Conversations in Clave Ep. 3 - “Soloing in Clave”

Conversations in Clave Ep. 3 - “Soloing in Clave”

The art of improvisation within an Afro-Cuban drumming context highlights how each musician utilizes the clave while they improvise, and how they negotiate the distribution of the clave pattern itself as an anchor or pulse. Even when the clave pattern is not literally stated, its “essence” remains, creating opportunities for alignment as well as contrast. In this episode, Horacio and Roberto share clave distribution duties and trade off in bursts of rhythmical virtuosity.

About this Masterclass series:

A deep dive into the foundations of Afro-Cuban drumming featuring members of Irakere 50, this five-episode masterclass highlights the importance of the clave and other patterns in anchoring rhythmical fluidity and improvisational creativity. A master of polyrhythm and independence, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández has established himself as one of the leading exponents of Afro-Cuban drumming techniques, using foot pedals to incorporate various patterns on bells or the jam block in order to amplify the clave pattern as a foundational anchor. Together with his Irakere 50 bandmates--percussionist Roberto “Tato” Vizcaíno Jr. and José Armando Gola on bass--Horacio showcases the extraordinarily complex and fluid elements of cross-rhythms as well as the immense vocabulary required for ultimate mastery of this art form. The power trio is joined at the piano by SFJAZZ Director of Education Rebeca Mauleón.

Personnel:
Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, drums
Roberto “Tato” Vizcaíno Jr., percussion
José Armando Gola, bass
Rebeca Mauleón, piano and moderator

Learn more at SFJAZZ.org

***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.

[fortedrummer]

Thank you for this entire "Conversations in Clave" series!