Everybody Salsa...

[Kevsy71]

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!

[FuNkShUi]

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.

[CamdenRob]

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.

[tinyd]

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.

[Kevsy71]

[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!

[Bilbo]

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.

[Mcgiver69]

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.

[lowdown]

[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.

[Kevsy71]

Thanks for all the tips! The "Funkifying the Clave" book looks great, cheers

[julietgreen]

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.

[JoeEvans]

I'd love to play in a salsa band, in particular that 50's New York big band thing - Tito Puentes kind of style.

[Phil Starr]

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.

[ChunkyMunky]

[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!

[Mcgiver69]

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

[Bilbo]

'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.

[ChunkyMunky]

Anyone been in a Latin ensemble/big band here?

[Mcgiver69]

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.