The Essence of Afro-Cuban Percussion and Drum Set: Includes the Rhythm Section Parts for Bass, Piano, Guitar Horns & Strings [Paperback] Review

I simply can't sing enough praise for Ed's book. I've been playing djembe and congas for a couple years, and I've always wanted a comprehensive book that covered the history, rhythms, and instruments. Finally I have one. This book describes the background in terms of history and culture that birthed Afro-Cuban music, then takes a structured approach through all the instruments.
The breadth of coverage on the instruments is fantastic. Not only are there the basic rhythms, but with Ed's approach, you see how they all fit together. It even has a whole section on the non-percussion parts of the rhythm section (piano, bass, etc.) and how the songs of various styles are structured. I've never found this kind of information elsewhere. For people who don't have a background in these musical styles (like me), this is wonderful. Then there's a whole section on adapting these styles to drum kit.
The audio examples are the best I've heard in any book/CD combo I own, by far. They are far more comprehensive than any other, and they support what you're learning in the text. The synergy between text and audio makes this a gold mine.
While this book is more expensive than most music books, it has several times the value of any other book I've seen. I so much wish I had this from day one. Even getting it now, it's filling in the (many) gaps in my learning, and will surely be the most essential book in my collection for a good long while.

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Product Description:
An in-depth study (324 pages) of all the percussion instruments, rhythms and song styles of Afro-Cuban music, along with their applications to the drum set. Detailed technical studies of each instrument are presented along with notations of many rhythm styles. The entire rhythm section (parts for bass, piano, horn section, string section, tres, and guitar) is also studied in detail. The book comes with two CDs that include performances of each percussion instrument, drum set, all rhythm section instruments, as well as examples of all musical styles with full instrumentation in score form.

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Latin Jazz: The Perfect Combination/La Combinacion Perfecta (Text) [Paperback] Review

This book was produced as a companion to a traveling exhibition by the Smithsonian Institute about
American music. It is bilingual, with English and Spanish text on opposing pages. This is appropriate for the subject matter, which is the fusing of two branches of the African diaspora and their respective European influences. American Jazz absorbed the harmonic complexity of European music, but lost some of the rhythmic complexity of African music. Latin music retained the rhythmic complexity, but was more harmonically simple, albeit influenced by the rich Spanish folk tradition and it's Moorish influence. The blending of these 2 branches enriched both genres, and strengthened their respective weaknesses. It is a good overview of the history of Latin Jazz, and all of the major musicians are spotlighted. I wish that there was an accompanying CD with the book to hear a sample of the many artists profiled within. I guess I'll have to spend more money on Amazon to purchase some of these records!

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Product Description:
Latin jazz-the perfect combination of Latin rhythms and hot jazz phrasing-energizes audiences like no other music.. As part of the Smithsonian Institution's series of major exhibitions on jazz music, Latin Jazz traces the music's roots and routes, from the Caribbean to New Orleans and the clubs of New York City to its booming international popularity today. More than 100 rare photos from the '20s, '30s, '40s, and '50s show musicians and audiences in full swing, along with dozens of album covers and posters from the heyday. Stories told by the greats who were there, such as Mario Bauzá and Cal Tjader, convey all the zest for life that has made the music so exciting, and contributions by renowned musicians Andy González and Al McKibbon attest to its legacy. With all text in both English and Spanish, Latin Jazz is a spectacular and fitting tribute to this exciting musical fusion.

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