Bebo Valdés

During this time, his orchestra Sabor de Cuba and that of Armando Romeu were in charge of the venue's shows. In 1957, he stopped performing at Tropicana upon being hired by Ernesto Roca of Peer International Music Publishers to make arrangements for Xiomara Alfaro and Pío Leyva. He also collaborated with Guillermo Álvarez Guedez of Panart and Rolando Laserie at Radio Progreso. With his orchestra, he accompanied singers such as Reinaldo Henríquez, Orlando Guerra (Cascarita), Pío Leyva, and Ada Rex; additionally, Benny Moré sang with them and Chucho Valdés made his debut.Regarding the descargas or jam sessions, Bebo Valdés offers a detailed version: in October 1952, while resting in a Havana cabaret with members of the Tropicana orchestra, he recalled that since 1948, Cuban, Mexican, and American musicians had been meeting on Sundays afternoons at Tropicana for these sessions, blending jazz and Cuban rhythms.

Sometimes, these gatherings took place at four in the morning, after Tropicana performances, animated by the percussionist Guillermo Barreto. Musicians such as Roy Haynes, Kenny Drew, Sarah Vaughan, and Richard Davis participated in these sessions, although they were never recorded. One night, Irving Price, owner of a record store on Galiano Street, informed him that the producer Norman Granz was in town and doubted the ability of Cuban musicians to play jazz. Granz and Price asked Bebo to record in a studio on September 16, 1952. Although Bebo arrived late to the session due to another commitment with RCA, the orchestra, called The Andre’s All Star in honor of Price's store, performed classic jazz tracks such as Desconfianza, Tabú, Duerme, and Blues for André.

At the end of the session, they improvised a piece called 'Con poco coco'.