js “Live in Cuba” is a collection of live cuts that the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra performed during their historic 2010 visit to Cuba. Due to a long standing embargo between the governments of Cuba and the US, it had been many years since an ensemble of this size had visited Cuba bringing the sounds of US jazz mixed with the rhythms of Cuba. These concerts were a big deal and the excitement shows in the performances. Its hard to bottle enthusiasm, but there is no doubting the passion involved when musicians and their audience have a chance to reach out to each other on this level. The people who were lucky enough to attend these shows were treated to a wide variety of jazz styles from modern Afro-Latin fusion to Ellington and everything thing else in-between.

The music on here is hot, but there is something a bit squeaky clean about the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. As one of the few state supported jazz groups in the US, the LCJO doesn’t have to compete on the street for jobs, they already have a steady gig, and much of that gig is about education. This bent towards young audiences and education explains the huge variety of music that the LCJO performs, and it also helps explain the nature of their sound and approach. More than just entertainment, the LCJO is a living, breathing education in jazz history. This is furthered by their director, the well known trumpeter, composer and arranger, Wynton Marsalis. Wynton’s approach to jazz has always had a tendency towards trying to educate people to the big picture. Despite his sometimes ill-considered remarks about some forms of fusion and the avant-garde, Marsalis should be given credit for his ability to discern those aspects of jazz that make it a unique art form, and his ability to illustrate those unique aspects in real performance.

As mentioned earlier, there is a large variety of music on here, but the tracks are arranged thoughtfully and the whole CD has a very logical flow to it. Modern original compositions sit side by side with covers of Ellington and Monk without anything sounding out of place. So many great tracks to mention here, some highlights include the spacey Latin fusion of “Dali”, the semi-free high energy post bop of “Inaki’s Decision” and “Doin (Y)our Thing” and the Ellington/Strayhorn tone poem colors of “Sunset and the Mockingbird”. All of these are nice, but possibly the best comes near the end when the band launches a high speed version of Dizzy’s “Things to Come”, on which Wynton unleashes one of the hottest trumpet solos you will ever hear anywhere.