The Zahili Zamora Afro-Cuban Jazz Quartet

The Zahili Zamora Afro-Cuban Jazz Quartet is a jazz group that draws on Afro-Cuban rhythmic traditions, bringing Cuban percussion patterns and jazz harmony together in a four-member format. Afro-Cuban jazz links the clave-based grooves of Havana's dance music with the improvisation of American jazz, so the rhythm and the soloists carry much of the music's momentum. The style has a long history, dating to the 1940s, when Cuban and American musicians began fusing these two traditions.

The concert takes place at Regattabar, which hosts concerts and shows in Cambridge. The evening suits listeners interested in Latin jazz and Cuban rhythms, as well as anyone who wants to hear a jazz ensemble in which each player has room to improvise. Because the group is named for Zahili Zamora and built around the Afro-Cuban jazz idiom, the program is rooted in that tradition rather than in mainstream jazz repertoire alone.