Latin Jazz has been an important and evolving current in jazz since the mid-1940s, when Dizzy Gillespie invited the legendary Cuban conga drummer Chano Pozo to join his big band. However, Latin rhythms were present in jazz even earlier, as proven by such recordings as Louis Armstrong’s 1930 “The Peanut Vendor” (a reworking of Cuban pianist and conductor Moisés Simóns’ “El Manicero”). Even such an iconic jazz piece as W. C. Handy’s 1914 “St. Louis Blues” has a habanera-tresillo bass line.

Latin Jazz would gain prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, with such celebrated figures as Ray Barretto, Cándido Camero, Tito Puente, Bebo Valdés, Pérez Prado, and Mongo Santamaría. Many American artists, such as Gerald Wilson, Quincy Jones, and the aforementioned Dizzy Gillespie, even composed their own Latin songs, as did pianist Herbie Hancock, whose “Watermelon Man” became a hit after being recorded by Mongo Santamaría.

• 1. Candido Camero - Afro Blue (Dick Hyman) 3:20
• 2. Cachao - Descarga Cubana (Israel "Cachao" Lopez) 3:02
• 3. Sergio Mendes - Love For Sale (Cole Porter) 3:00
• 4. Bebo Valdes - Special Del Bebo (Bebo Valdes) 2:48
• 5. Gerald Wilson Orch.Ft. Modesto Duran - Viva Tirado 5:41
• 6. Bobby Montez - Titoro (Tito Puente) 3:40
• 7. Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock) 7:07
• 8. Cal Tjader Septet Ft. Armando Peraza - Speak Low 2:57
• 9. Ray Barretto - Summertime (Gershwin-Dubose Heyward) 2:58
• 10. Joe Cuba - Temptation (Nacio Herb Brown-Arthur Freed) 2:06
• 11. Tito Puente - Oye Como Va (Tito Puente) 4:31
• 12. Eddie Palmieri - Conmigo (Eddie Palmieri) 2:43
• 13. Efrain Mon Rivera - Lluvia Con Nieve (Efrain Mon Rivera)2:57
• 14. Mongo Santamaria - Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock) 2:30
• 15. Quincy Jones - Soul Bossa Nova (Quincy Jones) 2:44
• 16. Ben E. King - Amor 3:04
• 17. Perez Prado - Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Osvaldo Farres) 2:13