Blog do Café

É o Maracatu de Pernambuco rompendo fronteiras. Quem estiver pela área de Chicago pode experimentar a força do ritmo pernambucano:

Unidos do Quilombo, Chicago’s only community-based Brazilian bateria, in partnership with the Quilombo Cultural Center, will be hosting a Maracatu workshop in Chicago by renowned percussion, Scott Kettner.  Based in  New York, Scott Kettner founded and is the acting artistic director of “The Nation Beat” and “Maracatu New York”, a weekly percussion class/performance group dedicated mostly to the performance and knowledge of Northeastern Brazilian rhythms. Maracatu NY have been offering traditional Maracatu de Baque Virado percussion workshops and master classes since the summer of 2002 and have since installed a cultural exchange program between Recife, Brazil and New York.

When:  Friday, March 12
Time:  7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Place:  Quilombo Cultural Center, 1757 N. Kimball in Humboldt Park
Cost:  $25
NOTE:  This is an intermediate level workshop.  Some percussion experience required.  To register, please contact Felipe Fraga at felipefraga@hotmail.com.  To see maracatu rhythms:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiLBCQ4VXHw

About Maracatu:

Maracatu is a dynamic rhythm from the Northeast of Brazil, propulsive and dramatic, steeped in African traditions with heavy religious overtones. In the last ten years, the biggest musical success story out of Brazil has been the explosion of music from the economically impoverished, culturally rich Northeast. World-famous musicians like Chico Science and the Mangue beat movement that sprung up around him used Maracatu as a springboard for contemporary fusions in the same way that Jorge Ben Jor and other MPB artists used samba a generation earlier.

Maracatu Nação or Maracatu de Baque Virado is a cultural performance that derives from a ritual of the African slaves in Recife (capital city of Pernambuco) 400 years ago when they crowned their own king inspired by the Portuguese colonizers. To this day the crowning part of the ceremony still exists and a parade of Maracatu de Baque Virado still symbolizes the royal court accompanied by a percussion group representing slaves.

The origins of Maracatu can be traced back to the Reis do Congo (Kings of the Congo) procession. The institution of the Kings of Congo (or Reis Negros i.e. Black Kings) existed in colonial Brazil from the second half of the 17th century until the abolition of slavery, in 1888. The King of Congo was a black African (slave or freeman) who acted as an intermediary between the government (Portuguese or, after independence, Brazilian) and the African slaves. He was expected to control and keep peace among his “pupils.” From this institution, which existed throughout Brazil, different folk manifestations evolved in several regions of the country. It was in Pernambuco that the culture and music of Maracatu de Baque Virado evolved, and to this day still plays an important role in the community.

About Scott Kettner:

SCOTT KETTNER (Artistic Director/Founder The Nation Beat / Maracatu New York) Drummer,Percussionist,Composer,Recording artist Scott Kettner is building a unique position for himself in the world of Jazz and Contemporary World Music. A graduate of The New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music program, Kettner has studied intensively in Brazil and in 2004 became a member of one of the oldest existing traditional Maracatu groups from Recife, Brazil, Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante (founded in 1906). In 2003 and 2005 Scott was awarded an artist grant from The Brooklyn Arts Council for his project Maracatu New York and The Nation Beat and was just elected a 2006 Latin Jazz Ambassador by the U.S. State Department. Scott is also a faculty member of The New School University’s Jazz and Contemporary Music Program where he conducts the Brazilian Maracatu Percussion class.

As a sideman, Kettner has become a performing member of “Beat The Donkey” led by world famous Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista, and has worked and recorded with the great Klezmer trumpeter Frank London and the Klezmer All Star Brass Band. He has also worked with the Latin jazz group “Annette Aguilar’s String Beans”, African Drum and Dance group of NYC “Magbana”, Finnish folkloric group Kaiku, and Forro For All”. Scott was awarded an artist grant by the Brazilian government in 2005 to bring his group The Nation Beat to Recife to record a CD together with the traditional Maracatu group Estrela Brilhante.

Scott’s passion for world music, particularly Brazilian music, recently led him to a very unique apprenticeship in Brazil. Upon graduating from The New School University Jazz and Contemporary music program Scott lived in Brazil and studied with percussion master Jorge Martins da Silva. It was here that Jorge introduced Scott to the rhythms and instruments from the northeastern region of Brazil, particularly Maracatu de Baque Virado.