Where the Clave Meets the Changes: 'Jazz Salsa' on Encanto Tropical, Episode 62
- anfijpn
- Jul 8
- 6 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Certain salsa songs have parts that keep dancers grooving but will perk up your ears anyway. This might result from an ecstatic piano wandering off unexpectedly or a horn line resolving itself in a surprising way.
Such is the setting for Episode 62 (23 tracks, 2:12:42). I explore the sonic environment of 'jazz salsa' on Encanto Tropical with a selection of songs that attempt to demonstrate the interplay of instrumental jazz solos over a salsa groove.
The playlist is built around the episode's main feature: a talk with the artist who coined 'jazz salsa': Celestino Sánchez, a bassist, composer, arranger, and band leader known as CSAN-II.
POST-BROADCAST EDIT: Much time went into the research and curation for this episode. However, in hindsight, some of the songs are likely more of the Latin Jazz variety than so-called 'jazz salsa'. But the playlist will remain unchanged. Therefore, the purpose of this episode should be reconsidered more as a contribution to a discussion determining what constitutes 'jazz salsa' rather than a definitive description of this style.
What does 'Jazz Salsa' mean?
Jazz salsa is not a clean, established category (at least not yet) . It sits somewhere between two terms that are themselves tough to pin down: salsa and Latin Jazz.
Let's view salsa as a dance-related umbrella term [1]. With its Afro-Caribbean roots it developed with the input of other music influences, included among them jazz itself. As musicologist Lise Waxer frames it, salsa's Cuban and Puerto Rican core was never musically sealed off because North American jazz (and rock) shaped the style from early on [2]. Fundamentally, though, salsa's defining rhythmic element is the pattern and concept of clave [3]. And the clave is salsa's identity marker in a way that implicitly draws the boundary against genres (like jazz) [4].
Unlike salsa, Latin Jazz is meant primarily for listening. Yet music professor Christopher Washburne places it within the cultural 'boundary marker' that is the function of clave [4]. At the same time, it borrows from jazz's greater rhythmic freedom. Thus, the harmonic and improvisational vocabulary of jazz is important, but it adds layers of clave-based Caribbean rhythms [5].
A progenitor of Latin Jazz is 'Tanga' by Machito and his Afro-Cubans, credited as the first jazz piece genuinely organized around clave rather than just borrowing Latin colour [6].
On the split between salsa and Latin Jazz, bandleader Oscar Hernández has argued that it is often more about career strategy than musical substance. Latin jazz has historically drawn more critics, festival bookings, and press attention than salsa has, which gives working musicians an incentive to wear the jazz label even when the material barely changes [7].
So where does that leave jazz salsa?
One take is that it is a label to describe music that maintains salsa's 'danceable' clave foundation and horn-and-rhythm-section instrumentation while adding jazz harmony, extended solos, and a more exploratory approach to arrangement than what typical salsa has.
CSAN-II explains that while traditional Latin Jazz frequently moves into complex, non-danceable time signatures, jazz salsa maintains an unbroken driving rhythm tailored to salsa dance steps; at the same time, it borrows sophisticated brass arrangements and extended chord structures of American jazz.
The caveat is that 'danceability' depends on how receptive dancers are, even when the jazzed music tries catering to them with both clave and a 4/4 time signature (odd or unusual jazz signatures such as 3/4 or 5/4 would be unrelatable to a salsa dancer). Thus, jazz salsa can serve as a welcome challenge for dancers to adapt their musicality, but others may not be so receptive, at least on the dance floor.
In sum, it might seem fair to embark on an exploration of jazz salsa by considering it more as a listening test rather than a strict term. On the other hand, as CSAN-II states in the interview, there is a case to classify jazz salsa as a sub-category of Latin Jazz.
Four Examples of jazz salsa on encanto tropical
Though it may feel like there's more material to file under jazz salsa now than ever, some fine examples date back decades. Here are four standout songs spanning that history.
Eddie Palmieri & Cal Tjader, 'Mi Montuno' from the album Bamboleate (1967).
The second collaboration between Palmieri's Afro-Cuban montuno sensibility and Tjader's West Coast Latin jazz vibraphone was recorded with Palmieri's own La Perfecta rhythm section behind them. This gave the session a hard, jazzy edge. It's a clear document of two traditions meeting on record rather than in theory [8] [9].
Sonora Ponceña, 'Nica's Dream Mambo' from the album Unchained Force (1980).
Pianist and bandleader Papo Lucca took Horace Silver's hard-bop standard 'Nica's Dream' and rebuilt it entirely around a Cuban mambo rhythm section. This is a jazz composition repatriated into salsa's own vocabulary rather than the other way around [10][11].
Steve Pouchie, 'Take Five' from the album El Puente (2010).
A vibraphonist who came up playing alongside Tito Puente, Charlie Palmieri, and Bobby Sanabria, Pouchie restructured the Brubeck/Desmond original from its irregular 5/4 meter into a rhythmic frame for the salsa dance floor. Latin Jazz Network justifiably called the transformation "quite incredible and unforgettable" [12].
Humberto Ramirez, 'Viva Dalmau' from the album 8 Doors (2019).
