#260 Marcus Santos- Percussionist, Educator, Director of Grooversity & More!
A contemporary percussionist and educator, Marcus, is a native of Bahia, Brazil. He commits his life to the study, teaching and performance of his hometown's Afro-Brazilian music and heritage.
Marcus performed with several world renown artists such as the Gypsy Kings (Spain), Daniela Mercury (Brazil) and the Brand New Heavies (England). He has also performed for the president of Brazil, TEDx and with the “One World Band” produced by MTV. Marcus also played at the Sony Pictures Oscar nominated movie ‘Rachel's getting Married’ with Anne Hathaway. He has been honored with the 2013 KOSA Recognition award, Outstanding Arts Performer Award by the Brazilian Immigrant Center (2008) as well as Outstanding Percussionist Award by Berklee College of Music in 2004.
Marcus currently teaches in the Boston area at New England Conservatory, Middlesex Community College and Somerville High School. He is the author of the DVD ‘Modern Approach to Pandeiro’ and performed in the music education DVD ‘Musically Speaking II’ by BOSE. Marcus has lead workshops on Afro-Brazilian percussion and music for Social Change in festivals, universities and conventions around the world such as Fiesta Del Tambor (Cuba), Carnegie Hall (NYC), PASIC (USA) and Harvard University. He is currently the artist director of the Grooversity global drumming network project that includes twenty four drumming groups from the US, Canada, Germany, Mexico and France.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Dr. Colleen Clark. She is an Assistant Professor of Jazz at the University of South Carolina where she coordinates the small ensembles, conducts a big band, and teaches her drumset studio and jazz history courses. As a player, Clark has been described as "someone to watch" and "someone who will be turning heads in jazz for years to come." Clark was invited by the ASCAP Foundation to lead her band, the Colleen Clark Collective, at the Kennedy Center.
Dr. Clark has performed in prominent NYC venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland and the 55 Bar. Her debut album, consisting entirely of her original music, Introducing Colleen Clark, was produced by Gordon Stout and engineered by ten-time Grammy Award nominee/winner, Brian Dozoretz. Clark proudly joined the Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Combo on their premiere performance at the Jazz Education Network Conference in 2019. She has presented her research on the evolution of the ride cymbal pattern for the Percussive Arts Society and the Jazz Education Network.
Dr. Clark has taught at the City University of New York's Borough Manhattan Community College and was active Graduate Faculty at the University of North Texas. She was a lead teacher for the ChiCa Power program at Jazz House Kids in Montclair, NJ.
Clark can most recently be heard playing on SteepleChase record #900, Allegra Levy's Lose My Number: Allegra Levy Sings John McNeil.
Dr. Clark is the only woman and drummer to earn a doctoral degree in jazz from the University of North Texas.
Her latest project is CC & the Adelitas, which features the merging of the golden era of Mexican music and jazz.
For nearly two decades, Nate Smith has been a key piece in reinvigorating the international music scene with his visceral, instinctive, and deep-rooted style of drumming. He holds a diverse and ample résumé — which includes work with esteemed jazz leading lights such as Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Chris Potter, José James, John Patitucci, Ravi Coltrane, and Somi among many others. His 2x GRAMMY-nominated debut album, KINFOLK: Postcards from Everywhere, sees Smith fusing his original modern jazz compositions with R&B, pop, and hip-hop. He’s also ventured into the pop/rock world with recent collaborations with Vulfpeck spinoff band The Fearless Flyers, Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes) and performances with songwriters Emily King and Van Hunt. In recent years, through a series of viral videos, he has emerged as one of the most influential and popular drummers of his generation. His videos have been viewed millions of times and have inspired countless musicians and fans. In September of 2018, he released his first ever solo drumset album Pocket Change.
