Batá Drumming: the Instruments, the Rhythms, and the People Who Play Them is the most comprehensive study of this important Cuban musical tradition, and the first to explore the people who created it, how it developed in Cuba, and where it fits in relation to the other folkloric traditions on the island. Who were the slaves brought to Cuba? What belief systems did they carry with them? How did the various Afro-Cuban religions grow from these systems? What types of music evolved from these religions? What is Santeria, and how do the batá drums function within it? Part One answers these questions.Part Two examines the history of the drums: how they are taught, learned, and played, explaining their role in the ceremony and the structure of the music. These discussions incorporate the latest scholarship as well as the ideas and concepts of respected Cuban and North American batá drummers, resulting in a more complete study of the tradition as it is practiced today.The center piece of Batá Drumming is the Oru Seco, a set of playable, musical transcriptions of twenty-tworhythms dedicated to the Santeria gods. This transcription set accurately notates the rhythms of the PapoAngarica performance style, which is very influential in Havana-style drumming.Batá Drumming is the first book not only to notate the rhythms, but to connect them to the people whopreserved and recreated them, "in the unrelenting face of displacement and oppression."
About the Author: DON SKOOG (omó aña) is an independent musician, teacher, and writer who lives in Oak Park, Illinois. He performs on drumset, Latin percussion, marimba, and flamenco cajón. His teachers include James Dutton, Vida Chenoweth, Gordon Stout, Karl Husa, Roberto Vizcaino, José Eladio, Rich Gajate, and Alejandro Carvajal. He has taught percussion at the American Conservatory of Music, Sherwood Music School, and the Contemporary Music Project, which he founded in 1982. Mr. Skoog has given demonstrations and clinics at Northwestern University, Valparaiso University, Vandercook College, Kansas State University, Colorado State University, Illinois Wesleyen University, the Nashville Jazz Workshop, and the PAS Illinois Day of Percussion, as well as hundreds of presentations in grade and high schools through the International Music Foundation. He was lead artist for the Gallery 37 Latin Big Band from 1993 to 2002, and has traveled to Cuba many times to study and conduct tours. ALEJANDRO CARVAJAL GUERRA is a renowned, babalawo, batalero (omó aña), abakuá, and rumbero whose musical and family roots go back to the Yorubas of Africa. Trained in the tradition as a child by his father and by his padrino, Papo Angarica, Mr. Carvajal is now recognized as one of the most knowledgeable bataleros in Cuba. He has taught at the Instituto Superior de Arte and the Centro Nacional de Escuelas de Arte, and is currently a faculty member at the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana. He has performed with (mi tío) Ángel Bolaño, Jesús Pérez, Regino Jiménez, Fermín Nane, Mario Jaure, Carlos Aldama, Alfonso Aldama, Santiaguito, Pedro Aspirina, "y les agradezco por todo lo aprendido a todas aquellas personas que están hoy conmigo y a las que ya están ibaes (muertas). Les debo mis conocimientos."