Brazilian Music
No matter what the project is, Desafinado, Recycled Rhythms, Shaking a Stick, solo performance, everything I
generate is influenced by Brazil. The following is a brief glimpse of the people and places I have encountered
during my study of Brazilian music and culture.
My training began with Bira Monteiro, an incredible percussionist/dancer from Salvador, Bahia.
I spent four months with Bira studing and playing samba-reggae and forró music. Dede Sampaio
introduced me to old school samba, the friction drum called cuica and the basics of playing the
musical bow called berimbau (bee-dim-bow). (The berimbau accompanies the afro-brazilian martial
arts called capoeira). In 2004 I arrived in Salvador, Bahia to study at the Oficina de Investigação Musical,
a small institution that focused on afro-bahian, northeastern and indigenous music and culture, located in
the historical district of Pelorinho. Instructors included Carlos Scorpião, Gilo, Anderson Souza, Kinho
and Bira Reis. During my stay in Brazil I met environmental percussionist Peu Meurray who introduced the
use of car tires as drums to educate people about pollution, recycling and drumming. The music of the
berimbau brought me to capoeira, the Cordão de Ouro family and contra mestre Denis Chiaramonte in early 2005.
But wait, theres more!
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