(One) More Cowbell!

I just picked up this beauty of a cowbell made by the ubiquitous cymbal company Zildjian. A "Zil Bel"! A beauty of a bell with a very pretty chrome finish, an unique shape and a truly wonderful sound. More of a clear bell sound with a slight ring to it as opposed to the clonk clonk kind of sound from your typical bongo bell, or flatter sound from the usual Afro Cuban type cha-cha or mambo bells.

 As you can see, the metal of this bell is a little thinner and has a flared shape for a more open mouth. I think this is what gives it the clear bell sound it has.

I bought this lovely little bell from the excellent local drum shop Sam Adatto's. Sam's shop is a true treasure, while Sam focuses primarily on trap sets, you just never know what he has in there, so I try and stop by regularly. He was selling this sweet bell for just $29.95, turns out Zil-Bels go for $150 on auction and vintage drum sites! So thanks for the deal Sam!

I'm using this bell on my pedal set up, and it really sounds good with the beater I have on there. Pedal and conga work is pretty challenging to say the least. So far on the right foot I have son clave with various tumbaos, all 4 downbeat and just beats 1 and 3 with tumbaos and some limited fills and improvising and montunos. For the left foot I am developing beats 2 and 4 as suggested by a friend; the jazz high hat ride.

There is no better practice for really ingraining the clave into your playing and making it a part of you. I say that like I'm an expert, but really I have a long way to go. Eventually I'll be incorporating this method into my rumba practice as well. I find that third hit of the clave and getting the right swing on the 2 side to be very challenging with the pedal set up. Though Pedrito Martinez seems to have no problem with it.



He makes it look so easy doesn't he? Truly an incredible musician.

What's that you say? More cowbell? Well here you go...

Monster Skin!

Whew, putting this new skin on my Resolution quinto nearly knocked me out. It took every last trick I knew and some I made up, and about half of the tools in my tool box to get it on, Not to mention about 3 hours of my life. Usually a normal skin takes me 30 - 45 minutes to get on!!!!

I've had this skin for about a year now. Mike at Land Hand Percussion had included it in an order for free. I finally got around to putting it on a drum. Well it didn't look that thick before I soaked it, but now I am wondering just what kind of monster did this skin come from, a Minotaur?

I have a feeling that this skin is going to have a voice like you won't believe! I'm waiting for it to dry, then I am going to give it a coat of shea butter. Hopefully I won't break my hands on it while I'm breaking it in!

Cecil Carter, Rest in Peace

Sadly, Cecil Carter, a rumbero and wonderful human being passed away today 3/13/2012. Cecil's death was caused by lymphatic cancer.

Cecil was a tremendous rumbero with a quinto slap that cracked the air. Incredibly humble, Cecil would wait in line for a turn at the drum even though he had twice the experience and skill of many of the other rumberos around.

Cecil was active in both the New York and San Francisco Bay Area rumba scenes and was an accomplished percussionist in several other styles as well.

I feel fortunate to have heard his music, seen his warm smile and played alongside him at rumbas here in San Francisco and jamming at the Ashby Bart drum circle.

Goodbye Cecil, you are missed by many.

Aloha 'oe, Tom Alexander of Volcano Percussion.

 ALOHA 'OE TOM ALEXANDER

The percussion world has lost one of its master craftsman. Tom Alexander of Hawaii and Volcano Percussion, as he passed yesterday. Tom was suffering from cancer. The world has been made better by his life, and his legacy will live on in the beautiful drums he created and the music that will continue to be made by them.

I first came across Volcano Percussion drums when I lived in Kaimuki on the island of Oahu when I visited Harry's Music Store on Waialae Ave. I was just starting out in percussion. I remember how beautiful I thought they looked and of course they had an incredible sound that just put my Meinl Woodcraft bongos to shame. They were expensive drums that I was not able to afford, but they were worth every penny.

