Cuba was amazing! When I arrived I spent my fist few days learning how to get around the city.  Then I looked up some of the contacts I had. One of these included a Master Conguero (expert conga player) whom I was to study with.  Aside from these lessons during the day I spent a lot of time exploring the city and meeting the people (and I have many stories to tell).  At night I would venture out to one of the many many venues that hosted live music.  This was the best!  While doing this I met and got the contact info of many great musicians on the scene.  My last week in cuba I called the best of the best players I had heard and arranged for a recording session at the Egrem studio (this is where many Famous Recordings were made), which was only 2 walking blocks from the host family I was staying with!  Did I mention that this recording will be available on iTunes soon!  After that it was time to pack my bag and head home.  However, this was not as easy as it seemed considering hurrican Gustav was about to hit the island.  This turned into me being stuck sleeping on the Havana Airport floor for three days until the storm had passed and I was able to get another flight.  I have much more to say about the politics, the people, the art. and the every day struggle that a Cuban goes through... Be sure to check out a few Cuba pics in the travel gallery.  

I will be leaving for Cuba on August 2nd, 2008 to study conga drumming first hand with the masters of the Rumba and Son styles. I will be traveling legit under the regulation set forth by the "Office of Foreign Assets Control" under the General License: "Professional Research".  I will return on August 31, 2008. Stay tuned for travel blogs.

Trinidad & Tobago are the Southern most islands of the Caribbean located just 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela - a very small country with a length of 50 miles and a width of 37 miles.  Though a small country they are very rich being that they have many natural fossil fuels off their shores.  This country is the home of where the Steel Drum was invented - the newest acoustic instrument since the 20th century.  This is also where, according to the Trini’s (locals), the best Carnival in the world takes place.  The islands' inhabitants are mainly of Indian and African decent.   Because of this I had the opportunity to eat lots of great Indian food such as Roti and Doubles as well as the African soup know as Souce and don’t forget the Chicken Feet.  While visiting I heard many of the 40 some steel drum bands perform and in some cases got to interview their arrangers.  Aside from the great music I couldn’t help but to notice how extremely friendly, helpful and hospitable the locals were.  Can’t wait to go back.

On the North-East coast of Brasil lays two musical cities. First is the city of Recife, the Capitol of Pernambuco and considered the "Venice of Brasil" for its many rivers, islands, and historical bridges. Take a quick bus ride North, where I am staying, you will find the small town of Olinda best know for its sixteen historical churches or in Portuguese "Igrejas" which are almost all in view of eachother. Unlike Rio de Janeiro, "the pandeiro capitol of the world" and home of Samba and Bossa Nova, it is in this part of Brasil that a music of a very different rhythms exist.

The first and most unique is the Maracatu.  This rhythm/song form was brought from Africa during the slave trade and its infectious beat is quickly becoming popular in other parts of the world. "Chico Science" was credited as on of the first Brasilian artist to incorporate this rhythm into a Brasilian pop music setting and he was very successful doing it too. Since I have been here I have had the opportunity to study Maracatu first hand with Tarcísio Soares Resende who is co-author of the definitive book on Maracatu titled "Batuque Book". I had also had the opportunity to see the group Daruê Malungo perform as well as meet their spiritual leader Mestre Gilson (Meia-Noite). This group is located in one if the poorest parts of Olinda and upon my arrival I was afraid to get out of the cab for fear something bad happening to me. So as protection I paid the cab drive to stay with me until I was finished with my visit three hours later and this turned out to be well worth it. The musicians and dancers of Daruê Malungo are comprised of very poor children from the ages of 5 to 20's from the surrounding slum village. Since I arrived early I had the experience of seing these ruff kids off the streets become transformed into graceful performers with their beautiful costumes and powerful drums. While the dancers where back stage transforming their bodies the drummer were fixing the stage and adjusting the backdrop meticulously until it was just right. The children took an awesome pride in their meager belongings. Before long the makeshift auditorium was beautiful and full of families and children eagerly awaiting the start of the show. I had no Idea what I was in for and soon became deeply moved by the flawless performance of these children. Not only because they were poor children but because the quality of their performance was that of a professional production and more. Something like this in the USA would have the broadway choreographer and dancers as well as the drummers taking notes - I was! You really have to see it to believe it. At the end of their performance I introduced myself to their leader, Meite Noite, and gave him some money to fix one of the instruments that I noticed was broken. He then had all of the performer sit in a circle with me and began to deliver a sermon to us. He had used this money I gave as a token to show the children that even though they are very poor that their talent and hard work is becoming know around the world and that more good things are to come for them. He explained to them that there are poor children from all parts of the world, including the U.S., who are benifiting from the positive energy music and dance can create in their life's and community's. I wish I had more money to give this group at the time and I know for sure that next time I come to visit I will have something more substantial to offer them.

