Latin Percussionist

Issue 8 WINTER 1999

Miguel “Anga” Diaz: Anga Mania!

by Victor Rendón

Cuban born, Miguel “Anga” Diaz, is known as one of the new generation congueros following the path of pioneers such as Tata Güines, Armando Peraza, Candido, Mongo Santamaria, Carlos “Patato” Valdés, and Jorge “Niño” Alfonso. He attended the music conservatory in Havana where he received a complete musical education, studying drums and classical percussion. Before graduating, he was asked to record several TV and film soundtracks with José Maria Vitier. He then joined Joaquin Betancourt’s “Opus 13” traveling with this band throughout the world for several years. He was given the award for best instrumentalist by the UNEAC (National Reunion of Cuban Writers & Artists) and in 1986 was considered “revelation of the year” at the International Jazz Plaza Festival in Havana. In 1987 Jesús “Chucho” Valdés offered him the prestigious conguero chair in the band, “Irakere”, in which he played for seven years. Freelancing since 1994, he has been regularly playing, recording and teaching master classes in various schools and universities. He has played and recorded with musicians such as Roy Hargrove, Steve Coleman, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Danilo Perez, Paquito D’ Rivera, Buster Williams, David Sanchez, and many others. In 1994, Anga recorded his first solo album with Tata Güines and several stars of Cuban music winning him the Egrem prize for best record of the year. Anga continues to perform jazz and Afro-Cuban music. He has been recently

exploring the DJ’s and electronic world, mixing his Cuban roots to sounds of today’s world. This is evident in his first master class video “Anga Mania!” released by Music In Motion Films. Where in Cuba are you from and how did you get into percussion? I was born in a small town named San Juan y Martinez in the province of Pinar del Rio. I come from a musical family. My father played saxophone, my mother played the piano, and my younger brother is a singer. I started my music studies at the Escuela Nacional de Arte de Pinar del Rio. Later I went to the Escuela de Arte (ENA) in Havana. I studied a total of eight years. It was all classical percussion. One of my classical teachers was Balcaser. He comes from a family of classical performers in Cuba. At that time, folkloric percussion was not taught in the schools. In the late 1970’s, one had to either go to the streets to learn rumba or find a teacher who played popular music. Who are your influences in Afro-Cuban percussion? The first is Tata Güines. Then there is Armando Peraza, Candido, Mongo Santamaria, Carlos “Patato” Valdés, Changuito, and Jorge “Niño” Alfonso. Niño was the previous conguero in Irakere before I joined. In reality, the older players have been very influential. I always made it a point to listen to all these players. They are the ones that form the foundation of today’s conga drumming. I believe that each conguero had his own approach to playing in the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s. I tell my students that there is no one certain style in percussion.

Inside This Issue 1 Feature: Miguel “Anga” Diaz: Anga

Mania! 2 Hearing Clave and Discerning The

Melodies of the Batá Drums p. 4 3 CD, Video & Book Reviews p. 10 4 Ads p. 12

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(Miguel “Anga” Diaz, continued from p. 1) Can you talk about the older style of playing from the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s? At that time, every group had its rhythm that provided a unique sound. For example, Conjunto Chappotin played a type of son with one tumbadora. The conguero’s name was Campeón. On the other hand, the conjunto of Roberto Faz used two tumbadoras. As stated previously, each one had a different rhythm. For example, Juanito Marquez used the ritmo pacá, Pacho Alonso used the pilón, Pello “El Afrokan” used the mozambique, and Orquesta Aragón used the cha cha chá. Did the rhythms die out with the passing of each orchestra? No, that is one of the jobs that I am doing now. I am rehashing these rhythms “que son muy ricos” (which are very rich). What we have lost in Cuba is the constant use of those older rhythms. We haven’t had someone to guide the new generation in listening to the music of those eras. But, I believe that the work Changuito and I are doing is helping in that regard. On the video you talk about the fact that your style on five congas comes from Jorge “Niño” Alfonso. Yes, the first conguero to use five congas in Cuba was “Niño." He had a very peculiar way of playing. His technique had a specific movement to it that enabled him to play five tumbadoras with ease. That technique made his playing very melodic. When I joined Irakere, I realized that I had a different way of playing. I got a video of “Niño” from Chucho Valdés (musical director of Irakere) and studied it thoroughly. From there I united his style with mine. In reality, my playing is a combination of Tata Güines, Niño and myself.

