Axel Tosca’s Cuban Jam
Zinc Bar82 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
Axel Tosca’s Cuban Jam brings the Axel Tosca Trio together with Xiomara Laugart for the late set at Zinc Bar. The weekly Thursday session pairs Tosca’s modern-jazz approach with Laugart’s singing, drawing on Cuban sounds from the 1950s to the present alongside jazz, swing and bebop. Laugart is Tosca’s mother, and the listing frames their collaboration as the heart of the evening.
Tosca is a three-time Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist whose music brings jazz, classical, hip-hop and Afro-Cuban rhythms into the same conversation. Raised in a prominent musical family, he appeared onstage from age seven and studied with jazz musician Miriam Valdez. His collaborators have included Roy Hargrove, The Roots and George Clinton, while this weekly jam also makes room for collaborations with jazz icons. Laugart has performed Cuban nueva trova, jazz standards and Broadway material on stages in the United States and abroad. Village View’s Kaju Roberto described the recurring pairing as the Axel Tosca Trio and the “legendary Xiomara Laugart” rocking the Cuban Jam every Thursday at Zinc Bar.
Zinc Bar offers a richly textured experience where the past and present of jazz converge in a single, dimly lit room adorned with Art Deco details like velvet upholstery, polished brass, and a Parisian zinc bar. The venue’s layout centers around a close-up stage and a vintage bar, creating a setting where the music is both the focus and a shared journey. Patrons can expect expertly crafted cocktails alongside performances that range from world-class jazz to vibrant Brazilian and African rhythms, often featuring multiple sets and occasional late-night jams. The seating is lounge-style, encouraging attentive listening rather than casual chatter, making it a place to immerse fully in the sound. This is a space where history lingers, once hosting legends like Billie Holiday and Thelonious Monk, now continuing their legacy with a sophisticated yet welcoming vibe.