Forro is another musical style traditional to this region. Forro means "for all" and is a general term for many sub-styles including Baiao, Xote, Xaxado and Galope.  Equally important to this music is the dancing that accompanies it. This music is native to the countryside with its main instrument being the accordion, triangle and zabumba drum. I experienced this music in many clubs and on the traditional Sunday night "Serenatas do Olinda" where all of the locals parade through the hills of Olinda singing the household melodies.  In Recife I had the opportunity to study the Zabumba instrument and the many Forro styles at "Bl Music", sort of like the "Musicians Institute" of Brasil.

Frevo is also a traditional style and it sounds very similar to dixieland and ragtime music from the USA but with a march-like feel. I look forward to returning to Pernambuco during carnival where all of these tradition will be brought to their fullest potential in nonstop performances. Apparently it is here, not in Rio, where the best carnival takes place(?).

Though there is still a lot of folkloric tradition preserved in Rio de Janeiro there has also been an apparent acceptance/intrusion (?) of American pop culture and marketing.  I have been to clubs in Ipanema that only play American pop music and oldies where all of the Brazilian's are singing along to the English lyrics.  American movies are well know and there were lines of people waiting see the new Fabulous Four movie.  At the hostel I am staying at there are frerqently American movies on TV with portuguese voice-overs, they are funny to watch because the actors mouth's move at a different rate then the portuguese words.  Last night "Back to the Future II" was on FOX.  Recently I attended the "Live Earth" concert on the beach of Copacabana where there was a total of 2 million people in attendance.  At this concert there were four bands, three American and only one Brazilian.  I was surprised to see how excited people were to hear Lenny Kravits perform.  He closed the show with a cover, "American Woman." And yes, there are McDonald's here.

From my very first day in Rio the city has been filled with street performers playing for tips, small bars with live choro, bossa nova and pagode music and big clubs with forro and samba shows for the tourist.  On my third day in Rio I went to a famous little bar with lots of musical history located in Copacabana called Bip Bip (pro nounced "BePee BePee")  I went their with one of my Brazilian musician connection, Paulo Otavio.  The club was very crowded with rows of people gathered outside either quitely listening-in toward the band or singing along to the classing folkloric songs.  I had the courage to work my way to the front and ask, in very rough Portuguese, if I could sit in on a song.  Eventually they said "yes gringo" as if it would be worth a good laugh.  When the song finished they were surprised at my ability to play the Pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine) and they invited me to play another song with them.  I was very honored. Toward the end of the night at Bip Bip the owner of the club stopped the band and started yelling loudly at the tourist in the crowd telling them to SHUT UP and listen to the great musicians.  I was a bit startled at this then my friend assured me it was ok because the owner does this everyweek and that it has been part of the "show" for years.  One member of the band invited me to come hear performance at the University of Rio (UniRio) the following Saturday.  So I went there too!  A 200 person orchestra of Brazilian instruments performing conducted arrangements of classic Brazilian melodies.  At this show I met some of the students and professors.  One of the students took me to the University Book store where I purchased some great texts and manuals about Brazilian rhythms.  Text that are not published in the USA. . This same person invited me to go see his friends band play in a small area of Rio know as Lapa.  This band was amaizing, a combination of all Brazilian styles.  The members of this band were very good and comparable to skill and artistry, if not better, to some of the best bands I have heard at top jazz clubs in New York and L.A.  A real awakening to how much talent is in the world and more specifically how awesome Brazilian musicians are.  On another night I sat in on a set with my friend Thiago Marcondes' band at a very nice hotel in Copacabana called Pestana Hotel. Yet another talented group and this one got video taped so check it out on YouTube soon.  When I went to visit the Contalago favela I had the opportunity to meet and play Samba with a few of the senior members of their samba school named "Alegria da Zona Sul."  When our ryhthms began to fill the air of the favela young children slowly came and started dancing the samba step to our beat.  It was so natuaral for them and they were so happy to hear the music, especially since carnival was still several months away.

