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Alberto Socarras

Alberto Socarras recorded the first real jazz flute piece in 1927. Socarras was a Cuban clarinetist, and bandleader. When Socarras first started many Americans were surprised that someone with a Cuban background could play their music so well. Socarras recorded "Shootin' The Pistol" in 1927 with the Clarence Williams Band. In the thirties Socarras went on to create other bands. He played with a standard big band jazz sound adding in his own Afro-Cuban sounds, especially in his solos. Socarras is credited with being the pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz.