So Many Drummers from All Around the World
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by Chuck Silverman o many drummers from all around the world have much to share with us. They move us with the rhythms of their respective countries. These rhythms, some of which are mixtures from many cultures, have a way of reaching down deep into our soul that makes us want Sto explore them and bring them to our own drumming. A number of these rhythms have become a standard part of our drumming culture, while others remain fixed in their country of origin. Likewise, some of the drummers who play these rhythms are well known around the world, and others are not. My mission as a professional musician has been to share the beauty of these various styles with all drummers and to show how the rhythms can be used as building blocks for developing your own way of expressing yourself on the drums. The rhythms of Brazil have been deeply rooted in my drumming for decades now. I’ve been very fortunate to travel to Brazil to perform, to learn, and to cast myself into the deep cauldrons of drums and drumming found in various regions of the country. I know I’m but a child when it comes to learning about the rhythms of Brazil. Each neighbor- hood in each city has its own way of interpreting rhythms. But learning and sharing is my goal. With that in mind, I want to introduce to you seven great drumset artists of Brazil: Robertinho Silva, Christiano Rocha, Ramon Montagner, Giba Favery, Celso de Almeida, Tutty Moreno, and Teo Lima. CHUCK SILVERMAN dfdfdfdfd 68 MODERN DRUMMER • SEPTEMBER 2009 ROBERTINHO SILVA was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Brazilian music should begin to learn about it, in 1941. His many influences include styles emanating Robertinho suggests, “Listen to the music, feeling the from all over the country: Afro-Brazilian rhythms such as way it swings. It’s different from anything else. Brazil has ijexá, capoeira, and maculelê; rhythms from the northeast a huge variety of rhythms. We have more than fifty regions of Brazil, like baião, maracatú, and forró; and so rhythms that are ‘registered,’ and many others are in a many more. Silva’s drumming influences include Luciano phase of study and discovery. It demands dedication to Perrone—“the Pope of Brazilian drums”—and Plínio learn about Brazilian music.” Araújo, who’s been playing with the Orquestra Tabajara Silva has created the Batucadas Brasileiras school, for for sixty-three years. Silva also credits bossa nova drum- students between fourteen and twenty-five years old who mers Edison Machado, Dom Um Romão, and Milton come from low-income families, and the Orquestra De Banana, plus American jazz drummers Philly Joe Jones, Percussão Robertinho Silva percussion group. Visit Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams, as having a www.batucadasbrasileiras.org.br to find out more about major impact on his music. Robertinho’s school. When asked how someone who hasn’t been exposed myspace.com/robertinhosilva50 CELSO DE ALMEIDA was born in 1960 in Tupa, a small country town in São Paulo. His very first influence was his father, Ary de Almeida, who was also a drummer. Ary introduced Celso to the music of Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, and such Brazilian drummers as Edison Machado and Rubens Barsotti. De Almeida enjoys listening to Jeff Hamilton, Clarence Penn, Peter Erskine, Brian Blade, and Vinnie Colaiuta, as well as Brazilians Pantico Rocha, Cezinha, Toinho Batera, Jorge “Samba” Gomes, Jorginho Gomes, Lêlo Izar, Marcio Bahia, and Edu Ribeiro. myspace.com/celsodealmeida TUTTY MORENO was born in the rhythm-rich GIBA FAVERY, who lives in São city of Salvador, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. He’s Paulo, has been playing drums for one of the true purveyors of Brazilian jazz drum- twenty-three years. He credits Buddy ming. He began playing drums at sixteen, after Rich, Neil Peart, John Bonham, first playing trumpet and saxophone. His primary Stewart Copeland, Steve Gadd, and influences are John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Elvin Joel Rosenblatt, along with Brazilian Jones, ’60s-era Tony Williams, and Brazilian drummers Celso de Almeida, Erivelton drummer Edison Machado. Silva, Toninho Pinheiro, Paulo Braga, Moreno always begins his daily practice by and Kiko Freitas, as his influences. playing very fast tempos at very soft levels. This When asked to characterize the helps him develop dynamic control. differences between samba and bossa nova, two of the most common Brazilian rhythms, Favery says, “In TEO LIMA was born in Maceió, in the Brazilian bossa, the dynamics are usually very state of Alagoas. He heard a lot of Jackson do soft and controlled, which makes the use of brushes applicable. The rim- Pandeiro, Luiz Gonzaga, and other musicians CHRISTIANO ROCHA lives in the city of São Paulo. He started playing who were adapting the folkloric rhythms of the click patterns of samba—many times drums at the age of fourteen. At seventeen he began more formal study based in rhythms of samba de roda north and northeast part of Brazil. When Teo at the Talentus Music School, where he soon became a teacher. Rocha, moved south to Rio de Janeiro, he started lis- and partido alto—are usually more who has written a wonderful book about Brazilian drumset, Bateria free than in bossa. The tempos in tening to the American bands of Henry Mancini, Brasileira, points out that not just music but many things in life—art, Woody Herman, and others. He has also been bossa aren’t usually very fast, while in nature, and other diverse subjects—influence his drumming. He also samba there is more room for tempo influenced by the modern sounds of the lists Vinnie Colaiuta and Jeff Ballard, along with Brazilian greats Milton Brecker Brothers, Herbie Hancock, and Claus differences, from the slow pace of Banana, Rubens Barsotti, Celso de Almeida, Cuca Teixeira, and Carlos samba-canção to extremely fast tem- Ogerman. Lima enjoys listening to drummers Bala as some of his musical inspirations. Harvey Mason, Steve Gadd, Peter Eskine, Lula pos around 160 bpm.” When asked what categorizes Brazilian music, Chris answers, “The gibafavery.com.br Nascimento, Wilson das Neves, Dom Um rhythms, melodies, and chord progressions are unique. The music Romão, Edison Machado, and Rubens Barsotti. translates the land’s geography and people’s soul. The weather and When asked how to become acquainted women are inspirational. And bossa nova translates the spirit of Rio.” with the world of Brazilian music, Lima sug- christianorocha.com gests, “Listen to music with Brazilian influ- ences. If you listen to samba coming from other places, you will not understand Brazilian music. It would be like learning jazz from Brazilian RAMON MONTAGNER, born in 1975, lives in Campinas, in the musicians. You might be able to assimilate the state of São Paulo. He started playing guitar at age ten and harmony, but the rhythmic application would be switched to drums when he was twelve. Montagner’s family is the difference.” musically inclined, which, of course, had an influence on Ramon myspace.com/teolimadrummer as a young boy. But he was also captivated by hard rock and heavy metal drummers like Nicko McBrain, Neil Peart, and Carmine Appice. His other influences include Vinnie Colaiuta, Art Blakey, Brian Blade, Horacio Hernandez, Ignacio Berroa, Bill Stewart, and Brazilian drummers like Tutty Moreno and Teo Lima. Montagner mixes percussion into his drumset playing in an amazing way. He invented a unique blended setup called “per- cuteria,” which he uses on various gigs. “I started to incorporate percussion into my drumset in my work with Brazilian Duet, a duo with Alexandre Cunha that created Brazilian rhythms for two drums and percussion,” Ramon says. A key component of Montagner’s style is working two pedals with his left foot at the same time. He can play many rhythms, like maracatú, ijexá, samba, and agogo patterns, using two blocks with different pitches. Ramon recently released an instructional DVD called Brushes With Brazilian Music, which explains the essence of Turn the page to check out playing Brazilian rhythms such as samba with brushes. a series of insightful lessons ramonmontagner.com from these modern masters. DRUMSET ARTISTS OF BRAZIL MUSIC KEY The following grooves and exercises come from Christiano Rocha. Here’s the basic ostinato for the piece “Baião De Três.” The hi-hat opens on every third 8th note. Rocha uses this ostinato as the basis for drum solos. Here’s a samba in 9/8. The hi-hat plays a pattern in 2/4. Here’s the basic jequibau rhythm, which was created in the 1960s in São Paulo. It’s in 5/4, but the hi-hat is played in 2/4. Rocha plays this rhythm on the final part of the title track of his CD Ritmismo. Each limb plays a different meter. The bass drum is in 2/4, the hi-hat is in 3/8, the toms are in 7/16, and Bom Retiro is a samba played in 7/8. This pattern appears on the ride is in 5/16. acoustic guitarist Zezo Ribeiro’s album Gandaia. The following samba surdo (bass drum) patterns are good for developing the swing and accents of samba. Play them on a floor tom, using the palm of the left hand and a stick held in the right. This is an adaptation of the samba de roda rhythm from southeast Brazil. The hi-hat plays a rhythmic pattern that is traditionally rendered using handclaps. This is a samba reggae groove in 7/8. In this bossa nova pattern, the left foot and the rimclicks are playing opposing rhythms. The following samba/bossa grooves are from Celso de Almeida.