“More Cowbell”

Abstract

This chapter is an ethnographic study of New York–based Latin jazz in the twenty-first century. It uses five prominent bandleaders actively shaping the future of Latin jazz as case studies—Eddie Palmieri, Michele Rosewoman, Carlos Henríquez, Miguel Zenón, and Bobby Sanabria—demonstrating how the historical specificities and developments discussed in the preceding chapters continue to reverberate and inform the music made in the present. Their voices and perspectives demonstrate how each of these musicians adopts unique strategies to navigate the terrain of inequity and adversity. They represent significant trends that will assert much influence on generations of musicians to come. Their combined perspectives suggest that Latin jazz is not, nor ever should it have been, an “other jazz.” Its presence can no longer be silenced or erased. All of the music and musicians associated with jazz deserve to be fully embraced and recognized.