Gio At Orchard Beach-Bronx, NY - Orchard Beach Free Summer Concerts

[afrocubarico]

Hey congueros,
Just wanted to let you guys know that Giovanni Hidalgo is scheduled to perform on Aug. 13th, 2006 at the Orchard Beach Summer Concerts in Bronx, NY. I believe the concert time is from 12pm-5pm and the best part is it's FREE!

BTW, I saw Eddie Palmieri perform this past Friday night at Lincoln Center in NYC. He was joined by a stellar group of musicians. Conguero Little Johnny Rivero was among one of them and he gave a great performance and showed some chops.

Opening the show was a Cuban Timba group, Tiempo Libre. They rocked!

afrocubarico

[JohnnyConga]

#### wish i could go to Orchard Beach ...I honed my "Rumba" skills on the boardwalk, on the rocks, and the hill in Section One for many years...they still be jammin there on Sundays...Willie Colon...King Nando...and some others bands would perform right on the beach, in section one too......those were great times ....."JC" Johnny Conga...

[jorge]

The Sunday rumbas are still happening at Orchard Beach. I was there 2 weeks ago, we had a small low key rumba on the hill, sin guaperia pero cruzaron mucho la clave.

[jorge]

Giovanni Hidalgo's appearance at Orchard Beach today was cancelled. I had been looking forward to seeing him play in person, I have never seen him except on video. We had a really nice rumba though, which moved to 109th St (on 3rd Ave) at 7 when the cops shut us down at Orchard Beach.

[afrocubarico]

Jorge,
I too was very disappointed that Gio did not perform. I was really looking forward to seeing him. I've seen him live several times but who in the world could tire from seeing this man play! My girlfriend has never seen him before so she too was pretty dissapointed.

However, the concert was pretty good. I did get to see Eddie Montalvo for the first time so that was a treat for me. Pequeño Johnny got busy on the skins and was playing on some really nice looking LP drums. I think they were custom made for Montalvo by Martin Cohen (who was at Orchard taking pics during the concert).

I also saw Ray Vega who I had not seen in a while, a very fine trumpeter. Now as far as the rumbas, I was hanging around two of them and some of those guys were rompiendo some serious cuero!

My goal is to be good enough to jump in on some of those rumabs for next year. I love rumba music, I think it is like no other form of music or art. It's also infectous, seeing passerbys walk by and not being able to resist the temptation of moving to the beat. It's awesome!

Well, I'll keep my ears pierced for Gio in the NYC or Jerz areas. Till then... ...La Rumba No Se Termina!

afrocubarico

[jorge]

Afrocubarico,

I didn't get to see Jimmy Delgado and Pequeno Johnny play, I was over at the rumba and couldn't tear myself away!

About the rumba, if you want to play, hay que meter mano ahora! Don't wait til next year, you never know what might happen. A few years ago, Mayor Guilliani and his boys decided to shut down the Central Park rumba, and there was no rumba in the park for 3 or 4 years. Now that he is gone, the rumba is back con cojones. We are usually at Central Park (the path by the lake near the bridge, around 72nd St - follow your ears) and/or at Orchard Beach every nice Sunday that it is warm enough, mostly the same cats every week, starting 3 or 4 pm.

Practice playing claves along with some rumba records at home until you can lock in with the guagua and tres dos (segundo) drum. You can tell your timing is right when you can play soft and not be able to hear the clave on the record because you are exactly on top of them. Then bring your claves to the park and jump right in. Listen to the drums and guagua, and keep your timing straight (no cruce la clave!). Relax, but play as if the whole rumba depends on you (it does). Sing some coro, the lead singer and the crowd will usually give you the coros. Playing clave and singing coro at the same time comes with time and practice, practice it at home first. Watch the good drummers, try to see how their part fits into the whole rhythm, ask us to show you parts, don't be shy.

Then go home and practice the part (with a good rumba record) until your hands do it automatically, and come back to the park and play a drum next time. Don't try to learn more than one part in a week, but learn it right. Usually the clave, tres dos, and guagua are the easiest parts to learn at first. Practicing at home, start with a slower tempo, like a guaguanco Matancero, or a yambu Habanero, then gradually increase your speed as you become more comfortable with the part. The rumbas in the park are usually really fast (too fast sometimes!), and you need to practice at home to get up to speed.

Hope to see you out there the next few weeks, before it gets cold again. Sigue tocando la rumba que no termina!

Jorge



Edited By jorge on 1155647932

[Charangaman]

You guys are so lucky, central park is awesome in the summertime..Nothing could be better than a rumba in the park on a sunny day... Wish we had something similar in London

[JohnnyConga]

Don't u guys have "McArthur Park?.....cant you play there??..."JC" Johnny Conga...

[afrocubarico]

Jorge,
Thanks for the advice. I've only been playing congas now for 6 months so I don't yet feel ready to go out there and get down with you rumberos. I took lessons for 4 months at the Harbor this past winter and we worked on the basics as well as a variety of marchas.

During the summer break I've been working with the Tomas Cruz books. I've learned to play the Guaguanco, Iyesa, and a few 6/8 patterns.

Your advice sounds good, I'll definitely practice at home with some of my rumba music and I'll seek advice from the rumberos at the park. I'm sure I'll be ready in no time.

afrocubarico