Kevsy71 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I'm on a business trip to Atlanta and went to a superb 'Mexican Tapas' bar with a live 6-piece last night. They played a superb set, and it struck me just how cleverly the salsa bass interacts with the rhythm (drums and congas in this case) - weaving in an out, starting and stopping with the odd Jaco-style run thrown in for good measure. Really makes me want to give it a go! Now to convince the blues band that we need 'a slight change in direction' PS it was advertised as live salsa, but my Mexican chum assured me it was a blend of Latino styles throughout the set. Great food and beer too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Yeh, I've only dipped my toe into this style. But its very clever, as you said. I've seen one quartet where there was no drummer, and the bassist was kind of the percussionist too. Very impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Drummer in my new band is the best I have played with and he's introduced me to a whole new world of rhythms. I don't know them all by name but he'll say "lets try this one in a shuffle feel" or "this one in a latin groove" etc. It's a new world for me and I'm loving wrapping my basslines around the various different feels he is creating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyd Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnaro is a great guide to playing various styles, plus it comes with a really good CD. In my experience, the tricky thing about playing latin stuff is that the rhythms on the different instruments all 'interlock' in a particular way so everyone needs to know how to play them. The basic patterns themselves aren't that tricky though and it's great fun when it all comes together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsy71 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1443079006' post='2871929'] It's a new world for me and I'm loving wrapping my basslines around the various different feels he is creating. [/quote] That's the perfect phrase for it, 'wrapping around' rather than locking in to a 4/4 beat. Time to practice with a backing track when I'm home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 These genres are frustrating. If I am honest, I prefer Latin American genres to a lot of Jazz but trying to play them in the UK is difficult depending on where you are. Finding idiomatically informed percussionists is the biggest problem but other instrumentalists are equally hard to come by. I was with a band called Albino Cubana for a while which was great but it petered out as getting gigs for a seven piece is always difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcgiver69 Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 As a Latino all I can say is to forget about locking with one instrument and figure yourself in the middle of everything. That's how the bass players can get in an out. As you said all instrument interlock with each other and that makes it difficult for you as a bass player to lock with just one instrument. Another great book is "Funkifying the clave" by Lincoln Goines. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 [quote name='Mcgiver69' timestamp='1443442143' post='2874657'] As a Latino all I can say is to forget about locking with one instrument and figure yourself in the middle of everything. That's how the bass players can get in an out. As you said all instrument interlock with each other and that makes it difficult for you as a bass player to lock with just one instrument. Another great book is "Funkifying the clave" by Lincoln Goines. I hope this helps. [/quote] This. You need to immerse yourself in the music. Listen to as much as you can and try and get a real feel for the various styles. That might mean listening to more traditional (Latin) music from the various regions and cultures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsy71 Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 Thanks for all the tips! The "Funkifying the Clave" book looks great, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julietgreen Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I played sax in a latin jazz band. The biggest problem was getting a drummer and bassist who could play that stuff. We pretty much gave up in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I'd love to play in a salsa band, in particular that 50's New York big band thing - Tito Puentes kind of style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I love this stuff. I once had the joy of running a disco for a mix of Brazilian and Argentinian mature students on a summer course at Reading University. I provided the gear they brought the music. There is a whole world of music out there we know little or nothing of. Sadly it was a good night and I never tracked down any of the music, which would have been difficult anyway in 1970's Britain. The nearest I got was Malo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb742vrWzTg fabulous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChunkyMunky Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 [quote name='julietgreen' timestamp='1443979338' post='2879171'] I played sax in a latin jazz band. The biggest problem was getting a drummer and bassist who could play that stuff. We pretty much gave up in the end. [/quote] I would've murdered for that gig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcgiver69 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 (edited) A must listen list would be: - Gran Combo de Puerto Rico - Willie Colon - Ruben Blades - Raffy Levitt - Tito Puente - Hector Lavoe - Gilberto Santa Rosa - Ismael Rivera - Ismael Miranda - Tito Rojas - Celia Cruz - Oscar De Leon - Dimension Latina That will keep you busy for a while, you can find all that music in youtube. Edited October 5, 2015 by Mcgiver69 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 'Funkifying the Clave' is a lot more about funk than it is aboue clave It is useful but, having spent time with it myself many moons ago, I have hardly ever used anything I got from it in a real worl situation!! As I said, it is a frustrating genre becasue you cannot find the people you need to make the music happen. The genre is a rich one, undoubtedly, but, like CUban music, it seems to be one that requires you to live where the music is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChunkyMunky Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Anyone been in a Latin ensemble/big band here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcgiver69 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I played in a band some moons ago but we were more like a fusion band, that was very in fashion. It was in my natal Dominican Republic before I came to live here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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