The festival also included American acts such as Weather Report, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Stephen Stills, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnigan, Kris Kristofferson,[1] Tony Williams, Jaco Pastorius, John McLaughlin, Rita Coolidge,[2] and Billy Joel.As well as Cuban acts by Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Zaida Arrate, Elena Burke, Orquesta de Santiago de Cuba, Conjunto Yaguarimú, Frank Emilio Flynn, Juan Pablo Torres, Los Papines, Tata Güines, Cuban Percussion Ensemble, Sara González, Pablo Milanés, Manguaré, and Orquesta Aragón.
It was the first time in almost two decades after Castro's rise to power that there was a real interest in establishing a normalization of diplomatic relations and the lifting of the United States embargo against Cuba.
Rehearsals were scheduled for the CBS Jazz All-Stars, travel accommodations were made, equipment was rented, a wide cross-section of media was invited, and both recording and videotaping plans were confirmed.
Havana Jam was an invitation-only event, with mostly cultural personalities and members of the Communist Party and their children in attendance, though some students from different art and music schools were also invited.
Backstage, Weather Report's members (Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine) were later congratulated by an assortment of Cuban musicians and fans, most of whom were familiar with the group's repertoire through the aid of Florida radio, mostly AM stations such as WQAM, WGBS, WKWF and WLCY.
The second group, Orquesta Aragón, played some of the most dynamic music of the festival, utilizing its Charanga sound of violins, cello, flute, and rhythm section.
Their ensemble included salsa artists such as Rubén Blades, Johnny Pacheco, Pete Rodríguez, Héctor Lavoe, Larry Harlow, Santos Colón, Luigi Texidor, Pupi Legarreta, Papo Lucca, Roberto Roena, Adalberto Santiago, Sal Cuevas, Wilfrido Vargas, and more.
As a finale, a third ensemble came onstage: Blythe, Jimmy Heath, Laws, Bobo, Richard Tee, Rodney Franklin, Eric Gale, John Lee and Gerry Brown.
The entourage featured some of the biggest names in modern Cuban drumming, such as Tata Güines, Los Papines, Guillermo Barreto and Changuito, backed by pianist Frank Emilio and his quartet.
The group was joined by Rodney Franklin, Richard Tee, John McLaughlin, Willie Bobo, Stan Getz, Jaco Pastorius and others, then bringing the evening's proceedings to an abrupt halt at 3 A.M.