Dizzy Gillespie's connection with Afro-Cuban music is well-known. He introduced it as a color in the palette of jazz when he brought the conga drummer Chano Pozo from Cuba to the United States in the 1940s and built a part of his band's repertoire around Pozo's rich talent. Chico O'Farrill is a native Cuban who has been immersed in jazz since he came to this country in 1948 and wrote for Gillespie and Charlie Parker, among other prominent musicians. This 1975 reunion between O'Farrill and Gillespie involved performance of new music by the composer, played by Machito and his Orchestra, another central element in modern Latin music with Dizzy as featured soloist. O'Farrill's writing and the fire and precision of the Machito group inspire some of Gillespie's most passionate soloing.

with Victor Paz, Raul Gonzalez, Manny Duran, Jack Jeffers, Mario Bauza, Mauricio Smith, Jose Madera, Sr., Mario Rivera, Brooks Tillotson, Don Corrado, Carlos Castillo, Jorge Dalto, Mario Grillo, Pepin Pepin, Jose Madera, Jr., Mickey Roker, and others