Tom Alexander was a true innovator in the construction of percussion instruments. He is the first and only to use the local Hawaiian hardwoods such as koa and monkey pod and mango. These woods not only gave Volcano Percussion drums their incredible sound but also a truly unique and wonderful appearance. Tom Alexander was previously a carpenter, as his bio states, and he brought advanced woodworking techniques to his drum building. Volcano is also noted for it's highly polished stainless steel hardware, which is very laborious to make and incredibly functional in the salty air and humidity of the Hawaiian Islands.

Over the years I came across other percussionists with examples of Tom's work, and I always took the chance to marvel at their beauty and sound. Lucky for us Volcano drums can still be heard and seen so Tom Alexander's vision, passion and craftsmanship will continue to bless us for many more years to come.

ALOHA 'OE TOM ALEXANDER

Miguel 'Angá' Díaz - Complete Discography

 Miguel 'Anga' Diaz R.I.P (15 June 1961 - 9 August 2006)

The late great Anga is without a doubt my favorite percussionist. Anga rose to fame as the conguero for Irakere, continuing the 5 conga tradition started by Jorge "El Niño" Alfonso. However Anga was also an incredible rumbero. Miguel Aurelio Diaz Zayas was born in San Juan y Martinez in the Pinar del Río Province in Cuba, an area known for its rumba traditions. 

I was first intoduced to Anga's playing in the self titled album Cachaito by Israel "Cachaito" Lopez.

Anga's melodic conga playing on this album is truly some of the most beautiful conga playing to be heard. Of course the next album to follow was Echu Mingua, Anga's solo release. Truly this record is one of the most innovative and groundbreaking albums from Cuba.

The documentary of that album is excellent as well and offers incredible insight into this great conguero's mind.



Sadly, Anga left this earth at the young age of 45 and we will not be getting anymore music from this great artist. Instead, I have embarked on a mission to collect all his albums from past recordings. I have compiled here as complete a discography of Anga's as I could from various resources. Some of these recordings are readily available while others being quite obscure. For example,  Anga Nascimentos, which I only heard about through the great percussion educator and author David Penalosa. David was kind enough to send me digital files of this album, as there is virutally no possibility of finding a hard copy, as it seems to have been only distributed by Anga himself at seminars. I'm uploading one track here for my readers enjoyment.

  Rumbanga 2 by superbongos

Anga has also been an incredible influence on my rumba playing. A while back my friend provided me with a compendium of rhythms from one of the largest gatherings of Cuban music and culture held at Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta Canada, 1994. This book has an excellent set of rumba patterns with variations as presented by Anga. The book and the accompnaying sound tracks are constatnt source of study and inspiration for me. This incredible session also produced the wonderful Afrocuanismo album.

Here are a couple tracks from the Banff music seminar of 6/8's rhythms as presented by Anga.

  anga 6/8 by superbongos 

Anyways, here is my discography of recordings by Miguel 'Angá' Díaz, a work in progress. I have a feeling a few more Irakere albums need to be added to the list. I welcome any additions my readers have that I can include to make the discography more complete.

MIGUEL “ANGA” DIAZ COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY

as complied by Geordie Van Der Bosch.

