(By
Ann Alex).
The sun shone, the
people listened (and clapped sometimes) as we played beside the sculpture in Gateshead shopping centre. ‘We’ are the drummers from the Sage Silver
Programme, entertaining with African and Samba drumming. As I’ve said before on BSH, this type of
activity can’t do your jazz skills any harm, learning rhythms and sequences,
and working as part of a group. I
thought I detected some improvisation from the samba group, as well! More about that later.
This year I’ve been
involved with the African Drumming, playing djembes (hand drums). A different
sound is produced according to whether you hit the drum on the edge or in the
middle. Our first piece, which I believe is the rhythm used to introduce the
news in
I can’t explain so much
about the Sambanistas as I haven’t
done this for the last 2 years, but they all looked summery in yellow tee
shirts and colourful hats. They play a
selection of drums, large free-standing surdos, played with sticks; timbals
which are higher-pitched hand drums; snare drums; and there are also agogo
bells and tamborims. This band came on
first and they really got the attention of the crowd with 3 or so carnival type
tunes. After our African Drum
performance, the advanced group of Sambanistas
played a very skilled set, about 5 drummers, each person apparently playing
individual parts. The tunes and riffs sounded complex, with some short solos
from each player. Clever stuff.
We are very grateful for
the leadership of our drumming tutors, Phil Davids and Jim Montague, and if any
jazzers want to join us next term, be quick, and sign up with the Sage Silver
Programme.
Ann
Alex
No comments :
Post a Comment