza." "Mario is another pillar of Latin jazz... the author of standards like "Tanga."" "Another mentor, the great Machito... who contributed to our music... and the spread of Latin American music here in the US." "Cal Tjader, the great vibes player of Latin jazz." "Also very famous." "Next to him is my brother, Charlie Palmieri... a great veteran pianist." "He started the Duboney Orchestra... and conducted several recordings for me." "The great Miles Davis... the famous trumpeter who loved Latin music." "He'd hang out in Latin bars listening to congas and bongos." "This is Mongo Santamaria... a master of the conga for years." "Next to him is the great Cachao." "Double bass player." "He's still king of the bass." "Next to him is the great Chano Pozo, the composer of "Manteca"... and other standards with Dizzy Gillespie." "All these musicians are pillars of Latin jazz in this country." "I grew up with them." "Today, Tito has his place in the Latin jazz pantheon... alongside the fathers of the music of which he was the king." ""Tito Puente's"" ""La Habana" "(Cuba)"" "I'm taking a walk." "I haven't been here in years." "It's changed." "How's it going?" "When Chucho Valdes was a kid, his father, the great bebo... head of the Tropicana Orchestra, brought him to hear the stars here." "Bebo, my father, took me to the shows." "Everything playing at the Tropicana." "I think the Tropicana was an important stage... in the careers of Cuban musicians." "The best in Cuban music... and the best artists came through there." "I'm the sender." "I'm gonna treasure this shirt!" ""New York"" "Sundays, Chico O'Farrill, a Cuban of Irish stock... who came to New York in the late '40s... conducts his big band at the club." "This is it." "Birdland." "Chico started out playing trumpet... but turned to composing and arranging... for the bands of Machito, Count basie..." ""Jazz Nightly"" "Stan Kenton and benny Goodman." "Chico was the architect of Latin jazz which he launched worldwide." "As he says.' "The big band is my instrument. "" ""Birdland"" "The next one we would like to play for you... the band recorded version... by "the Bird", Charlie Parker," "Flip Phillips, and Buddy Rich." "It's called "Afro Cuban Jazz Suite."" "Alright!" ""Stockholm" "(Sverige)"" "bebo Valdes, Chucho's father... was bandleader at the Tropicana when he left Cuba in 1 960." "On a European tour, he fell in love with a Swede." "Abandoning everything, he retired to Stockholm with his new family." "He spent 20 years playing in hotel bars." "I fell madly in love with this woman." "And I still love her." "It's been 37 years." "I'm old now, but I look at her and it's still like the first day." "I invited bebo to play with Israel Lopez "Cachao"... a Cuban 20 days his junior and a friend for more than 60 years." "both started playing in short pants... but this is their first recording together." "Go on, say "seven!"" "Cachao, say "seven!"" "Afro-Cuban music and Caribbean music... have the same roots." "These roots are in Africa." "When Monk played the piano, he'd suddenly jump up and dance." "He'd do steps that were signals to the percussionist... to hit harder-- and bang-- with the foot... like a rumba dancer." "I think the basic rhythm comes from Africa." "When he got up to dance, he was like a rumba dancer." "A genuine rumba dancer, really African!" "Afro-Cuban music and jazz... are like cousins." "And their common grandfather is Africa." "bebo Valdes had boasted of a granddaughter... who won an Italian prize for piano." "Like his other Cuban grandchildren, he'd never met her." ""Sony Music Studios"" "Chucho Valdes hadn't seen his father in five years." "We met in New York." "I invited them to do a dialogue with two pianos." "Hey, you're as fat as a toad!" "Everything's fine, Dad." "Glad to be back here."