Obá Nile - En Clave

Formed during the summer of 2010, Obá Nile (King of the House) represents an amazing collaboration between five brilliant Cuban Musicians. Produced by Jesus Diaz and CongaMasterClass, their debut recording En Clavé is a stunning example of Afro-Cuban folkloric drumming.

This album is as good as rumba in America can get. Just look at the personnel in this project;

Lazaro Galarraga-Vocals
Jesús Diaz-Tumbadora, Vocals
Sandy Pérez-Tumbadora and Bata, Vocals
Roman Díaz-Tumbadora, Vocals
Miguel Bernal-Tumbadora, Cajon, Bata, Vocals
Michael Spiro-Gua-Gua, Bata, Vocals
Bobby Wilmore-Clave, Vocals
Genesie Reynoso-Vocals

I am proud to see the San Francisco Bay area well represented in this all-star line up of rumberos. I don't actually have the inside scoop, but that sure sounds like my old teacher Sandy Perez on the quinto. I know New York has always had the reputation for rumba in America, but now California rumba is on the map!

The playing is of course impeccable, but what I really enjoy are the down home vocals, everyone is singing coro, exactly how it happens in a real rumba. En Clave does not have that overproduced coro sound that is becoming the norm with rumba albums now, it has that soulful heartfelt sound that makes rumba what it is. Listening to this album reminds me so much rumbas I have have attended with these artists.  The awesome duo of Jesus Diaz and Sandy Perez alone would make this album a necessity, throw in Roman Diaz, Reynoso and Spiro and you have one deadly rumba! Now everyone can hear the rumba that we here in San Francisco have been so lucky to have.

But you don't have to take my word for it, listen for yourself to these samples from the album's tracks. I'm especially fond of the batarumba.

  01-Guguanco pa Yemaya Demo by superbongos

  02-Maruganda Rumba Columbia Demo by superbongos

  03-Nana Buruku Bembe Demo by superbongos

  04-Batarumba Demo by superbongos



Obá Nile's album En Clave is being sold through CuBraz.com.

Ibae, Pupy, Ibae

     It is with sad news that I announce the passing of a tremendous rumbero and wonderful human being; Felix 'Pupy" Insua. I have had the pleasure of playing guaguanco and rumba columbia with Pupy a while back at a very chill rumba here in San Francisco. I remember him having an incredibly generous smile. I was also lucky enough to witness a performance of his where he exhibited his tremendous talent as a rumbero dancing, singing and playing the tumbadoras.

From his Facebook page:

Felix Anesio Insua Brindis ~ Obbalubbe ~ Ibae
March 31, 1948 ~ June 2, 2011
Pupy left the material world & joined the ancestors yesterday at 11:40 am surrounded by his family in Cuba with honor and pride, knowing he lived a truly blessed life. He passed peacefully, without pain, calm & smiling!

 

Los Munequitos, San Francisco Concert, April 4 2011 with Sandy Ramon Perez

Last month I was fortunate to be able to attend the Los Munequitos concert right here in my city of San Francisco, at Mission High School just a quick 10 minute walk from my home. I was on top of things and sprung for a pair of the nicer seats up front in the main section about a month before the show, which was eventually sold out of course. I really wanted to have a great experience and it paid off, I had an excellent view of the dancing and the musicians. Money well spent.

Well the concert was excellent, and I fully enjoyed it. Almost as fun as the concert was seeing who attended, basically all the rumberos and latin musicians of the Bay Area were there and it was fun to greet everybody excitedly waiting in the line as I took my place.

 Anyways, as I promised earlier, I recorded the concert on my little Zoom H2. Such a handy little device. Not the best recording, but not the worst. Feel free to listen, download, study, share. I've also scanned the program for review as well. Click on the pictures and they get bigger, print them out if you want.

The first set was mainly folkloric songs and rhythms with bata and congas.

   First Set by rumbainstruments

This is the second set and it was more rumba based. Sandy Perez was called onto the stage to play quinto for a song during second half of the concert. AWESOME! I have to say I preferred his quinto to that of the Munequitos' regular quintocero. But go ahead and listen and be your own judge. Sandy Perez takes the quinto around the middle of the set. This file probably has the best recording quality with the quinto clearly heard.

  Second Set by rumbainstruments 

and of course the encore with the audience welcomed on stage.