LATIN PERCUSSIONIST Issue 8, Winter 1999 Published by Tortilla Flat Music: Victor Rendón/Armando Rodríguez Editor: Armando Rodríguez CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John Almendra Ken Ross Greg Askew John Santos Milton Cardona Pazcual Villaronga Joel Litwin David Meade David Peñalosa Bobby Reverón Latin Percussionist welcomes manuscript material, however, cannot assume responsibility for them. Items must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. SUBSCRIPTIONS are $6.00 per year ( U.S. and Puerto Rico). Outside U.S. and P.R., rate is $10.00. Individual copies are $3.00 each Send all correspondence to: TORTILLA FLAT MUSIC P.O. Box 556 NY, NY 10116-0556 Website: www.latinpercussion.com Note: Please do not copy this newsletter and give to your friends. Publications like this will only survive through the support of its readers. ¡No Cuesta Mucho!

The editing and publishing of the Latin Percussionist has been a great experience and learning process. We have had the honor of having many talented percussionists write for the newsletter in the course of four years covering eight issues. They are listed to the right. In this issue we have the distinguished Miguel “Anga” Diaz with deep insight on the function of a conguero in a band. Check out his new instructional video information on page 12. We also have the first of what I hope will be many articles by “Dr. Clave (David Peñalosa), performer, writer, and executive vice-president of Bembé Records. Until next time.

Tortilla Flat Music

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In your video and the upcoming book, you have some exercises for two and three congas as well. What would you recommend to a student to develop this type of playing? I always start my students with one drum. When one drum is mastered, then we move on. It is more difficult to play with one tumbadora then it is to play with two, three, four, or five. I think that one should start playing with one tumbadora and master all aspects of it. Playing more drums is a matter of applying the one drum technique to more drums. The purpose of playing five drums is to find new sonorities. Sometimes you see players using five drums. However, if you take away four out of the five, you realize the basics have not been mastered yet. What do you see as the primary function of a conguero in a band? “La marcha!” (the basic tumbao). That is why I say that one should always study with one tumbadora. A conguero who does not have a solid “marcha” makes a band sound unsettled or unstable. He can also rush and drag the tempo. So, it is the “marcha” that is the principal function of a conguero in a band. After that, we can apply some of the drum rudiments such as the double stroke roll and the paradiddle. It is no secret that we can apply stick control (technique used by drumset players) to conga drumming. I don’t use rudiments simply for the rapid effect. Rather, I use them for melodic reasons. Tell us about your USA tour scheduled this summer with the Afro-Cuban All-Stars and Rubén González. Yes, we are going to the United States at the beginning of June, 1999 for three weeks. We will be going to New York and other major cities. What are your reasons for settling in Paris, France? I believe that Europe (Paris in particular) is the best place for me to be at the moment. Here you encounter many styles of music. My aim is to fuse all types of music and world percussion with Afro-Cuban music. Paris is one of the centers of fusion music. There are a large number of good musicians and percussionists in this city. I work here but I also travel a lot using Paris as my home base. I work a lot in the field of jazz with artists such as Steve Coleman, Roy Hargrove, Buster Williams, Chico Freeman, among others. What are your plans for the future? Well, I just finished an instructional video titled “Anga Mania!” and I’m working on a CD. I am interested in mixing Afro-cuban percussion with other types of music. I plan to keep playing all types of music. Is there anything you would like to end with? “Seguiré lentamente y tranquilo” (I shall continue slowly and in tranquility). I would like to add one message to the students of percussion. That is to study the masters from before. Don’t close yourself off to only listening to the younger players. One who does not study the older players, cannot find out what’s happening now. Congueros should listen to Tata Güines, Armando Peraza, Candido, Mongo Santamaria, Carlos “Patato” Valdés, and Jorge “Niño” Alfonso to name just a few. Timbaleros should study players like Guillermo Barreto, Tito Puente, Changuito, and Orestes Vilato. These are the people that teach us the concept of what the instrument is

about. TF _____________________________________________________________________________