As a composer and arranger, Mr. Smith received two (2) GRAMMY nominations for his composition “Home Free (for Peter Joe)” for best instrumental composition and best arrangement (instrumental or a cappella). Of the KINFOLK: Postcards From Everywhere project, Mr. Smith says: “It was my goal to start with the simplest of elements, singable melodies with familiar harmonies, and use them to weave stories that felt nostalgic without being overly sentimental. Pieces like ‘Retold’ and ‘Pages’ use familiar, consonant harmonies as a means of evoking the listener to “reach back” for a memory, while ‘Skip Step’ and Spinning Down’ use layers of rhythm to express a feeling of unsettled tension. ‘Disenchantment: The Weight’ uses an ascending/descending chord progression to simulate a deep sigh of resignation, while ‘Home Free (for Peter Joe)’ uses a hymn like melody as a means of evoking feelings of both solemnity and ceremony.
When Scott Kettner looks at a map, he sees a direct line that connects the rivers of northeastern Brazil to the parishes of New Orleans and the streets of Brooklyn. A master percussionist, bandleader, producer and songwriter, Kettner is the guiding force behind Nation Beat, a band whose teeming, vibrant rhythms find common ground in the primal maracatu rhythm of Brazil’s northeastern region, the Big Easy’s funky, hypnotic second-line and strolling Mardi Gras Indians, and the unfettered freedom of big-city downtown jazz.
For Scott, the discovery of maracatu was a life-changing experience. The great jazz drummer Billy Hart, who served as Kettner’s instructor at New York’s New School University, first informed him of the mysterious music. “He was turning me on to African music from different regions,” says Kettner, “and we started getting into Afro-Cuban rhythms and Brazilian rhythms. After a couple of years studying samba and bossa nova, I asked him, ‘Are there any other rhythms from Brazil that I should be learning?’ He said, ‘Yeah, man, there’s this music called maracatu!’ I pointed to his drumset and said, ‘Show it to me,’ and he said, ‘I don’t know how to play it! I just know it’s a badass rhythm and you have to go learn it, then come back and teach it to me.’”
Intrigued, Kettner began asking Brazilian musicians based in New York how he could learn about maracatu. Even most of them knew nothing of it. The only thing to do, Kettner reasoned, was to go to Brazil and find maracatu. Upon graduating in 2000, he spent a year living in the country, based primarily in the northeastern city of Recife, living in a favela, studying maracatu and other, even more obscure Brazilian rhythms with his new mentor, Jorge Martins. Upon his return to the USA, Kettner implemented maracatu in NYC and began performing and conducting workshops throughout the country.
As a side-man, Scott Kettner has performed and/or recorded with Willie Nelson, Cyro Baptista, Stanton Moore and Galactic, Frank London, The Klezmatics, Cascabulho, Vieux Farka Toure, Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante and many more.
His new book entitled “Maracatu for Drumset and Percussion” is now available by Hal Leonard Publishing. This is the first in-depth percussion book about the rich culture and music of Maracatu de Baque Virado from Brazil, with photos, history, recordings and an instructional CD-Rom.
Scott is also a recent recipient of a prestigious NEA (National Endowment for The Arts) award for his project entitled “A Tale of Two Nations” which brought together his group Nation Beat and the traditional maracatu group from Recife, Brazil Estrela Brilhante. The grant helped fund a tour that had it’s world debut at Lincoln Center Out of Doors in the summer of 2013. This tour was historic in that it was the first time that a traditional maracatu group from Brazil had ever performed in the United States.
And Happy Birthday to co-host for the past 5 years, Marcos Torres.
Gig Alerts
The Ground Up Festival returns to Miami in February of 2022.
Sixthman has reinstated cruises in 2022 as well.
Damon had a gig scheduled for the 23rd of December, but that has been cancelled due to Covid concerns.
Educational Spotlight
The Percussive Arts Society artist application for PASIC, is open until January 21, 2022.
Iconic Recording
There are two iconic recordings for this week. “The Obvious Child” by Paul Simon from the album, ‘Rhythm of the Saints’.
