Latin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States.
The two main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian and Afro-Cuban.
- Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova and samba.
- Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz includes salsa, merengue, songo, son, mambo, and cha cha cha.
Latin jazz music, like most types of jazz music, can be played in small or large groups. Small groups, or combos, often use the Be-bop format made popular in the 1950's in America, where the musicians play a standard melody, many of the musicians play an improvised solo, and then everyone plays the melody again. In Latin jazz bands, percussion solos are much more common, and they are more structured than in swing bands, where drum solos are rare and often more freeform.
This article is very incomplete! Hope it inspires someone to add more...