Volume 3 of the Beyond Salsa Piano series is now available in Hard-Copy at CreateSpace.com.

Another milestone! Full details on the status page.

Volume 4 in eBook will be out within a week.

The revised version of Vol. 1, by the way, is already available in eBook form and its hard-copy version will go back online Wednesday.

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REGISTER HERE  -   WEBSITE (MORE INFO)  -  call +1.413.597.3340  -  Official Flyer

Come and join us as we explore and network percussive traditions from the African Diaspora with some of most experienced artists and performers in the U.S. 
Contact: Berta P. Jottar = berta.p.jottar [at] williams [dot] edu 

New Meanings: Afro-Descendant Percussion Practice - A Symposium
Williams College + Mass MoCA | February 12-14, 2010

New Meanings: Afro-Descendant Percussion Practices, explores the impact and direction of musical developments in the African Diaspora.  Through interactive workshops, panels, lecture-demonstrations, video and concerts, the symposium will examine the contemporary interconnectivity that exists between percussion practices from West Africa, the Caribbean and the U.S. Guest lecturers and artists include: Pedrito Martinez, Roman Diaz, M’bemba Bangoura, Ilu Aye, Café da Silva, Tyshawn Sorey, Mike Wimberly, Barbara Browning, Sonny Allen, Frisner Augustine, Atiba Rorie, Berta Jottar, Bashir Shakur, and more!!

Student Registration $35
Early Registration $75  (before Jan. 29)
Late Registration $85  (before Feb. 12)
Door Registration $100 

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Volume 3 is now available in eBook and audio formats at LPM.

This one picks up the story after the Cuban Revolution. While 1950s Cuban music was thriving in New York as  "salsa", the Cubans on the island continued to evolve in a variety of eclectic directions.

Volumes 3 and 4 can be thought of as companions to timba.com's free online book The Roots of Timba, covering the same period from the pianist's point of view and paying special attention to Los Van Van, Ritmo Oriental, Irakere, Aragón, Los Maravillas de Florida, Orquesta 440, Opus 13, and Nueva Generación, the predecessor to NG La Banda.

Volume 3 also covers pilón, mozambique, and extensive appendix on Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythms

All told there are 106 audio files covering a wide range of tumbaos and exercises for feeling folkloric rhythms correctly.

Click here for a quick preview - and here to download the eBook and audio.

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I am still way behind on my projects due to my five-week vacation, but I have finally published my review of "Animals of Cuban Music: salsa vs reggaeton", Jen Paz's second documentary in her contemporary Cuban music series. The DVD has been out since fall 2009 and really should have been on the gift list of all fans of Cuban music, no matter whether you like timba or reggeaton. For me the documentary is not about trying to convince anyone that one is better than the other or to make fans out of anyone. It is just an honest, unadorned look at what is really happening in Havana today. It also happens to be full of excellent concert footage from both timba and reggaeton concerts.  It is a must-see film for anyone who wants to keep up with the Cuban music scene of today. To read the full review click here.

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