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Hearing Clave and DiscerningThe Melodies Of The Batá Drums

by David Peñalosa

Brought from Nigeria in the early 1800’s by way of the slave trade, the batá drums are the most important and complex of all the various Afro-Cuban drums systems. Batá are a set of three progressively-sized, double-headed, hour glass shaped drums. All three are considered to be one instrument, acting as a single organism. The batá literally “speak” the Yoruba language and recite a litany that is crucial to particular rituals. Batá used in religious ceremonies are considered sacred. Each consecrated set of batá has living within it, the deity known as Aña. Because of their powerful and beautiful rhythms, the batá have been continually used to enhance dance music (Orquesta Revé, Conjunto Libre, Eddie Palmieri, Batacumbele, Conjunto Céspedes), Latin jazz (Irakere, John Santos’ Machete Ensemble, Fort Apache, Conrad Herwig), and even experimental music (Herbie Hancock, Laurie Anderson, Kip Hanrahan, Malcolm McLauren). In my many years of accompanying dancers and singers with the batá, I have encountered the difficulty with which non-percussionists have hearing clave within these intricate drums. The following is taken from lesson plans to help those who wish to better hear the batá. The different batá drums’ names are from largest to smallest, iyá Illu (in Yoruba, literally “mother batá”), itótele and okónkolo. Each drum has two heads. The larger head is called enú and the smaller, chachá. The rhythms of the batá, poly-melodic and full of cross-rhythms are often difficult to discern to many people, due in large part to the fact that there are six drum heads being played at once. Two Strata of Melody One helpful way of making sense of this dense euphony is by identifying the melody of the enús as the primary reference and the chachás as the secondary. It’s almost as if there are two drum batteries being played at once. The melody of the enús is similar to that of the open tones which make up the primary melody of a conga drum ensemble. The melody of the chachás on the other hand, sounding somewhere between conga slaps and woodblocks, provide a second strata of melody which adds depth and flavor. In the example below, each drum part for the rhythm Obaloke is written. The enú and chachá melodies are written separately as well. Notice the difference between the enú’s and chachá’s emphasis. The melody of the enús is sparse and easily distinguishable, while the melody of the chachás consists of descending triplets, falling upon every division of the beat. The rhythm Obaloke is typically used to accompany songs for the orishas (Yoruba deities), Oggún and Ochun. Clave and the main beat cycle (four evenly spaced pulses), are spread across two measures here. Clave is written in this way for ease in reading and to emphasize the key pattern’s binary nature. Although I believe son clave demonstrates the clave principal more clearly, I use rumba clave because it is the standard reference for Afro-Cuban folkloric music. For ternary rhythms, I also include the standard bell pattern as a reference. Please note that the drum heads’ placement on the staff are not meant to imply specific pitches and note durations were chosen for ease in reading. All strokes are of course, staccato.

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Roles Of The Drums The okónkolo, smallest of the batá, generally marks the beat with a simple repeating pattern. The okónkolo and itótele often play in opposition to each other. In Obaloke for example, the chachás of the okónkolo and enús of the itótele are on the beat, while the chachás of the itótele and the enús of the okónkolo are on the first off-beat (“and”). The iyá is the lead drum, commanding the ensemble to start, stop and change rhythms. The iyá player must improvise to the dancers steps, play in such a way as to “bring down” the orishas in the bodies of mediums and know when a song change requires a rhythm change. The chachás of the okónkolo and itótele are fixed and rarely move. Except for established conversations, the enús of the okónkolo and itótele are fixed, although in some rhythms there is some latitude for a modest amount of improvising by the okónkolo. The iyá improvises with both it’s enú and chachá. In addition, the iyá’s enú initiates call and response conversation with the itótele’s enú. In some cases, the itótele’s response consists of adding just one extra tone, while at other times the appropriate response is a radical departure from it’s basic part. In some instances an itótele player may choose to answer with a creative variation of the traditional response. The role of the itótele is a difficult one because it requires knowing the difference between an iyá’s call for a conversation, an improvised phrase within the mode, or a call into an entirely different rhythm, all of this while usually keeping a steady off-beat pulse riding on the chachá. The example below illustrates the basic conversation for Obaloke. The iyá calls the itótele on the three side of clave and the itótele responds on the two side.