Malandro is portugues for scoundrel and is a well know term in Brasil.  Here is how I became familiar with the term: 1.) I was almost hit by a taxi who ran a red light. Apparently they do not stop at red-lights after midnight for fear of being robbed. 2.) Someone tried to pick pocket me as I was returning from a swim at Ipanema Beach one afternoon. They did not get anything since I did not have a wallet on me! 3.) A cab driver tried to charge me double fair, I refused to pay it. 4.) I was searched for drugs by the policia on my way home from Copacabana to Ipanema one night and another time during the day on my way to the openning Pan Am ceremony at the Maracana. Of course, I did not have any drugs and according to my Rio friends the police are just as corrupt as the favela drug lords.  5.) Someone from a very well known samba school who's name I will not mention sold an intrument of mine without my knowledge or permission for 4x's its value to a blind man.  I got the instrument back. 6.) My international cell phone was stolen from my table at a restaurant. 

Rio de Janeiro is a city of extreme opposites where the very rich are geographically mixed with the very poor.  In the backyard hills of five-star hotels and condos are slum villages known as Favelas.  These are very poor communities often times corrupted by drugs and violent crime.  Some of them get their utilities by illegally tapping into the big hotels power lines.  I had the adventure of going on a behind scene's tour to one of the favelas with a person I met in L.A.  His name is Cabral and before he had success playing music for the Latin Grammy´s he lived in the Contalago favela which is located just off the beach in the hill between Copacabana and Ipanema.  I must admit that I was a little hesitant to walk around this favela even though I was with a local who knew everyone there.  The local newspaper headline from the day prior didn't help ease this funny feeling in my stomach; "30 innocent killed by lost police bullets in favela war".  During this walk through the dirt streets I saw many things: Young children flying kites, mothers openly breast feeding their babies, a teenage kid with gun in hand, many children and adults walking around without shoes or shirt, streets filthy with trash, wild chickens roaming freely and the air smelling of sewer waste. The young children seemed happy as well as many others of the community. Children in the favela are raised by the entire village, everyone knows and looks out for eachother. In L.A. I don't know one family who would let their children roam freely in thier neighborhood, most people in L.A don't even know who thier neighbors are. In Rio it is more apparent where the dangerous places are than in the USA as we have seen with the recent shootings at schools and universities in the USA.  The favelas also have one of the best hillside views of the beach and Atlantic ocean, a view that would cost millions to live near in the USA.   Located directly across the street from first class dining establishments are little tiny bars that surprisingly have some really good food.  One of the traditional meals served at these "dives" is called Feijoada - Brazil's national dish invented by the slaves.  Most of these bars are owned by Portuguese families who were part of Brazil's colonization.  This is evident by the stylized Portuguese tiles on the walls and floors.  Automobiles share the streets with rickshaws (hand pushed, two wheeled delivery carts) that are stacked high with cardboard, aluminum, and plastic bottles that the poor spend their day collecting from the trash inorder to trade it in for money.