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 vocalist Xiomara Laugart at Zinc Bar. The weekly jam is built around their shared Cuban repertoire: Laugart joins her son in music drawing on beloved sounds of Cuba from the 1950s through today, while Tosca frames it with his approach to modern jazz, swing, and bebop. Expect a collaboration-led set rather than a fixed bill, with the venue noting that the series also features jazz-icon guests.
Tosca is a three-time Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist whose music brings jazz, classical, hip-hop, and Afro-Cuban rhythms into the same conversation. Born into a musical family, he was performing onstage by seven and studied with jazz figure Miriam Valdez. His collaborators have included Roy Hargrove, The Roots, and George Clinton. Laugart has appeared locally and internationally in Cuban Nueva trova, jazz standards, and Broadway material. Together, mother and son connect those strands of Cuban song with Tosca’s modern-jazz language in a long-running Zinc Bar night.
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.