Atrás del Cosmos: The lost ensemble that introduced jazz to Mexico
Central America has always enjoyed a particularly vibrant and inventive cultural sector. Particularly during the 20th century, with the global advent of rock and psychedelia, the region gave way to some truly groundbreaking artists that forever altered the cultural landscape of Central America indefinitely. Tragically, however, many of these vitally important artists have since been lost to the depths of time, as is the case with Atrás del Cosmos, the pioneering free jazz outfit that defined the music scene of Mexico City.
Mexico City was a particularly fertile breeding ground for music and artistry during the 1970s, with the hangover of the hippie generation providing ample fuel for a cultural explosion within the capital city. However, unlike most major cities across the Americas, Mexico City was missing a vital aspect of any decent music scene: the presence of improvisational free jazz. The answer to this desperate gap in the musical market came in the form of pianist Ana Ruíz and saxophonist Henry West.
Ruíz had been a devotee of Mexican music from a very young age, being pushed towards the music of contemporary Mexican composers by her mother, grandmother and aunt. After finding a particular love for the keys, Ruíz began to experiment with a variety of popular music styles, including jazz, bossa nova and cha-cha-cha, which was ravaging the radio stations of Mexico City at the time.
While studying classical music at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música, the pianist began to immerse herself in the world of improvisation, which, as we know, inevitably leads to an adoration of jazz music. It was always clear that Ruíz was destined to make an impact on the musical landscape of her hometown, but it took a while for her to get there. After briefly getting married and attempting to settle down, the music was practically bursting out of her, and it took a meeting with one Henry West to set it all loose.
In contrast to the classical music upbringing of Ruíz, West had been a jazz obsessive since childhood, growing up between Mexico City and New York. The pair were immediately drawn to each other, and it did not take long for them to enter into something of a musical partnership and, later, a romantic one. After recruiting a variety of other gifted local musicians to join their gang, including percussionist Evry Mann, Atrás del Cosmos was born, and the music scene of Mexico City would never be the same again.
During the mid-1970s, Atrás del Cosmos – ‘Behind the Cosmos’ – managed to amass a sizable audience within Mexico City for their unique, improvisational jazz music. Soon, music fans would travel from far and wide to hear these revolutionary sounds, which were as yet unheard of in Mexico. Gradually, the reputation of the band and size of the venues in which the band would perform their residencies grew. Eventually, the group were seen as important enough to tour around cultural centres across Mexico to preach the gospel of improvisational jazz.
The importance of Atrás del Cosmos on the development of modern Mexican jazz music cannot be overstated, yet they remain virtual unknowns across the rest of the world. After disbanding in the early 1980s, with the relationship between West and Ruíz deteriorating, much of the band’s music was lost or forgotten about. It is only recently that some of the band’s material has resurfaced for appraisal, though Ruíz has publicly stated that there are many more recordings and cassette tapes hidden away somewhere, waiting to be uncovered.