He also witnessed a performance of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and was inspired with saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer's feature in the piece.

[3] Machin was the vocalist for the Don Azpiazú Havana Casino Orchestra who had taken New York City by storm with their public performances and recent hit recording of "El Manisero" ("The Peanut Vendor").

Faced with a dilemma Bauzá offered his services to Machin because he knew the finger positions on the horn buying a trumpet and in two weeks developed enough technique to play on the recordings.

[4] Importantly in 1947, Bauzá introduced the young Havana conga virtuoso Chano Pozo to Gillespie, when the latter wanted to add a Cuban percussionist to his band; though Pozo was killed in a Harlem bar fight just a year later, he left an indelible and long-lasting mark on Gillespie's playing and compositions; co-writing several other compositions such as "Manteca" and "Tin Tin Deo".

In 1943, the success of "Tanga," the first truly Afro-Cuban jazz tune (attributed to Bauzá), were followed by "Cubop City" and "Mambo Inn".

The concert featured pianist Billy Taylor, singers Bobby Capó and Graciela, Machito, Jorge Dalto, Chocolate Armenteros and Mario Rivera and was a follow-up to CCCADI's 1979 tribute at Alice Tully Hall which revived Bauza's career.

A 1990 Celebration of his 80th birthday with his big band with special guests Dizzy Gillespie, Chico O'Farrill, Celia Cruz, José Fajardo, Marco Rizo, at Symphony Space in Manhattan, gave Bauzá the opportunity to record again for the German-based Messidor label.

The subsequent recordings, Tanga - The Original Mambo King, 944 Columbus Avenue, and My Time Is Now, brought Bauzá two Grammy nominations and out of the shadows into the public's eye with critical acclaim.

Subsequent European tours on the jazz festival circuit followed culminating with him gracing the cover of DownBeat magazine and a 1992 guest appearance with his big band on The Cosby Show (S08 E22: "You Can't Stop the Music"),[5] performing with Willie Colón.

The band had a major hit with "Tangá," initially a descarga (Cuban Jam) in mambo tempo with jazz soloists, spontaneously composed by Bauzá.

The first descarga [Cuban jam session] that made the world take notice is traced to a Machito rehearsal on May 29, 1943, at the Park Palace Ballroom, at 110th Street and 5th Avenue.

The day before at La Conga Club, Mario Bauzá, Machito's trumpeter and music director, heard pianist Luis Varona and bassist Julio Andino play something which would serve as a permanent sign off (end the dance) tune.

By accident, Afro-Cuban jazz was invented when Bauzá composed "Tanga" (the Bantú Congolese word for energy) that evening.

The jams which took place at the Royal Roost, Bop City and Birdland between 1948 and 1949, when Howard McGhee, tenor saxophonist Brew Moore, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie sat in with the Machito orchestra, were unrehearsed, uninhibited, unheard of before jam sessions which at the time, master of ceremonies Symphony Sid called Afro-Cuban jazz.

The Machito orchestra's ten to fifteen-minute jams were the first in Latin music to break away from the traditional under-four-minute recordings and live performances.

In February, 1949, the Machito orchestra became the first to set a precedent in Latin music when it featured tenor saxophonist Flip Phillips in a five-minute recording of "Tangá."

Working in conjunction with the chord and clave changes, vocalist Frank “Machito” Grillo creates an arc of tension/release spanning more than a dozen measures.