Havana-born Berroa was raised in a culture of congas, bongos and timbales. Yet from early on he embraced the drum set invented by New Orleans jazz musicians. With the implements of Gene Krupa and Elvin Jones, he created his own amalgam of American swing and Afro-Cuban rhythm.

His new recording "Codes" gives his multilingual musicianship its fullest expression. It's the longtime sideman's debut as a leader. "When I was with Dizzy, he'd say to me, 'When are you going to do your own thing?'" Berroa, 52, said by phone from Miami. "I wanted to be sure I was ready to put something out there I was proud of."

"Codes" is a smart, exuberant reworking of classic tunes from many traditions. With a group of mostly Latin American players, Berroa creates a febrile, never-forced synthesis of Brazilian, Cuban and American jazz that's harmonically rich and rhythmically unpredictable. Where much Latin jazz lurches into a stiff swing, Berroa's band moves easily and nimbly.

Not to worry about any drummer's overindulgence here: The focus is on group interplay. Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and saxophonist David Sanchez, who often record as spotlight-grabbing leaders, contribute some of their best ensemble work in recent years.

Classical Only

Berroa first arrived in the U.S. with the Mariel boatlift of 1980, when thousands of Cubans poured through the open port of Mariel, at Castro's behest.

"Every human being needs freedom but especially an artist," Berroa said.

Only classical music was sanctioned on the curriculum when Berroa studied at a conservatory in Havana. The young percussionist played snare drum and mallet instruments such as tympani and xylophone.

"There wasn't a law that said you get two years in jail if you get caught with a Miles Davis album," Berroa said. "But you would have to explain to the police. They would accuse you of promoting the music of the enemy."

Having fallen in love with jazz as a child when his father brought home a Nat "King" Cole record, Berroa studied on his own time and in secret. After 10 years playing music professionally in Cuba, he made the journey to Florida and then headed straight to New York.

"If Cuba had been like Switzerland, I still would have moved," he said. "For the music I'm passionate about, New York is the place."

Big Break

Berroa won recording and performing gigs with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Charlie Haden, and the late Latin-jazz showman and percussionist Tito Puente, among many others. His bread-and- butter gig, he says, has been with fellow-Cuban Rubalcaba, who was also first promoted by Gillespie.

Berroa was brought to the great trumpeter's attention by Mario Bauza, who helped launch an early Latin-jazz movement with Gillespie in the 1940s. When a Boston snowstorm delayed Gillespie's regular drummer one night, Berroa got his big break. He toured and recorded with ``the Diz'' for much of the following decade until the trumpeter's death.

"Codes" acknowledges Berroa's mentor with an arrangement of "Woody 'n' You." Usually played brassy and peppy, the Gillespie tune here alternates between an elegiac Afro-Cuban 6/8 time signature and a driving straight eighth-note feel. The drum solo is a shapely melody of tom-tom rolls.

Back South

In 1989 Berroa headed back south to live in Miami, drawn by family and childhood friends and the desire to escape Northeast winters, he said. On his composition, "Joao Su Merced," he performs a traditional Yoruban chant -- an Afro-Cuban version of the "shout-out" -- paying tribute to his colleagues and friends.

"I'm playing all the time 'bata' rhythms on the bass drum while keeping the swing pulse on the cymbals," Berroa said of the track, "showing those codes can live together the same way we all have to live together on this planet."

("Codes" is a Blue Note Records release.)

(Mark Fefer is an editor for Bloomberg news. The opinions expressed are his own.)