This week’s guest is Marcelo Bucater. Marcelo is a drummer/percussionist and educator from São Paulo - Brazil based in Los Angeles since 2013.

Currently, he is the Drum Department Chair at Los Angeles College of Music (LACM), teaching private and group lessons.

Marcelo has worked as a session and touring musician, recording and performing live with many different artists. His versatility as a drummer and percussionist led to performances accompanying artists of different genres all over the world.

He has produced, recorded and performed with independent artists and renowned musicians such as Carrie Underwood for the 51st ACM Award, Ladybug Mecca (Digable Planets), Arthur Verocai, Adrian Younge (Jazz is Dead), Tinto Tango (Latin Grammy Winner), Antonio Carlos & Jocafi, Adam Levy (Norah Jones), Darek Oles, Scott Henderson, Philip Bynoe, John Avila (Oingo Boingo), Gemini (Producer), Natália Spadini, Shandy and Eva, Andrew Murdock (Producer), Koobong Ensemble and Phat Cat Swinger to name a few.
Performed in venues like Lincoln Center (NY), Disney California Adventure, Rose Bowl, Levi's Stadium, MGM Arena in Las Vegas, Microsoft Theater, Hollywood Pantages Theater, Pershing Square LA, El Rey Theater, NAMM Show, Thalia Hall, Queen Mary, The Mayan, and many others.

Marcelo is a member of the Recording Academy and a voting member of the Latin Grammys. Some of his music projects include the Press Award 2020 Finalist group Little Brazil Trio – which made it to the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards ballot in five categories and was a finalist at the 24th Annual USA Songwriting Competition with the original song “Vem”.

With a Bachelor's in Music at FAAM (SP-Brazil), a Degree in Music Performance at Los Angeles College of Music, and a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance at California Institute of The Arts(CalArts), he had the chance to study with renowned musicians such as Jeff Hamilton, Joe LaBarbera, Ralph Humphrey, Randy Gloss, Joe Porcaro, and Edu Ribeiro.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Master Christopher Thompson! Christopher Thompson (He/Him/His), otherwise known as 'Master Christopher', is a multi-disciplined performer-composer that is sure to entertain! As an active percussionist and rhythmic lyricist, he creates innovative ways to blur the distinction between genres by merging contemporary percussion, classical music, and jazz, with rap. He has recently released his debut album “Music Desegregation” in July 2022, which featured nine unique works spanning a plethora of musical styles and instruments while collaborating with over thirty artists and musicians.

Thompson is passionate about community engagement and inclusive opportunities for music performance. He is the founder and director of Motivational Arts, Performance, and Sound (M.A.P.S.), a company that teaches vision through an inspirational performance of the arts. As a Motivational Performer, he presents an inspirational message in various community settings and encourages underrepresented groups to realize their dreams while experiencing a high level of the arts. Performing in venues like the 2022 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, the Eurovision Song Contest in Dusseldorf Germany, the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues festival in High Point NC, and with groups like the Greensboro Symphony and the Winston Salem Symphony Orchestras, he continually expounds on the limits of genre and creates intercultural music.

Chris Thompson has an extensive background in teaching and motivating youth. He recently served as the director of percussion studies at High Point University, where he led a comprehensive percussion program. At HPU, Mr. Thompson directed the Panther Pulse Drumline and was the assistant conductor of the Wind Ensemble. He also worked as an Arts Integration Facilitator with Guilford County Schools, assisting teachers on how to integrate the arts into their normal curriculum. Thompson previously taught as the Percussion Instructor for the award-winning Blue Steel Drumline of Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, as well as served as the Percussion Instructor for the B Natural Academy of Music and the Arts, where he delivered a program that provides quality and affordable music lessons to underserved children in the Greensboro Community.

Thompson has completed a master’s degree in Percussion Performance and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Jazz Studies from the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music, where he also served as Principal Percussionist for the University Symphony Orchestra. He is a proud Alumnus of North Carolina A&T State University where he marched for the Blue and Gold Marching Machine and served as Drum Captain for the internationally acclaimed Cold Steel Drumline.

Christopher Thompson currently serves on the board of the Alliance of Black Orchestral Percussionists, is a member of the Percussive Arts Society New Music/Research committee, and is an Endorsed Artist for Marimba One and Black Swamp Percussion.

