The Spirit Ensemble

As we will do on ocassion I'm taking the blog off the rumba grid to talk about a fantastic group called the Spirit Ensemble. In its 30 plus years of existence, the Spirit has played all over the country, celebrating the Africanismo in much of today's modern music. Featured among the members are the one and only Chief Bey (Ibae) about whom volumes can be written. Suffice it to say he was a mentor and spiritual godfather to scores of percussionists who belonged to his Ocha Ile. Neil Clark, Randy Weston's wonderful percussionist is also in attendance as is my buddy of more then 34 years, Jimmy Cruz on piccolo, flute and shekere. Zuleka, the organizer of this particular version of the Spirit Ensemble is featured in the first video talking about his musical background and the history of the group. Some of the performance video, which was from a live Kwanzaa show at the Museum of Natural History in NYC (12/26/99), was being used to capture still shots for a documentary of the group. Zulekas sudden demise put the project onto a back burner. Please overlook the out of focus scenes as the shots were being captured. Three of their tunes are featured.

Luciano "Chano" Rodriguez....Calabashologist

Of course there's no such thing as a Calabashologist, but if there were, Chano would have certainly held a PhD. His knowledge of the plant, the fruit it bears and its cultural and historical place in the lives of the People of the Caribbean Island groups becomes abundantly apparent in this video of his teaching abilities. Filmed at a beautiful retreat called Wave Hill in the Bronx, Chano shares his knowledge with a family who give him their undivided attention. Chano, who lived in a private house in the Sound View section of the Bronx, actually grew shekere size gourds along the side of the house. To say he had a green thumb is an understatement. Besides being an excellent percussionist with a collection of drums from various cultural backgrounds, he was also an instrument maker which will be seen in the video as well. We lost Chano a while back and the community lost a source of knowledge and wisdom that doesn't come along every day. Chano...those of us that knew you loved you.

A Couple of Thoughts...

So ends another year...and without missing a step a new one is afoot and already a day old. As you may have noticed Willie and I have been pretty occupied with end of year rituals and have not posted to the blog as usual as we would like. We will be posting full force soon though. For all you regulars I just want to say thanks for a good year (although we just started in August 08') and hope to see much more of you in 09'. For all the newbies, I hope you find this blog just as entertaining as it is informational. Willie and I have always subscribed to the motto, "Less is more", and although we do post alot, it is rarely ever fluff. If it ever turns into such a blog, than rest assured it will not last for too much longer. I'd like to personally thank Willie, whom without the blog wouldn't have lasted more than a month, Alfie Alvarado (AAA) whose drive and willingness to share has been an inspiration in and of itself, and of course Felix Sanabria, for his openness and willingness in sharing his time, home and information. Much more to come in '09.

Thanks to all...

Geordie
Eddie Bobe
Tony S
Oseiku
Ilu Aye
Barry Cox
Susan Sanabria
Max
Conor
JC
all others whom have contributed in some form or fashion...