Tag: latin

Cachao Documentary

TDK cassette tape with Cachao written on it. Below is the case that reads Mongo and Misc / Cachao

I’ve been going through a box of old cassette tapes, which are mostly gig recordings and drum clinics made on a pretty awful tape recorder. Some of you may remember the Max Roach clinic I posted a few years ago.

The Cachao tape pictured here was given to me by one of my high school teachers and mentors (Gordy Knudtson), probably around the time that I bought the Latin Sounds book; late 80s or early 90s. It was my way in to learning about Afro-Cuban / “Latin” music. Not a bad start!

Finding this cassette sent me down a rabbit hole and I discovered the PBS American Masters documentary, Cachao: Uno Mas (2008). I’ll post it below and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Also highly recommended is podcast episode #323 of Discussions in Percussion where they talk to John Santos, who is featured in the Cachao documentary. That podcast is great and this episode alone is incredibly inspiring.

Enjoy!

Latin Sounds From The Drumset

This is a long shot, but I am trying to find a copy of Latin Sounds From The Drumset by Frank “Chico” Guerrero.

It’s a drumset book that’s long been out of print. I used to have a copy, but must have lost it when I was at Berklee or in one of the several moves I’ve made.

Last week I spoke to someone at the publishing company and heard that there may be a digital version available by the end of the year, which would be great.

Until then, if anyone out there finds a copy or has one to sell, please get in touch.

Update! (4/13/2017)

I found a copy on Ebay. I’m very happy to have this book again. The section on the Nañigo around page 218 is particularly great.

I’ll see if I can get permission from the publisher to share a few pages.