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In 1957, Machito & the Afro-Cubans, directed by Mario Bauzá, recorded Kenya, a seminal LP that included legendary performers such as Basie trumpeter Joe Newman and saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderly. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the recording’s release, Bobby Sanabria prepared the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra to present a new version of the Kenya material. The Kenya Revisited program is captured on this incendiary live release on Jazzheads.

Given the con fuoco energy and impressive ensemble coordination here, it’s often hard to remember that this is primarily a student ensemble. However, there is one musician on the date that won’t be mistaken for a student. 88 year-old virtuoso conga drummer Cándido Camero, who performed on the original Kenya recording, is a featured guest artist on Kenya Revisited. His participation provides a valuable link between one of Afro-Cuban jazz’s inceptors and a number of promising practitioners for its future.

(Critic’s full disclosure: I briefly worked at MSM; but, sadly, I did not have the chance to work with any of the talented students who appear on this recording.)