Dizzy Gillespie on traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms. Gillespie was introduced to Chano Pozo in 1947 by Mario Bauza, a Latin jazz trumpet player. Chano Pozo became Gillespie's conga drummer for his band. Gillespie also worked with Mario Bauza in New York jazz clubs on 52nd Street and several famous dance clubs such as the Palladium and the Apollo Theater in Harlem. They played together in the Chick Webb band and Cab Calloway's band, where Gillespie and Bauza became lifelong friends. Gillespie helped develop and mature the Afro-Cuban jazz style. Afro-Cuban jazz was considered bebop-oriented, and some musicians classified it as a modern style.
Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968 is a renowned jazz musician; a type of music that is famous for its improvisational aspect. In a way this was how Mingus lived his life in that he seemed to take each day at a time. The clips of footage taken of Mingus playing with other musicians at the jazz club made it apparent how much he felt the music. The musicians were each individually talented but jazz is about the interaction and responses that occurs between them, and Mingus and the guys playing with him had that essential component. Jazz musicians of the 1950s such as Dizzy Gillespie,