Take Live: Jazz in Lowell

When the Harvard Jazz Band presents an evening entitled “Jazz With a Latin Tinge” on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m., featuring guest artists Bobby Sanabria and Brian Lynch, Lowell Lecture Hall will come alive with a medley of traditions.

Percussionist Sanabria and trumpeter Lynch have each made a distinctive mark on the jazz community. The two share a passion for the fusion of jazz and Latin motifs, and have performed together at a variety of venues.

This motivating theme of fusion is consistent with the 2006-2007 jazz band’s exploration of Afro-Cuban music.

Thomas G. Everett, Director of the Harvard University Band (which includes the jazz band), says that the band typically looks to invite “entertainers with… a sound based on their place in history and their development of an original voice.”

Sanabria’s background is primarily in Afro-Caribbean and Latin jazz. Everett describes him as a “premier Latin percussionist, educator, and historian.”

Indeed, Sanabria’s diverse recording and performing experience includes work with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, and “Godfather of Cuban Jazz” Mario Bauzá, according to the artist’s Web site.

Along with these inspirational figures, Sanabria worked to explore the tonal connections between Cuban rhythms and American jazz. Sanabria is as passionate about his music as he is about educating; earlier this fall, he served as a lecturer during Harvard’s Office for the Arts Learning from Performers program.

Sanabria, along with Bauzá, performed at Harvard with the jazz band in the early ’90s, and looks forward to “keeping Mario’s legacy alive” during this performance.

Lynch’s background is in bebop and jazz; his interest in Latin music came as an “outgrowth” of his passion for jazz, he says. According to Everett, he is the trumpeter of choice for Eddie Palmieri, a pioneer of Afro-Caribbean music.

“Jazz and Latin really go hand in hand—they’re like two rooms in the same house, to use Dizzy Gillespie’s expression,” said Lynch.

The Harvard band will perform “E.P.’s Minor Plea,” one of Lynch’s original compositions, dedicated to Palmieri and arranged for the big band.

Director Everett hopes that listeners will leave the concert with a newfound—or perhaps merely reinforced—“enthusiasm for the music.”

Tickets are available through the Harvard Box Office. Prices are $10 for general admission; $5 for students and seniors.