Happy Birthday to Martin Cohen!Call it love at first sound. In 1956, when Latin Percussion founder Martin Cohen was 17, he wandered into the legendary New York nightclub Birdland, where vibraphonist Cal Tjader was leading a Latin-jazz band. “The music was so infectious that I have never lost my love for it,” Cohen says.

He subsequently started attending the Monday-night jam sessions at Birdland, headed up by Herbie Mann and featuring such Latin percussionists as Candido, Jose Mangual, and Chano Pozo. Although Cohen was an engineer, not a musician, he got the urge to participate.

“I wanted to get a pair of bongos,” he recalls, “because Jose Mangual had made the biggest impression on me. But I couldn’t find a pair of bongos because the U.S. had initiated an embargo of Cuba, and that’s where the good bongos, congas, and cowbells had always come from. So I decided to make my own.”

Cohen wanted to make his drums the traditional way, from a single block of wood. So he bought some blocks of mahogany from a sculpture supply store. Working from photographs he had taken of Johnny Pacheco’s bongos, Cohen took his blocks to a wood turner who machined them for him.

“That was the beginning of my learning process,” Cohen says. “He machined them on Friday, and by Monday they were a quarter of an inch smaller. I didn’t realize that you had to dry the wood first. So he had to insert a piece of wood to accommodate that quarter-inch change.”

Cohen ended up selling that pair of bongos, but he continued making bongos and putting them in stores on consignment. He maintained a day job as an engineer with a company that made medical equipment, but spent his nights and weekends making instruments and going to nightclubs to hear Latin music.

“I did my most important research in Latin dance halls in the South Bronx, where shootings were not unknown,” he recalls. “Then I would go to the after-hours clubs that began at 6:00 in the morning. I was the only non-Latino in these places that, frankly, were in the seamy side of town. A lot of people probably thought I was an undercover policeman. But I got by, primarily because I had such a love affair going with Latin music.”

As word spread about the quality of Cohen’s bongos, he was approached by Specs Powell, a CBS staff drummer. Powell wanted a pair of bongos, but he wanted them mounted on a stand. “I said, ‘You can’t play bongos on a stand,’ because nobody in the Latin scene played them on a stand,” Cohen says. “But he was insistent, so I devised a bongo mounting bracket that didn’t require drilling a hole through the bongo.” -Read More

Happy Birthday to Mike Dawson! Mike Dawson was the managing editor for Modern Drummer, the world’s most widely read magazine for drummers, and he serves as book editor for Modern Drummer Publications, with most recent releases including FUNdamentals of Drumming for Kids by modern country great Rich Redmond and co-author Michael Aubrecht, Stick Technique by rudimental drumming specialist Bill Bachman, and Exercises in African-American Funk by University of Miami professor Steve Rucker and top touring drummer Jonathan Joseph (Jeff Beck, Joss Stone, Richard Bona). In the pages of MD, Dawson has authored dozens of artist features, educational columns, event reports, and product reviews. He is one half of the Mike and Mike podcast team for the Modern Drummer Podcast. An active performer, teacher, and session drummer in the New York City area, Dawson has a bachelor’s degree in music education from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He’s Senior Lecturer in music journalism at the University of the Arts. Mike also produces drum tracks for artists all around the world out of his home studio in New Jersey.

Happy Birthday to Casey Cangelosi! Casey is commonly hosted world-wide by educational institutions, music festivals, and educational seminars. Casey has been a visiting guest artist in Italy, Germany, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, Croatia, Sweden, Taiwan, and widely across the U.S. at events including the The Midwest Clinic and PASIC Showcase Concerts. Casey is a regularly commissioned composer called the "Paganini of Percussion" and "The voice of a new generation". Casey holds music degrees from Rice University, The Boston Conservatory, and Utah State University. Casey is endorsed by Majestic, Mapex, Innovative Percussion, Zildjian, Grover Pro Percussion, Remo, and Beiner Bags.