How Enú Melodies Are Structured There are two fundamental ways in which the melody of the enús is structured. The first way is with each drum having it’s one or two tones which when combined, create the full melody. Obaloke is such a rhythm. The second way consists of the iyá playing the entire rhythm with the other drums merely filling it out. For instance, the itótele’s enú will be on top of the iyá chachá, while the okónkolo marks time. Babalú Ayé, the rhythm written below is an example of this second way enú melodies are structured. This rhythm is six claves long, with the structure A-A-B.

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Hearing Clave In The Batá Once one can focus on the melody of the enús, hearing clave in the batá is a much easier task. The “clave logic” of Obaloke is a bit obscure however. The itótele’s two enús being on the beat implies that they are on the two side. The reasoning being that the three side of clave has an off-beat emphasis and the two side, an on-beat emphasis. Hearing clave in Babalú Ayé on the other hand, is much more straight forward. For most of the rhythm, the iyá and itótele’s enús literally make a melody out of the standard bell pattern. In the example below, enú melodies for various batá rhythms are written. Clave’s relationship to these rhythms is evident. In toque Arará (the batá adaptation of the Arará drum system), the okónkolo’s enú plays ternary rumba clave. In Aggayú, the okónkolo’s enú plays the standard ball pattern ) excluding the stroke on “one”). In the written example of Dadá, the iya’s chachá was included because it plays clave.

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References Print The Music of Santería: Traditional Rhythms of the Batá by John Amira and Steve Corneleas (White Cliffs 1992) Los Instrumentos de la música Afrocubana Vol. 3, Vol. 4 Fernando Ortiz (Havana, Ministerio de Educación 1952, 1954) Recordings Música Yoruba (National Folkloric Ensemble of Cuba) Bembé 2010-2 Illu Aña (Regino Jimenez) Fundamento Production David Peñalosa answers questions related to Afro-Cuban music at his “Ask Dr. Clave” page for Bembé Records website (www.bembe.com). TF ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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REVIEWS VIDEOS Anga Mania!: Miguel “Anga” Diaz Music in Motion Films: www.mimfilms.com Price: $39.95 + $5.00 (S&H) NYS residents add 81/4 % sales tax w/ booklet 60 minutes approx. Send check or money order to: Tortilla Flat Music, P.O. Box 556, NY, NY 10116-0556 Dan Thress (former editor with DCI/Warner Bros.) is now residing in Paris and has formed his own publishing company, Music in Motion Films. His first production features renowned conguero / percussionist Miguel “Anga” Díaz. Perhaps what makes this video different from others is that it deals with three, four, and five drum applications. The first section starts with a five drum tumbao pattern (called marcha) followed by various fills and melodic variations. It is then followed by a piano / conga performance, which demonstrates how these patterns can be applied. A guaguancó section for five drums then follows starting with a basic ride and followed by variations. Anga briefly talks about some technique exercises coming from the school of Changuito, Tata Güines, as well as himself. An interesting duo performance follows with DJ Gilb-R in which Anga provides us with more applications of the previous material. It is in this section that we start to see some of Anga’s own style such as playing with a stick in the right hand and applying it to his unique setup which includes various bells and timbongoros. He also has two sets of bells and a woodblock setup on bassdrum pedals, which he plays with his feet. Anga also provides us with some excellent applications of mixing rhythms such as pilón and batatumbá with funk. On the pilon + funk he plays drumset, timbales, and congas. On the batatumbá + funk the drumset, three congas, and the iyá are utilized. The final section is an uptempo tribute to the late Cuban pianist, Emiliano Salvador featuring a four-drum setup. A transcription and analysis booklet (by Victor Rendón) accompanies the video with all the basic rides and variations on the tape. By the time this goes to print, a book/CD version of the material should be in the works so keep an eye out. This video is available through Tortilla Flat Music as will the book/CD. Check the ordering information and the ad on page 12. Highly recommended. Mozambique Volume 2 with Kim Atkinson Pulse Wave Percussion P.O. Box 703, Sebastopol, CA 95473 Price: $30.00 + $4.00 P&H w/ booklet 60 minutes approx. CA residents add $2.20 tax Phone: 707-823-8885 Fax: 707-823-0131 Website: www.pulsewave.com This video is a continuation of Mozambique Volume I in which percussionist Kim Atkinson demonstrates the mozambique as he learned from its creator, Pedro Izquierdo, better know as Pello El Afrokan. As in volume I, Kim offers a concise presentation of the mozambique with a breakdown of the individual bell, conga, and bass drum parts in relation to the clave. In Volume I the rhythm was demonstrated and played in 3-2 clave. Here the rhythm is presented in 2-3 clave serving as a review of the first video and reinforcing the importance of thoroughly learning Cuban rhythms in both clave directions.