The second song recommended is “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson. The version is the 2020 Spike Lee remake with social justice protests included.
Music News
You can vote for your favorite drummer in the Drumeo poll for 2021.
Ticketmaster Australia now allows fans to verify their vaccine status upon check-in.
The new process was trialed at a cricket game at Marvel Stadium, a 53,000-seat stadium. 50% of fans who attended the game used the new check-in process, which Ticketmaster deemed successful. On event day, ticket holders receive an email and a text message linking them to the venue’s COVID-19 check-in page. -Article
All three major record labels have signed a pact to become carbon neutral by 2050. Here’s what it means.
Sony, Universal, and Warner will seek to halve their carbon emissions by 2030. The three labels will have until 2050 to reach a goal of net-zero emissions. Several independent record labels have already started realigning their business to be carbon neutral. The Music Climate Pact is also joined by the Secretly label group, Beggars Group, Warp, and Ninja Tune.
The pact seeks to address carbon neutrality for activities like touring, vinyl manufacturing, and music streaming. All three of these activities are unsustainably carbon-intensive at current levels. -Article
A German woman listed an Eric Clapton CD on eBay for $11 – and was successfully sued by the musician.
The woman listed the CD on the online marketplace after her husband passed away. But she didn’t expect the listing to get the attention of Clapton himself. The CD itself was a bootleg of one of Clapton’s live performances in the ’80s, which the woman neither bought nor sold. But a German court sided with Clapton after he launched a lawsuit. -Article
Marcus Santos Interview
The interview starts with some name confusion and the reference of Marcos’ hair color to ice cream.
This is the interview Marcos found when he was doing research on Marcus.
Damon brings up Bahia, Brazil as the birthplace of Samba and the result of the middle passage (slave trade).
Marcos talks about NYC and Hollywood for bringing Cuban music and culture to the masses. Damon mentions that Bossa Nova and Carnival helped do that for Brazilian culture.
Marcus mentions the importance of Carmen Miranda, who was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha on February 9, 1909, near Porto, Portugal, in the town of Marco de Canavezes. She was the first Latin American star to be invited to imprint her hands and feet in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, in 1941. She became the first South American to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Carmen was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the 1930s onwards.
José "Zé" Carioca is a cartoon anthropomorphic parrot created by the Brazilian cartoonist José Carlos de Brito and shown to Walt Disney in his trip to Rio de Janeiro in 1941.
Shout-out to (friend of the show) Nêgah Santos, who was a member of Marcus’ Grooversity ensemble.
Damon mentions the end of show Samba performed in the show Blast!
If you are interested in trying out a mushroom green smoothie, here is a recipe.
Samba originated in Bahia and evolved in Rio. Samba de roda was the first style to be made popular.
Marcus talks about history of Africans in Brazil and the evolution of the music and religion.
The atabaque drum is still used in Capoeira, Samba de Roda and Candomblê. Marcus also makes mention of the Cabula.
Shout-out to Carlinhos Brown and his group Timbalada, Meia Noite, and Carlinhos Pandeiro do Ouro.
Marcus brings up the album Brasiliero by Sergio Mendes.
The guys share stories about urination.
Marcus talks about the connection from the religion to samba.
The guys talk about playing with dynamics and also playing soft.
Marcus and Marcos talk about Brazilian pop music and the artist Ludmilla.
You can study with Marcus at New England Conservatory or through his Grooversity ensemble.
Marcus talks about the iconic recordings and pays homage to the late inventor of samba-reggae, Neguinho de Samba.
Shout-out to Cyro Baptista.
The town Marcus mentions is Pelourinho. It means whipping post in Portuguese, and this was the old slave auction location in the days when slavery was common. The ensemble that Neguinho helped create is the Dida Female Band.
Shout-out to Latin Percussion instruments, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Sabian cymbals, and Remo drumheads.
Marcos brings up Marcus’ solo at Berklee.
Damon brings up the holiday spotify playlist he and Marcos Torres created.
