Although only 5'4" in height, the diminutive Cuban singer Machito was a towering
influence within the Latin-jazz genre and is credited with introducing
Afro-Cuban jazz and salsa to a wide international audience. He was the foster
brother of renowned Cuban singer Graciela Gutiérrez; Macho (as he was known)
began his own musical career in the late 1920s playing in a variety of bands
until in 1937 when he moved to New York. He subsequently founded The
Afro-Cubans, a highly respected ensemble of accomplished musicians who fused
Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz to create a new kind of big...