Counting is a main feature of Kim’s teaching strategies. All parts are counted in 8th and 16th notes. Drum syllables are also used for the conga parts derived from Olatunji’s “Gun Go Pa” method with some additions. The 2nd half of the video features what Kim calls mozambique “New York Style”. For the newcomer, this is the style of mozambique that developed in New York most notably with Eddie Palmieri’s “La Perfecta” (1960’s) with Manny Oquendo on timbales. The same procedure and strategy is used in the presentation of this style as in the first. Both styles are played in 4 and 7 piece ensembles, which makes it easy to see and hear the complete picture of how these styles are played. What is appreciated most is the articulate and concise presentation, which should make it easy for any percussionist of any level to learn these two important styles of mozambique. A music transcription booklet is included with all the parts written in both standard notation and a time unit box system. Highly Recommended

Books: La Africanía De La Música Folklórica De Cuba by Fernando Ortiz Fernando Ortiz (1881-1961) was an early century pioneer in the study of Afro-American studies. He wrote a number of books, which examined the indigenous and African roots in Cuban music. This work was part of a two-volume work published under two titles, La Africanía de la Música Folklórica de Cuba (1950) and Los Bailes y el Teatro de Los Negros en el Folklore de Cuba (1951). These led to a five-volume study titled Los Instrumentos de la Música Afrocubana (1951-1955). These books have long been out of print and could be obtained only in xerox form if you happened to know someone with a copy. This classic book examines musical and oral expression in Africa and Cuban origins of singing, poetry, oral tradition, as well as rhythm and melody in Afro-Cuban music. One interesting aspect of the book is that it contains batá musical transcriptions of the oru del igbodu (drummed religious ceremony without song, also called oru seco). While these transcriptions are problematic in themselves, it must be noted that these transcriptions became an important source of batá information for New York musicians. Using them as a learning tool they went on to study various recordings to decipher many of the toques (rhythm patterns). It is available through the Latin American Folk Institute, 2306 Fairview Terrace, Alexandria, VA 22303-1906 $24.95 (S&H $4.00) Spanish, 266 pages Cuándo Salí De La Habana 1898-1998: Cien Años De Música Cubana Por El Mundo by Cristóbal Díaz Ayala Fundación Musicalia P.O. Box 190613, San Juan, PR 00919-0613 256 pages in Spanish including a CD $25.00 including S&H Celebrating the first centennial celebration of Cuba’s independence, this book traces many artists, musical groups, and personalities, which form the musical history of Cuba since 1898. A CD containing twenty recordings is included. The reader is prompted to listen to specific tracks at various sections in the book, which help to mentally visualize the different eras. Included in the CD are an early version of “La Paloma” and the danzón “Habanera Tú”. It also contains the first version of “El Manisero” (1930) and “El Son De La Loma” (1928). Of particular interest is the inclusion of a version of “St. Louis Blues” recorded in New York (1931) by the orchestra of Los Hermanos Castro. The author cites this as an intention to fuse

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American jazz with Afro-Cuban music. Indeed, upon listening to the track one can definitely hear a rhythmic foundation of son with a coro from “El Manisero”. This intent, however, was not a commercial success. If this information is correct it should shed new light on the common belief that Mario Bauza and Dizzy Gillespie were the first to fuse jazz and Afro-Cuban music. Overall this work will serve as a good reference source with many facts and dates and should be in everyone’s personal library.

