Rumba and Bata drumming sessions in RI and Boston?

[Firebrand]

Anybody have rumba or bata sessions in Providen Rhode Island or Boston, MA? I'm based near those cities and want to improve my technique by joining up with local rumberos.

[tamboricua]

Anybody have rumba or bata sessions in Providen Rhode Island or Boston, MA? I'm based near those cities and want to improve my technique by joining up with local rumberos.

Hola Firebrand,

Get in touch with Reynaldo Gonzalez. He is a matancero currently living in the Boston area. Check out the attached link for his contact info.

Reynaldo Gonzalez

Saludos,

Jorge Ginorio

[windhorse]

Just an aside here about Ray.
He was the default song leader the past two years at the Humboldt Afro-Cuban Dance, Drum, and song workshop. He's an incredible top notch dance instructor, and was billed as such. You would think that maybe he would JUST dance and sing, however at this past year's event, he played a bit of drum at a few of the parties. Yeah, maybe Sandy Perez has a few tricks up on him,, but Ray was incredible on the Salidor on one of the Guaguancos I witnessed. He was trading licks with Mike Spiro who was on quinto at the time, and I daresay won the contest hands down!!!!
The day before, Mike had even mentioned in class that of the musicians who taught at the camp, that Ray was the best overall musician in the bunch.... I would have to wholeheartedly agree! The guy can do it all!

Dave

[Firebrand]

I'll give Reynaldo a call. When I lived near Springfield, MA, I hooked up with Freddy Moreno. Unfortunately, moving near Providence, RI has meant that I have nobody to get together and jam percussively with. I"m itching to be performing Latin music again.

I'll try Reynaldo.

[ralph]

give him a call bro....(Reynaldo that is)
also i believe Nolan Warden, plays with him too... he might know some stuff as well, he is the owner of the latinperc mailing list, also Joe Platz is in the Boston area, i believe amherst too, he makes shekere's, and so forth...also i don't know how close you are to Conn, but Papo Sterling is also in Conn, he used to play with Puntilla....i think i got their numbers if you are interested....



Edited By ralph on 1124726458

[Firebrand]

Hah, Papo Sterling. He's a good friend of mine! Yeah, Papo sure has a great "toque" on bongos. He slaps the shit out of them. I played with him when I performed with Giovanni Hidalgo, and knew him beforehand by my association with Freddy Moreno (who regularly gigs with him). The only problem is that Papo and Freddy are too faraway from me right now. I can't be taking 1:40 drives to Springfield or Hartford just to jam with them. I need something closer (even boston's a drive, but I'd rather do 50-60 minutes drive than 1:40).

Joe Platz I'm not so sure off. I saw him with a real Cuban group of Bembe/Abakua performers and he was off-clave and losing the beat. The performers (who were one-time visitors from Cuba) were giving him incredulous looks and the older bandleader just told him to stop playing, because he was screwing the beat. I know he's an excellent traditional drum maker, but I'm not so trusting of his knowledge of percussion rhythms. I'd trust Papo and Freddy Moreno much more. Both of them have deep linkages to the percussion crowd of Puerto Rico, of Loiza and The Balcon Del Zumbador "regulars".

Anyone know of some latin-jazz, salsa, and percussion people in Providence. That's the closest to me. I'm 15 minutes away from Providence and wouldn't mind getting together with similarly-minded people there.

[ralph]

Joe Platz I'm not so sure off. I saw him with a real Cuban group of Bembe/Abakua performers and he was off-clave and losing the beat. The performers (who were one-time visitors from Cuba) were giving him incredulous looks and the older bandleader just told him to stop playing, because he was screwing the beat. I know he's an excellent traditional drum maker, but I'm not so trusting of his knowledge of percussion rhythms. I'd trust Papo and Freddy Moreno much more. Both of them have deep linkages to the percussion crowd of Puerto Rico, of Loiza and The Balcon Del Zumbador "regulars".

So thats the deal with Joe, i through him out there, but you right, i have not been able to get a clue as to how he plays or what he knows till now...
Yeah i know about Papo through Felix Sanabria, and actually contacted him about getting cajones, but never set anything up...i heard Papo was no joke on okonkolo (his main axe besides bongo) ...sometimes the real deal cats are more hard to find and to look up...
peace....

[Firebrand]

Yeah, that's my vibe off Joe Platz. When I first met him, he was a gruffy, aloof person. He liked to dress the part of "spiritual rumbero", but when it came to actual playing, I didn't see the maturity of Freddie Moreno or Papo Sterling, let alone Giovanni Hidalgo. He seemed all show (dressing in white with a Kangol hate), and no actual talent.

This was finally confirmed to me at a show in Northampton when REAL Cuban percussionists showed up. Suddenly, he went from being the local "expert' in Cuban percussion to being just a wannabe. I also remembered that Freddy Moreno would often roll his eyes at the mention of Joe Platz, which was key for me understanding where he stood on the scale of "how much does he know" things.

Most of my "taller" was done with Freddie Moreno, and he was a tough teacher. He'd straight out tell me "tipo...estas fuera de clave". He was a harsh teacher, and would tell you so in front of other percussionists and bandmembers. I learned to adapt and see the nuances in Latin music quick, but the upside is that I now confidently perform, because I know that I've got years of experience to back me up. I only wish he'd teach me about bata stuff, but, I guess I'll get that somewhere else.