  Encore by rumbainstruments 

An added bonus for me was seeing Sandy Perez's wife selling his new CD during the intermission. Of course I bought a copy. Anything by Sandy is solid gold. I truly value my studies with him. No sound files of that available here. You'll have to buy your own. But I have scanned the cover and the little bio his wife was handing out, so you can contact them and buy a copy and support a phenomenal artist.

A little shekere

Here's a little shekere I just made for a friend of mine who is an incredible quintocero. He picked the gourd. He likes them small. Anyways, it's been a while since I posted one of these here. It may be small but it still has a strong sound. Very light with great action. Still, I like my shekeres to be on the large size. I'm working on two incredible gourds right now.

So stay tuned bloggers and rumberos! I've got some great posts coming up. An in depth article on how to make a shekere like this one. Also I'm going to be posting the program from the Los Munequitos de Matanzas concert that just happened here in San Francisco. And as an extra bonus I'll be posting my (ahem) bootleg audio recording of that even as well for your listening pleasure.

...and it looks like this is my 100th post! Vaya!

The Gon Bops turned out great.

Nothing like some new skin on a great old set of drums. Here's hoping these drums will be making music for another 30 years, and the owner too.

Gon Bops

    Here on the West Coast, no other drum recalls the years past like Gon Bops! Made in Los Angeles California,  these excellent drums can be seen everywhere. I have seen photos of every famous conguero playing Gon Bops; from Mongo to Peraza, Barreto to Aguabella. Gon Bops grace the cover of many a vintage album, from R&B to salsa, latin jazz to acid rock. Before LP, Gon Bops were the drum to have. And Gon Bops can still be seen everywhere; at rumbas, drum circles, classes, etc.

      These particular Gon Bops were just dropped off at my house this very morning to receive skins form my favorite supplier, my man Micheal over at L&H percussion. This set of Gon Bops has such a wonderful patina of use. Just look at this tumba;

   This drum has been used but not abused! Played but not waylayed! Look at the scrapes caused by dozens of feet tapping the beat! Look at the golden hue of the aged wood that still sounds so good! The metal might have a little rust, but it won't bust! The bands are still tight and no cracks anywhere, though the tumba is a little egged shaped on the top, it still sounds great! What makes this old set of congas even more special is that they are a matching set bought together and never separated, just like a romantic elderly couple growing old together but still with a twinkle in their eye and a spring in their step.

  This particular set is made from what is referred to as mahogany, which is actually Phillipine luan wood. This wood is very light in weight, and drums made from this wood are never heavy. What is so great about this wood is it creates a nice mellow tone that is never too loud or bright, just what you need for a nice sounding rumba. You never have to ask people to keep it down for the singer when playing these old mahogany Gon Bops. Gon Bops also made the quinto just the right size for rumba too, a nice tight little 9.5" that gets the tone you need for a good rumba quinto.

    Gon Bops made several styles and models of drums back in the day. I myself have an oak Gon Bops tres dos that I pair with a Valje tumba. This set up appeals to me as Valje is just as significant to the history of California percussion as Gon Bops. Also of course, Akbar Moghaddam is making the modern version of Gon Bops, which is ironic as Akbar used to be involved in making Valjes, who were Gon Bops main competitor at the time.

   Anyways, if rumba is what you are into, you could do a lot worse than  a set of vintage mahogany Gon Bops. They are such a nice sounding fun drum, that for me always recalls images of the early days of Afro-Cuban percussion in my home state of California.

 

  Seriously, is there anything more fun than talking about old drums? Well, except for playing them?

Los Munequitos de Matanzas

Oh yes, yes, yes! Looks like Los Munequitos de Matanzas is coming to San Francisco and guess who has tickets! That's right I do. They are performing at Mission High School right here in San Francisco just a quick walk from my house. Mission H.S. is right across from Dolores Park which is the home of the rumba and Afro-Cuban scene here in S.F., with several of Santana's drummer's playing there, including John Santos, who tells the story of getting arrested there for playing rumba back in the day, so Mission H.S. is a totally appropriate venue and location!

I'm really looking forward to seeing the show and writing about it. Who knows, I may end up with a few sound files somehow "wink, wink".

Here's the link and info to the show, it's being put on as part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival.

Los Muñequitos de Matanzas presents Tambor de Fuego

San Francisco, CA

Los Muñequitos de Matanzas presents Tambor de Fuego
From 1992- 2002, Los Muñequitos thrilled U.S. audiences and built a devoted fan base with their performances and workshops throughout the country (the company performed at Mission High School in San Francisco in 1992).  Finally, after nine long years,  Los Munequitos return to the U.S. in April-May 2011 with a brand new program: Tambor de Fuego, featuring work from their latest recording, tributes to legendary members and new pieces created especially for this eagerly awaited tour.