1. 69-96 / Magik Malik Orchestra
2. A Lo Cubano / Orishas
3. A Love Affair in Paris / Buddy Montgomery
4. A Toda Cuba Le Gusta / Afro-Cuban All Stars
5. Anga Nacimientos, Miguel “Anga” Diaz
6. Arpa Fusion / Anga Diaz & Pascal Coulon
7. Barbarismo / Frank Emilio Flynn y Sus Amigos
8. Buena Vista Social Club Presents Manuel Guajiro Mirabal / Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal
9. Buenos Hermanos / Ibrahim Ferrer
10. Cachaito / Orlando Cachaito Lopes
11. Central Avenue / Danilio Perez
12. Chanchullo / Ruben Gonzales
13. Chocalate / Alma Rosa
14. Crisol Habana / Roy Hargrove
15. Cubanismo / Jesus Alemany
16. Distinto Diferente / Afro Cuban All Stars
17. Echu Mingua / Anga
18. En Chile (Con Chucho Valdes, Irakere e Isabel Parra) / Silvio Rodriguez
19. Exuberencia / Irakere
20. Flor de Amor / Omar Portuondo
21. Formula Uno / Orlando Valle
22. Genesis & the Opening of the Way / Steve Coleman
23. Habana Secreta / Jose Maria Vittier
24. Hajji: Kathy Kidd & Kongo Mambo / Kathy Kidd
25. Havana Calling / Maraca y Otra Vision
26. Indestructible / Irakere
27. Latin Soul / Alma Rosa
28. Live a FIP / Omar Sosa
29. Live at Ronnie Scott’s / Irakere
30. Live In Cuba CD / Mingus Amungus
31. Maferefun / Tony Martinez
32. Mambo Sinuendo / Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban
33. Merengue a Quilo / Opus 13
34. Paquito D'Rivera Presents Cuba Jazz / Paquito D’Rivera
35. Pasaporte / Tata Guines & Miguel “Anga” Diaz
36. Pasion Latina 1 / Raul Gutierrez & Irazu
37. Presents Cuba Jazz / Paquito D'Rivera
38. Que Llueva de Una Vez / Opus 13
39. The Legendary Irakere / Irakere
40. The Legendary Irakere In London - Volume 2 / Irakere
41. Tratame Como Soy / Nora
42. Ritmo Y Candela II: African Crossroads / Carlos 'Patato' Valdes
43. The Very Best Of ¡Cubanismo! - ¡Mucho Gusto! / ¡Cubanismo!

 

Rumba and the Shakuhachi flute

What does the lively boisterous Afro-Cuban rumba have with peaceful tranquil zen flute music. Actually very little, but for me there is a connection.

Several years ago while studying architecture in college I was introduced to folkloric Japanese music, the biwa, the taiko drums and the shakuhachi flute. I was interested in playing the shakuhachi but with my tuition was never able to afford one. Then after college I discovered congas and bongos and rumba, and well here I am.

Not being able to afford  my own shakuhachi flute, I puchased a cool book by California local Monty Levenson who makes shakuhachis here in Northern California. The Japanese Bamboo Flute: notes on craft and construction; which basically illustrates how to make your own shakuhachi flute.. Monty is an example of one of those cool California stories you here often of people moving out to the country to devote themselves to some very esoteric craft or art and eventually becoming a leader at it.

one of Monty's flutes.

Well, I also saw that creating one of these very delicate instruments was beyond my skill at the time. However this book introduced me to a special technique of binding bamboo to prevent it from splitting. Well years later I began to make guaguas and cata out of bamboo and somehow I recalled reading about this technique. I dug out Monty's homemade and hand illustrated pamphlet and adapted this technique for flutes to percussion instruments. It has served me very well; all of the accounts I have heard of guaguas and catas I have sold report that my instruments are quite durable and hold up well. My own guagua has been used for countless hours of spirited rumba and is still fully intact.

Anyways, I bring this up now because of an unusual comment I received in my last post about a cajon. Seems like someone named SA Perillo is spamming the web about shakuhachi flutes:

SA PerilloDec 29, 2011 04:49 AM

If you are into Zen then having a Japanese bamboo flute can help you with your focus. The sounds that the bamboo flute can give could be added to the soothing feeling with the ambiance. shakuhachi flutes!

Seems like Monty Levenson is still at it and more power to him. Also it seems as if there is a newcomer to the California shakuhachi scene, a protege of Monty's, Jem Klein. Very cool indeed.

So if you are at all interested in shakuhachi flutes, or just want to visit the site of some very cool and original musical instrument craftsmen here are the links. While I never did get or make a shakuhachi, shakuhachis did help me make better catas and guaguas and for that I am grateful.

