Band earns ovations blending Caribbean rhythm and American jazz.

It’s commonplace for musicians to foray into new genres these days, but for the Latin Jazz Collective it’s different: They don’t just reach out for a new genre here and there – the entire eight-piece ensemble was founded on merging Afro-Cuban rhythms with modern American jazz sensibilities.

“The rhythms that were brought to the Caribbean and ultimately to the Americas from Africa are completely compelling,” saxophonist Stu Reynolds says. “You feel them in your body, and you immediately sense the joy and energy they produce.But their traditional forms can seem too repetitive to the modern ear.”

By comparison, American jazz can seem too heady or intellectually challenging for easy listening. “But when we combine the two, it makes for a perfect marriage of head and body,” he adds.

Reynolds helps direct the group with co-founders – percussionist John Nava and drummer Martin Binder – who seized the idea of an Afro-Cuban-American jazz amalgamation. It’s a difficult sound to explain – maybe Ladysmith Black Mambazo meeting Buena Vista Social Club overlaid with punchy, brassy trombone, trumpet and sax lines, with cumbia, salsa, cha cha and rumba melodies.

“John and Martin have both gone so deeply into the rhythmic structures of the Caribbean and ultimately Africa,” Reynolds says. “The crux is combining those moving rhythms with snippets of modern jazz harmonies and melodies.”

It is the freedom of the rhythms and the structure of the harmonics that makes this music work. A crowd at last year’s Monterey Jazz Festival agreed: In front of a sold out room at last year’s gathering, the band got a standing ovation.

“It was an amazing feeling to be cheered on by that audience,” Reynolds says. “It was standing room only – such an exciting night.”

With few local venues able to handle an eight-piece band, the collective has had to look elsewhere. “We’re more focused on trying to get onto the festival circuit than doing clubs right now,” Reynolds says. Also in the works is a second studio effort. The group first played the Moss Landing venue last March giving a well-received, rousing performance.

“It’s a great room with terrific acoustics out behind the restaurant,” Reynolds says. “The owners serve up a Latin Fusion buffet to match our Latin fusion music.”

LATIN JAZZ COLLECTIVE 6pm dinner; 7pm show Saturday, Aug. 4. Haute Enchilada Social Club, 7902 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing. $50 includes buffet dinner. 633-5843 eventbrite.com