Caribbean Jazz Project is a Latin jazz

Latin jazz

Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...

 and Afro-Cuban jazz

Afro-Cuban jazz

Afro-Cuban jazz is an early form of Latin jazz that mixes Afro-Cuban rhythms with harmonies and musical timbre typical of Bebop. It was developed in the early 1940s by both Cuban musicians and Jazz musicians, with Dizzy Gillespie, Mario Bauza, Machito and Stan Kenton among some of the most notable...

 group including Dave Samuels

Dave Samuels

Dave Samuels is an American vibraphone player who has worked with various jazz and fusion artists, such as Spyro Gyra. Currently, he plays in an ensemble called The Caribbean Jazz Project, a Grammy-winning jazz-Latin music group...

, Paquito D'Rivera

Paquito D'Rivera

Paquito D'Rivera is a Cuban alto saxophonist, clarinetist and soprano saxophonist. The winner of multiple Grammys and other awards, D'Rivera has lived in the United States since the early 1980s. He has worked in a variety of contexts, but is perhaps best known for playing Latin...

 and Andy Narell

Andy Narell

Andy Narell is a musician and composer specialized in the steelpan.-Biography:He was born in New York City and moved to California in his teens. He took up the steelpan at a very young age in Queens, New York...

. They might be best known for their 2002 album The Gathering. They have recorded seven albums, five for the Concord Jazz

Concord Jazz

Concord Jazz is a subsidiary of Concord Records, owned by Concord Music Group.-Dozens of albums:*Charlie Byrd*Ruby Braff*Dave McKenna*Marian McPartland*Rosemary Clooney*Scott Hamilton*Tito Puente*George Shearing*Gene Harris*Mel Tormé*Monty Alexander...

 label, one for Inak Records and one for Heads Up

Heads up

Heads up may refer to:* Heads Up! , an educational television show which is produced and broadcast by TVOntario* Head-up display or heads-up display, a transparent display that presents data without obstructing the user's view of objects behind it* Seven Up , also called Heads Up, a traditional...

.

Vibraphone and marimba specialist Dave Samuels, having played for a considerable period with the contemporary jazz group Spyro Gyra, always had a love for Latin music. In 1993 he left this group to pursue this love.

The Caribbean Jazz Project came into being in 1995 when Samuels teamed with steel pan artist Andy Narell and reed master Paquito D'Rivera to perform a concert in New York's Central Park. The group's appearance drew rave reviews and before long their first album, the self-titled Caribbean Jazz Project, was released on the Heads Up International label.

The group has gone through several personnel changes since its beginning. When Rivera and Narell left the group after its second release, Island Stories it appeared as if the Caribbean Jazz Project would discontinue existence. However, Samuels succeeded in resurrecting a second version of CJP with the addition of guitarist Steve Khan and flutist Dave Valentin. In this format CJP toured extensively and recorded three more releases that eventually resulted in a Grammy Award for the Best Latin Jazz Album with its release, The Gathering.

The third version of CJP that continues to the present and includes trumpet and flugelhorn specialist, Diego Urcola along with pianist, Dario Eskenazi, bassist Oscar Stagnaro, drummer Mark Walker and percussionist Roberto Quintero. In this makeup, CJP toured with singer Diane Schuur and teamed to produce the singer's 2005 release Schuur Fire.

Discography

• The Caribbean Jazz Project (1995, Heads Up International LTD)
• Island Stories (1999, Inak)
• New Horizons (2000)
• Paraiso (2001, Concord Jazz)
• The Gathering
  The Gathering (Caribbean Jazz Project album)
  -Chart performance:...
  
  (2002, Concord Jazz)
• Birds of a Feather (2003, Concord Jazz)
• Here and Now: Live in Concert (2005, Concord)
• Mosaic (2006, Concord)
• Afro Bop Alliance (2008, Heads Up)