>> henriquez: to fame, i guess.getting free lessons at juilliard, new york's famous music school. his mother made him get in the program and stick with it. as he progressed during his teens, word spread among musicians. >> marsalis: and they would always say, "look out for carlito. look out for carlito." >> safer: he joined the band 12 years ago, and served as its co- maestro in cuba, leading rehearsals and announcing the tunes, including some he wrote and arranged. >> henriquez: i just wish my mother was around to see this, you know, and she would have been a happy, you know, a happy lady. >> safer: inevitably, the elephant in the room-- politics-- comes up. at a press conference, marsalis is asked about relations between the u.s. and cuba, and sidesteps the issue, saying, essentially, that's not his job. >> marsalis: you know, could i give you a barbershop, stand on the street corner, yeah, that's what i think? of course i could do that. but put me in the position to have to solve it, all of a sudden... like my da

. >> safer: and the havana beat, laid down by marsalis's bass player, carlos henriquez.it. i mean, it's all african. >> safer: and the bedrock of it all, from africa to cuba to america, are the drums. the band's drummer, ali jackson, calls it a kind of musical d.n.a. >> ali jackson: the drums represent the people and where they're from. and you would never lose sight of where you're from because it lives through the music. ♪ ♪ >> safer: and the music was non- stop. ♪ ♪ havana was hooked. for five grueling days, the band played a series of concerts and jam sessions with the best of cuba's musicians, young and old; among them, evelyn suarez. ♪ ♪ >> marsalis: what i loved about her was the type of passionate intensity that comes with being very serious about sounding good. they just have a lot of people who can play. >> safer: the lincoln center band is an engaging and thoughtful group, fiercely competitive, yet each others' biggest fans. as ted nash solos, just watch walter blanding. >> walter blanding: we all get along. we fight and stuff, and things get a little crazy so