Tai Hei Shakuhachi Japanese Bamboo Flutes

Hosetsu Shakuhachi Flutes

Cajon Reconstruction

A while back a friend of mine and I made a couple of cajons together. These were the first cajons I had made, and they came out sounding great. However they also had a couple of problems. First, unbelievably, after all the care I took with the decoration for mine, I misspelt "Aquis"! I never botherered to even check, somehow I just thought incorrectly the word had an "S" at the end of the word....oh well, sigh...

My friend decided to leave his undecorated. He did experience some problems with the construction. The top board separated from the front sound board, I believe because his design did  not have enough screws and the combination of the weight on the top with the striking on the front was too much for the glue and the few screws on the end.

So I offered my friend the trade of my misspelled cajon for his broken one, as he did not really have the tools and space to fix his. I trimmed it up, took it apart, put it back together with extra screws and glue. Another change I made was the feet. I traded the "wooden drawer pulls" as feet, for some rubber furniture pegs. Mainly because I found that the wooden feet caused the cajon to slide across the floor a bit as it was played. Finally I added a tung and danish oil finish and a handle to help with carrying it back and forth.

It is a good sounding cajon with a lot of bass. This style of cajon is also nice as it doubles as a seat for playing congas. Finally you can toss the"instrumentos pequeños" inside of it, like your claves, campana, guagua, etc,. So the cajon is a very useful musical instrument that can also be used as a chair and a suitcase!

Cuban Bongo Project

I know they aren't really a "rumba instrument" but I'm gonna post about these bongos anyways!

Just picked up these solid shell bongos made in Cuba. As you can see the hardware is junk, but the shells seem pretty good. I welcome any help identifying the wood and the maker of the drums. The drums are pretty light, no doubt partly due the the lame hardware. The macho is 6" and the hembra is 7 1/2". Anyways, it's been a while since I've had a drum project. Tinkering with old drums is almost as fun as playing them.

I plan on stripping and refinishing thee shells, inside and out, then depending on how I feel get some hardware made for them and putting new skins on. I'm thinking about having either Ralph at Resolution Percussion or maybe that new guy PM Percussion in nearby Petaluma make the hardware for these, whoever is the least expensive.

Well I've never had any drums made in Cuba, these bongos are a little on the small side, but the shells seem well made enough. I've never owned a solid wood bongo either, only staves. I'm curious to see how they turn out and of course how they sound

The Cuban Rumba Box

Percussionist Jorge Santo has written quite a nice paper on the humble rumba instrument known as the cajon, which seems to be enjoying a resurgence in popularity amongst rumberos across the world. It contains some excellent information on the history of the instrument and rumba in general as well as several excellent photos. Download it for free.

http://www.jorgesanto.co.uk/TheCubanRumbaBox.pdf

¡Feliz Cumpleaños! Sandy Perez!

My friend and teacher Sandy Perez recently had a birthday concert at Yerba Buena Gardens a few weeks ago on a beautiful sunny San Francisco afternoon on July 17th. On this day his continuously evolving line up of Sandy Perez Y Su Lande included his mother visiting from Cuba, Lazarro Galarago, John Santos and Jesus Dias and more.

Sandy is just so innovative. His stage set up included the usual congas, cajons, but he also had a beautiful bembe drum and an electric bass, not to mention a full and sweet sounding coro section of singers. That is what I love about Sandy's music, he is so willing to mix the traditional with the modern and indeed he is a master of both.

As this was Sandy's birthday I presented him with the gift of my favorite shekere. I am happy to say he was quite pleased with it. Actually just after I gave it to Sandy Perez, John Santos came over to check it out and proceeded to play it for the entire set! I was really happy to see my instrument played by one of the best musicians in the Bay Area and a multiple Grammy nominee.

I really liked that shekere and considered it one of my best, but the truth is, that shekere was just a little powerful for the smaller venues I play at, even though it had a beautiful sound. After hearing that shekere cut through the mic'd drums and the electic bass completely unamplified as played by John Santos, I knew my shekere had found it's new home.