Mauricio Smith

Mauricio Smith stepped briefly into solo prominence during the mid- to late '60s, following extended work alongside Vincentico Valdes, the La Plata Sextet, Joe Valle, and the Joe Cuba Sextet. Born to a flautist who performed with the Panama Symphony, he trained at Panama City's National Conservatory of Music and established a steady presence on television and in nightclubs throughout South and Central America, Puerto Rico, Miami, and New York. He further collaborated onstage and supplied arrangements for Machito, Mongo Santa Maria, and Tito Puente.

Smith adjusted readily to rock & roll grooves and pursued an early fusion of Latin jazz with rock during the mid-'60s by teaming with producer Joe Cain to record the album Acid Jazz on the Mainstream Records label. He subsequently performed and cut tracks with Charles Mingus and Dizzy Gillespie as well as the Latin Jazz Orchestra.