A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever.....

I believe that's the way that saying goes. In keeping with that thought we would like to show you a real work of functional art from Our Man In Frisco, Geordie. Geordie makes beautiful guaguas which were already featured on these pages. We can now add Shekeres to his endeavors. Geordie chose wooden beads for his instruments and as anyone who has played a shekere with wooden beads knows, there is a distinctive sound. Geordie's contact information is available on the blog.

Justi Barreto.....Guaguanco '69

There is no doubt a glut of Rumba oriented CDs available at this point. Some of it better then others. Justi Barreto's Guaguanco '69 has stood the test of time. Celebrating it's 40th year, this album still ranks as one of the best of the genre. Que Viva Justi y La Rumba!

Marcus Gordon

I wanted to post a pic that our man in San Francisco sent over, (Geordie). He is playing a little rumba, and guess who stops by? Non other than Marcus Gordon. Marcus was a big early influence on the West Coast bata drumming scene, having come from New York, and playing with guys like Gene Golden. More info on Marcus soon...

(Per Geordie: I'm the golfer, the young guy is Matt Leffel, just moved here from NY and studies with Jesus Diaz, the guy with the beard is James aka taikonoatama who did the rumba clave blog and has a ton of drums, the other man (to the left) is Marcus Gordon.

Manny Oquendo....

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of one of the greatest proponents of Afro-Caribbean Music. Manny Oquendo's resume reads like a who's who of luminaries with whom he has played his Timbal and Bongos. I first became aware of him as a member of Eddie Palmieri's La Perfecta where he and Tommy Lopez laid down some of the hottest and sweetest rhythms ever recorded. His work with Libre and Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino were ground breaking to say the least. Our deepest condolences to his family.