Rolando Lozano: A great Cuban musician passed away
Rolando Lozano (1931-2025) began his professional career in Cuba in the late 1940s and early 1950s as flutist in the Cuban Orquesta Aragón. In 1957 Lozano moved first to Chicago, and then Los Angeles and began a career as a Latin Jazz musician centered on the West Coast. Mongo Santamaría called Lozano “the best Cuban flautista in the United States”.
A renowned Latin Jazz musician, the great flute player Rolando Lozano (1931-2025), passed away May 19th, 2025 at the age of 94. Lozano began his professional career in Cuba in the late 1940s and early 1950s as flutist in the Cuban Orquesta Aragón, a Cienfuegos-based famous charanga band. The charanga is a Cuban ensemble made up of flute, violins, double bass, piano, timbales, güiro and vocals. Charangas performed Cuban music in the early 20th century and became prominent with the rise of cha-cha-cha in the 1950s. Lozano was featured in some of the early hits that launched Aragón to national fame including “Pare cochero,” “Tres lindas cubanas,” and “Agua de clavelito.” This was the era when neighborhood dance club societies like Galatea, Havana Sport and the now famous Buena Vista Social Club were still on stage.
Lozano was a multi-instrumentalist who played piano, clarinet and flute. A master of the five-key flute, Lozano possessed a full, round sound, playing easily in the high keys. He “lived in the stratosphere,” in the words of another fabulous flutist, Professor of Music at Whittier College, and two-time Grammy Award Flutist, Rolando’s son Danilo. Rolando Lozano used catchy street rhythmic phrases in his inspirations. His loud “pitazos” (sharp rhythmic flute bursts) became synonymous with the sound of the Aragon. Listening to Lozano was like hearing the call of a quinto drum in a street rumba ensemble.
After the stint with Aragón, Lozano relocated to México in 1954 where he played with Mondéjar’s Orquesta América and his sound can be heard in five emblematic exotic rumbera films including Club de señoritas and Las viudas del chachachá, starring vedette Ninón Sevilla. In 1957 Lozano moved first to Chicago, and then Los Angeles and began a career as a Latin Jazz musician centered on the West Coast. He played his five-key flute in George Shearing’s Latin Satin, Latin Lace, and Latin Rendezvous albums and recorded with Cal Tjader the LP Latino. Lozano was key in the development of the charanga tradition in the United States. He helped form the first charanga in the United States, the Orquesta Nuevo Ritmo, which accompanied Celia Cruz’ first performance in Los Angeles in 1958. La Nuevo Ritmo became La Sabrosa when Mongo Santamaría, who called Lozano “the best Cuban flautista in the United States,” took over as band leader in 1962.
After settling in the Boyle Heights barrio of Los Angeles, Lozano led another charanga, the Típica Antillana, in Los Angeles; played alto sax (!) with the René Bloch Big Band; recorded with Tito Puente and Francisco Aguabella and played piano at various nightspots in the city.
Requiescat in pace maestro de la flauta Rolando Lozano!
You can appreciate Lozano’s ‘stratospheric’ sound in Cal Tjader’s recording of “El continental” from the album Latino
Raúl Fernández, Professor Emeritus, UC Irvine. Author of Ontología del Son, La Habana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 2018.
