Story on Havana Jazz Festival, from a Japanese jazz magazine, Jazz Life(by Kenji Yoshida, Japanese trumpeter) People often say that the advent of technology in transportation has made the world a smaller place. Yet the countries of the Caribbean are still far for the would-be visitors. Among the Caribbean countries, we think Cuba offers us the most fascinating music scenes from afar. The more I listened to salsa, the stronger my passion grew for son, the original form of salsa, cha-cha-chá, and rumba. This year, a jazz festival hosted under the name "Jazz Plaza 96" welcomed participants from many countries. From the States, Roy Hargrove, Billy Tayler and Steve Coleman with his own group participated in the festival. Many groups from Puerto Rico, France, Holland, and many individuals from Canada, Spain, and Mexico also took part in the festival, which was held from February 7th to 17th in Havana, with the main stage set at the Teatro Nacional. Groupo Diákara led by Oscar Valdés delivered a great performance. The fascinating sound created by the horn section and the rhythm section, with four percussionists accompanying Oscar's drums had a momentum almost close to that of Irakere. While the structural arrangements were rough in spots, we believe the best is yet come from this promising band.