Descarga

A descarga is an improvised Afro-Cuban jam session in which a rhythm section lays down a montuno-based groove and soloists — trumpet, saxophone, flute, piano, tres and percussion — trade extended improvisations. The name, Spanish for 'discharge', reflects its origins in after-hours gatherings of Havana dance-band musicians in the 1950s, when players such as bassist *Cachao* and pianist *Julio Gutiérrez* adapted the soloing language of jazz to son cubano and mambo rhythms. Released from arrangement and dancefloor constraints, the descarga became the principal laboratory in which Afro-Cuban jazz and, later, salsa were developed.