Hailed as the "reigning regents of rumba" by the San Francisco Chronicle, "the essence of Cuba's musical soul" by the San Diego Union Tribune and "truly keepers of a sacred flame" by Latin Beat, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas are amongst the highest regarded percussionists in the world and masters of Afro-Cuban ritual and rumba music and dance. Founded in 1952, the group currently spans three generations of an extended family of musicians, singers and dancers.

The music of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas keeps alive 500 years of drumming, chanting and dance, preserving the vibrant culture of the African Diaspora intrinsic to Cuba's living legacy.  While sustaining these cultural traditions, the group's choreography and new musical compositions continue to innovate from the African roots of Cuban culture.  In one evening's concert, Los Muñequitos may play the rhythms and drumming of the Santeria religion which originated with the Yoruba tribe; the songs of the Abakuá, a secret fraternal organization originally from Nigeria; and contemporary Cuban rumba in its varied and ever evolving forms.

Los Muñequitos has performed in more than 50 cities across the U.S., from intimate (and packed!) shows in community centers and dance & music clubs to full-scale theatrical productions in grand concert halls.  Whatever the setting, their complex drumming, captivating vocals and spectacular dancing transport audiences to the vital streets of Matanzas and the soul of Cuba.

Dates

Start: Monday Apr 04, 2011 7:00 PM End: Monday Apr 04, 2011 9:30 PM

Prices

$15.00 - $50.00

Location

Mission High School 3750 18th Street San Francisco, CA 94114 United States

Some lovely new claves

Well the postman arrived with some lovely new claves, and a guagua. Handmade in Belize by Isla Percussions. Seems like not a moment too soon. If you bloggers remember one of my more recent posts, my current set of claves had seen better days.

 

Anyways, I'm very happy to get these new claves, made from some exotic tropical Belize hardwood I don't even know the name of. I've spent a little time tapping away on them, trying to find the best pairs of machos and hembras. There is nothing worse than a bad sounding set of claves, cuz you're going to have to listen to them the entire rumba. Lucky for me they all sound great. They look great, and they are nice and light so they feel great too. Ah, no more splinters or nasty dirty tape on my claves for a while at least.

The guagua sounds great too. It seems to be made from 2 types of wood. I'm usually partial to the sound of bamboo and I've been making all my own guaguas from bamboo. But I'm willing to give this little guy a chance. It has a great sound, dry and cutting, not too shrill. I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to make a stand for it, I can't see holding it between the legs like I do with my bamboo ones.

Adios Totico, Vaya con dios.

It is with great sadness that I write this post. Sadly the great rumbero Eugenio "Totico" Arango has passed away.  I am sure most of my readers will be familiar with Totico through his landmark collaboration with Patato.

My cohorts in the blogosphere have written excellent articles on Totico's passing. You can learn more about this influential rumbero by visiting their blogs.


Sentimiento Manana

Fidel's Eyeglasses

Sentimiento Manana contributor Willie "El Ruso" Everich has had the great honor to play alongside Totico. Mark Sanders at Fidel's Eyeglasses has written a great post showcasing many rare albums that Totico has contributed to along with some musical track.


Ibae, Totico.

These claves have been played!

Is what I heard a fellow rumbero exclaim a month back at the Dio De Los Muertes rumba we have every year hear in San Francisco's own Mission District. It brings a few rumberos from  other cities in the Bay Area that I don't play with too often, which is of course where that exclamation about my claves came from.
 
Anyways, the Dio De Los Muertes parade I can say it is a fantastic event, with several thousand people all dressed in full costumes, and different processions of musicians and dancers, including several Escoles de Samba as they are so well suited for parades. The rumba was based in the park, and at times we had a couple hundred people around us. I myself played for nearly 5 hours, switching from drum to drum or instrument to instrument and also singing coro as best I can. The highlight for me was playing quinto while marking the steps of a woman in full "muertes" costume dancing on stilts to the rumba.

Here is my original post with my claves. You can see what a years worth of rumba does to the instruments. The dark ones are my favorite and you can see the striker/macho is worn almost half through, and is taped to avoid getting splinters. I really need some new ones, but good sounding claves are so hard to find. My old supplier is out of business, and I keep trying out the mass made ones in stores by LP and Meinl, etc. What can I say? I find their sound less than appealing.