Axel Tosca’s Cuban Jam
Zinc Bar82 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
Axel Tosca’s Cuban Jam brings the Axel Tosca Trio to Zinc Bar for its weekly Thursday program, joined by Tosca’s mother, singer Xiomara Laugart. Their set connects Cuban music from the 1950s to today with Tosca’s modern-jazz approach, including swing and bebop, while Laugart draws on a repertoire spanning Cuban nueva trova, jazz standards, and Broadway numbers. The result is a family-led Cuban and jazz meeting rather than a fixed retrospective.
Tosca is a Cuban pianist and three-time Grammy nominee whose music combines jazz, classical, hip-hop, and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Zinc Bar says he was performing publicly by age seven and studied with jazz great Miriam Valdez. His collaborators and performance credits include Roy Hargrove, The Roots, and George Clinton, and the venue describes the weekly Jam as a forum for collaborations with jazz icons. Laugart has performed locally and internationally across Cuban nueva trova, standards, and Broadway material. In a quoted notice, Village View’s Kaju Roberto wrote that the Axel Tosca Trio and Laugart “Rock ‘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.