A trumpeter who played in Willie Rosario's salsa orchestra before becoming one of Puerto Rico's leading Latin jazz bandleaders, Ramirez included this track in an album built on montunos, guajiras, and boleros that still leave generous room for solos [13][14]. The tune is a tribute to retired Puerto Rican basketball star and coach Raymond Dalmau [13].
Our guest: Celestino Sanchez (CSAN-II)
Joining the interview segment of the episode is the bassist, composer, arranger and band leader Celestino Sánchez, or CSAN-II.
Based in Philadelphia and active in the Latin music scene there, CSAN-II founded his ensemble in 2018 and released the album Jazz-Salsa in 2020. It was a project he describes as mixing original compositions, hot salsa, and instrumental Latin jazz tracks in deliberate balance [15][16]. His most recent album, Fiesta Jazz (2025), is a compilation of older and newer tunes, some of which first appeared as singles years earlier.
CSAN-II talks about his background, how he defines his own sound, who he considers as reference points, the significance of receiving a recent reward, and explains the core trait of jazz salsa as built for the dancer. Several of his tracks air alongside the rest of the show's selections.
One of his track tracks worth flagging is 'Matanzas' from CSAN-II's 2021 album Combinación Mundial (also included in Fiesta Jazz). It has been described as a lively, high-energy number built around a vibraphone solo by Tom Collins, a choice of instrumentation that leans hard into the jazz side while keeping the arrangement dance-ready [17]. Also notable are the piano (Jen Carlos Mompie) and trombones (Alexander Guerra and Randy Moreno).
Episode 62 'Jazz Salsa'
Feat. Guest CSAN-II (interview)
Thu 9 July 2026
5:00am PT / 8am ET / 1pm UK / 2pm CE / 9pm JPN
World Salsa Radio (worldsalsaradio.com)
Listen to the replay below
Featured Artists
Al De Lory
Chucho Sierra
CSAN-II (4 tracks)
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri Cal Tjader
Humberto Ramirez
Jack Burger
Jazz P.R.
Klazz Brothers & Cuba Percussion
Mambo Negro
Octavio Figueroa
Papacho
Remi Chaudagne & David Starck
Raúl Gutiérrez & His Cuban Big Band
Ricky Gonzales
Sonora Ponceña
Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Steve Pouchie
Willie Rosario
Wayne Gorbea
REPLAY
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Notes
"Jazz meets salsa: the melding of cool blues and hot spice." The Christian Science Monitor, December 9, 1985. https://www.csmonitor.com/1985/1209/lsals3.html
Waxer, Lise, ed. Situating Salsa: Global Markets and Local Meanings in Latin Popular Music. New York: Routledge, 2002 chap. 1, “Situating Salsa: Latin Music at the Crossroads.”
Peñalosa, David. The Clave Matrix: Afro-Cuban Rhythm, Its Principles and African Origins. Redway, CA: Bembe Books, 2010.
Washburne, Christopher. Sounding Salsa: Performing Latin Music in New York City. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008, chap. 6, "'They are going to hear this in Puerto Rico. It has got to be good!': The Sound and Style of Salsa."
Washburne, Christopher. Sounding Salsa: Performing Latin Music in New York City. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008, chap. 6, "'They are going to hear this in Puerto Rico. It has got to be good!': The Sound and Style of Salsa."
Fernandez, Raúl A. "Latin Jazz and Salsa." In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History, edited by Jane Dailey. Oxford Academic, January 31, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.641
"Jazz Caliente: Latin Jazz Starts With 'Tanga.'" KNKX Public Radio, February 17, 2017. https://www.knkx.org/jazz-and-blues/2017-02-17/jazz-caliente-latin-jazz-starts-with-tanga
Hernández, Oscar, interviewed in "Café with Oscar Hernandez: Salsa vs. Latin Jazz." Latino Music Cafe, July 19, 2022. https://latinomusiccafe.com/2018/06/19/cafe-oscar-hernandez-salsa-vs-latin-jazz/
"Bamboleate." Fania Records. https://fania.com/record/bamboleate/
"Eddie Palmieri/Cal Tjader: Bamboleate (remastered edition)." Dusty Groove. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/644635/Eddie-Palmieri-Cal-Tjader:Bamboleate-remastered-edition
"A Band and Its Music." Fania Records. https://fania.com/record/a-band-and-its-music/
"Sonora Ponceña – Unchained Force." In Sheep's Clothing Hi-Fi. https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/album/sonora-poncena-unchained-force/
"Steve Pouchie – El Puente (The Bridge) (Self Produced – 2010)." Latin Jazz Network, July 24, 2010. https://latinjazznet.com/reviews/albums/steve-pouchie-el-puente/
"Humberto Ramirez: '8 Doors' Review." Latino Music Cafe, December 15, 2019. https://latinomusiccafe.com/2019/12/16/humberto-ramirez-8-doors-review/
"Humberto Ramirez." Apple Music artist bio. https://music.apple.com/au/artist/humberto-ramirez/7048236
"CSAN-II Jazz-Salsa." ArtistPR.com. https://www.artistpr.com/artist-interview/csan-ii-jazz-salsa/
"CSAN-II – Jazz-Salsa." Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/15681319-CSAN-II-Jazz-Salsa
"CSAN-II – Combinación Mundial." Solar Latin Club. https://www.solarlatinclub.com/csan-ii-combinacion-mundial/