CD’s: Chucho Valdés & Irakere: Babalu Ayé Bembé Records, P.O. Box 1730, Redway, CA 95560-1730 Phone & Fax: (707) 923-7262 http://w w w. bembe. com Irakere, led by pianist, Jesus “Chucho” Valdés releases Babalú Ayé, an album of contemporary dance music. As stated in the notes, the CD is above all a dance album maintaining the signature sound of the band with its brassy horn lines and intense percussive rhythms. A favorite is “Esta Noche” with its precise horn riffs over intense rhythms. “La Comparsa” is another fiery tune sounding like rock/Latin/funk out of the late 1960’s with its blaring guitar riffs. Lázaro Ros (the best known akpwon or lead singer of traditional Yoruba sacred music) also joins the group for several Yoruba songs for the deity, Babalú Ayé titled “Cantata A Babalú Ayé”. This is certainly one of the most enjoyable recordings by Irakere. Bobby Shew: Salsa Caliente Mama Foundation 555 E. Easy St., Simi Valley, CA 93065 Trumpet player, Bobby Shew is world-renowned within jazz as a player and educator. He had a dream to one day record a Latin jazz CD. That he did with an all-star Los Angeles lineup which includes pianist/composer; Mark Levine, tenor saxophonist; Justo Almario, percussionist; Michito Sanchez, bassist; Eddie Resto, percussionist; José “Papo” Rodríguez, and trumpeter; Sal Crocchiolo among others. The result is quite a hard swinging recording with finely executed solos by all players and well done arrangements of “Cubano Chant”, “Linda Chicana”, Bill Fitch’s composition “Insight”, and others. Significant Others: Videos: Independence: Akira Jimbo Warner Bros. Publications Price: $39.95 60 min. approx. This is Akira Jimbo’s third video. This film is more instructional in nature demonstrating Akira’s ideas on 4-way independence (dexterous movement of the four limbs). Not surprisingly he does a lot of this through the application of Afro-Cuban rhythms in a style which has come to the front with the work of Cuban drummers such as Horacio Hernández, Jimmy Branley, Calixto Oviedo, Changuito, and others. He presents a systematic approach to the development of playing the clave with the left foot while playing songo, mambo, and soloing with the hands.

CD’s: Johnny Blas: Mambo 2000 Ubiquity Recordings / Cubop LA based percussionist/composer releases his 2nd CD with CuBop and continues to bring us good hard driving Latin-Jazz originals (only one cover tune; Picadillo) with his brassy trombone sound. Adriano Rodríguez & Edesio Alejandro: Soul of Cuba Bembé Records This CD is the unification of two generations. 74 year-old master of the son, Adriano Rodríguez teams up with composer Edesio Alejandro. Together they bring new light to traditional tunes such as “Bilongo” and “Suavecito” with funky bass lines and a strong percussive drum foundation. They call it acid son. Books: The Commandments of R&B Drumming: A Comprehensive Guide to Soul, Funk, and Hip-Hop (Warner Bros.) by Zorro A historical study of R&B drumming from soul to funk to hip-hop. Practical grooves from each era of R&B are studied and developed. CD included. The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as taught by Alan Dawson (Warner Bros.) by John Ramsay Jazz drummer and teacher, Alan Dawson, had a unique approach for teaching drumset which has been legendary among drummers. His alumni include Tony Williams, John Robinson, and Terri Lyne Carrington, among many others. Lessons included the study of rudiments (more than 80), four way coordination studies which made use of Ted Reed’s Syncopation for the Modern Drummer (more than 40 ways to interpret) and George Stone’s Stick Control. He also taught his students to solo by having them play and improvise to the form of a tune such as “Oleo”. Former student, John Ramsay has done an excellent job compiling all the material Mr. Dawson used to teach into one book and making it available to us. The two CD’s are a definite “must listen” which include tracks of Mr. Dawson playing, talking, and demonstrating many of his teaching techniques.

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Next Issue: Summer 1999

Armando Rodríguez / Victor Rendón Latin Jazz Ochestra

Havana Blues with Special Guest: Chico O’ Farrill

CD: $14.95 + $2.00 S&H NYS Residents add 8 1/4 % sales tax Send Check or M.O. to: Tortilla Flat Music P.O. Box 556 NY, NY 10116-0556