Happy Birthday to José Montaña! José Born in Madrid (Spain) 1984, he started his studies at the age of 14 in the school of music Maestro Gombau (Madrid)

At the age of 16 he made his first debut in a series of flamenco festivals called "Los Almaizares” playing with Jose de Luna. One of his deep foundations is the Porrina Cajon family, friends since he was a child. He had the opportunity to learn from them and from the best cajón player and percussionist Israel Suarez "El Piraña". Also, Lucky Losada, Ramon Porrina & Sabú Porrina were very inspirational to him as percussionists. As he continued to develop in the Flamenco world he took Afro-cuban lessons with Miguel "Anga" diaz, The multi-percusionist Pepe Espinosa, The singer and percussionist Pedro "pedrito" Martinez, Jose Luis Quintana o"Changuito", Tata Guines , Giovanni Hidalgo and a lot more. He studied in Cuba with Chucho Valdes’ percussion player, Yaroldi Abreu, and with Adonis Panter, former Quinto player of the group Yoruba Andabo now director of Osain del monte.

The biggest inspiration for his music is the multi-instrumentalist and bass player Alain Perez (Paco de Lucia ́s Group) who is also his teacher and of course the Latin Jazz master Jerry Gonzalez! In the way of the most purest flamenco he studied in Amor de Dios (Flamenco School from Madrid) taking the rhythm from the most interesting part of flamenco...."the dance", And Developing that Into the CAJÓN...Starting to perform with the rhythmically virtuosos flamenco dancers like Alfonso Losa,Nino de los reyes,Juan de juan, Antonio y Manuel Reyes,Antonio Canales and much more.

Drawn by the purest forms of flamenco he studied at the legendary flamenco center Amor De Dios. He absorbed the rhythms of the flamenco footwork and developed that on the CAJÓN. He began to perform with rhythmic virtuosos and flamenco dancers such as Alfonso Losa, Nino de los reyes, Juan de juan, Antonio y Manuel Reyes, Antonio Canales and many more. He is also fluent in African drumming, Bata, Djembe, Dum Dum, Brazilian percussion, Afro-Peruvian and Hindu music leaving him the open space for Fusion. He has been playing with all this amazing artist of Jazz, Flamenco, Cuban Music, Pop and World music such as: Alain Perez, Richard Bona, Jorge Pardo, Chano Dominguez ,Antonio Rey, Antonio Serrano, Javier Limon, Antonio Canales, Jerry Gonzalez, Montse Cortés, Javier Massó Caramelo, Tino di Geraldo, Juan José Suárez “Paquete”, Enrique Heredia “El negri”, Israel Fernandez, Rafael Amargo, Rojas & Rodriguez, Cristobal Reyes & Juana Amaya, Amador Rojas, Agustin Carbonell “El Bola” ̈, Lara Bello, Sandra Carrasco, Dan Ben lior, Paco Cruz, Nino de los Reyes, La Talegona, David Paniagua y Sonia Olla, Javier Colina, Diego Guerrero, Rycardo Moreno,Aleph (Libano), Yelsy Heredia, Pete Lockett, Yuri Juarez, Carlos Sarduy, Marinah (Ojos de Brujo).

Now as a De Gregorio Cajón Artist is performing at all the best international Percussion Festivals like: Namm (California USA), Fiesta Del Tambor (Habana Cuba), XIV Seminari Cajón (Barcelona Spain), D52Ankara Drumfest (Turkey), Drumscene Magazine, London Drum Show (Great Britain), Singapore Drum Festival Ultimate weekend (Singapore), New York Masterclass at CCC Center for the performing arts, Australia Ultimate Drummers Weekend #AUDW (Australia), Perfoming with Eric Moore, Cris Coleman, Dave Elicht, John Riley, Greg Bisonette and many more!

Endorsed By Cajón DG, Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals & G-Drums He is currently Doing Workshops all around Spain.Europe and EEUU Since 2016 He has being doing Workshops around the globe Italy (Borgolavezzaro Milan, Torino Novara, Verbania, Rome), Germany (Köln Düsseldorf), Turkey (Ankara Istambul), Singapore, London, New York, Australia (Sidney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane), Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao, Murcia), Encajonarte ,Primitivo, Escola, D’Akokan, France (Paris Studio bleu), South Korea (Seoul) At Cajon Center, Canadá At Studio Zuruba with PercuSoul (Quebec, Toronto) Gran Canaria Flamenco Estudio! “Cajón Afro” Masterclass Madrid Amazónico With José Montaña & Magerït Café Berlín 101BomBo! Masterclass NYC 2020, Masterclass Boston 2020.

Happy Birthday to Joel Tetzlaff! Joel has twenty-one years of marketing experience with Yamaha, the largest instrument manufacturer in the world. Providing depth of knowledge with a wide diversity of people, situations and business factors with an extensive background in creative development, customer engagement, promotion process, sales and dealer support.

Happy Birthday to Rodney Baretto! Born in 1984, Rodney comes from a family with musical tradition. His second last name, the very well known Barreto, is synonymous with excellence in drumming in Cuba, as Rodney’s uncle is Julio César Barreto. Although Julio César was an enormous inspiration for his nephew, he was not the only family member that contributed to Rodney’s musical story. Rodney’s great uncle was a composer for Cuban singers, including the famous Benny Moré. From the early age of three, Rodney was totally involved in musical activities, and captivated as he watched his uncle practice, and took in the live shows during street carnivals.

At 9 years old, Rodney entered the elementary music school in Havana to study percussion. Although percussion students are not supposed to start with the drumset until the age of 18, Rodney had his first drum lesson at 11, and 5 years later, at the age of 16, he was already touring internationally as a professional drummer.

At the age of 17, Rodney joined one of the biggest and most prestigious Cuban salsa bands, Isaac Delgado’s Orchestra, with whom he toured with for five years.

It doesn’t matter if it is salsa, jazz, rock, hip-hop… Rodney Barreto is the owner of a very personal style and groove, that has made him one of the youngest and brightest drummers in Cuba.

Happy Birthday to Jordan Perlson! The career of drummer, percussionist, producer and educator Jordan Perlson has spanned about as wide a stylistic reach as one can imagine. Be it with jazz legends Seamus Blake, Gary Burton, David Liebman, or folk heroes Alison Brown and Missy Raines, or reggae giants Matisyahu and Trevor Hall, cutting edge music innovators like Becca Stevens, Snarky Puppy, Banda Magda and Jeff Coffin, progressive music with Adrian Belew, Echolyn or Kaki King, or fusion megastar Hiromi, Jordan has become a known force in these many circles. Credits on 100+ recordings, including national and international ad campaigns for Powerade, Netflix, The NY Rangers, Buick and more, Jordan is at home in the studio as he is on stage. Visit his Remote Drum Recording page to learn more about hiring him for your next project. Having taught at prestigious institutions such as Berklee College of Music, New York University and masterclasses all over the world, Jordan is a passionate educator. Visit his Distance Drum Coaching page to learn more about studying with him. An author of 2 books for Mel Bay publishing, Jordan’s books have been translated into several languages and are used the world round by teachers and students of many levels.

Happy Birthday to Phil Collins!

Gig Alerts

The United States Army Field Band has a percussion/drumset vacancy that needs to be filled. Friend of the show Robert Marino will be your immediate boss.

The University of Delaware Interactive Percussion Seminar will be taking place March 9-10th 2024. If you attend, you will see friends of the show there, Jim Ancona, Dr. Andrea Venet, and Valerie Naranjo among other percussionists.

Gary Clark Jr. is going on tour and friend of the show, J.J. Johnson will be accompanying him on drums.

Friend of the show, David Rivera Y La Bambula will be performing at the Violet House in Miami on Friday February 2nd.

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Justin Timberlake will be going on tour with Adam Blackstone as the musical director and Mike Reid on drums.

Educational Spotlight

The Philippines Day of Percussion will be taking place on Feb 17, 2024, Saturday at Recital Hall 2, presented by University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music, UST Symphony Orchestra, and Percussive Arts Society Philippine Chapter.

This will feature Tomoko Abe, Daniel Bartolome, Satur Tiamson, Karmi Santiago, Thristan Mendoza, Temple Hill International School, UST Percussion Ensemble, and friend of the show Kana Omori.

Iconic Recording

Marcelo chose the iconic recording for the week. It is “Jada” by the Ray Brown trio with Jeff Hamilton on drums.

Music News

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TikTok is trouncing YouTube in total user minutes for the youngest generation (2-18 year-olds). The study reveals kids are spending 60% more time on TikTok compared to YouTube. Is there any wonder why YouTube launched its Shorts feature to compete? -Article