NEWS

Stone Center to offer master class in African, Afro-Cuban percussion

By JENA WITTKAMP
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- The history and sounds of Afro-Cuban and African music will be the focus of a hands-on master class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall. Bradley Simmons, percussionist and leader of the local ensemble Elements of Percussion, will teach a master class of Afro-Cuban percussion.

The class, Wednesdays at 7 p.m. from Sept. 10 through Nov. 19, will be sponsored by UNC’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.

"The most beautiful piece of cake you can eat is Afro-Cuban drumming and music," said Simmons, a lecturer in West African music and history and director of the Djembe and Afro-Cuban ensembles at Duke University. An artist-in-residence at the Stone Center this semester, Simmons has performed with stars including Eartha Kitt and Gregory Hines in productions on and off Broadway.

In the 10-week class, Simmons will delve into historical perspectives of the instruments, musicians and the religious foundations of the music of the African diaspora. No drumming experience is required; instruments will be provided.

"There is only one way to play an instrument and that is the correct way," Simmons said.

Afro-Cuban percussion originated in the Congo in West Africa, with congas, bongos, claves, timbales, shakers and bells as the central percussion instruments, Simmons said. In the Americas, particularly among Afro-Cubans, this Congolese rhythmic style was adopted and has now evolved into two distinct forms.

The more traditional style keeps time to a 2-3 Rumba clave for drummers and dancers. In contrast, "son," or salsa, is a commercial style of play with an opposite rhythm of a 3-2 clave. This form has become the source of today’s Latin music styles.

Simmons’ interests in Afro-Cuban and African percussion pushed him to seek out teachers from Haiti, Cuba and Africa to enhance his understanding of these rhythmic styles and techniques. A sought-after Conguero and shekere player, Simmons is the former music director of the Chuck Davis African-American Dance Ensemble of Durham and has performed with rhythm and blues singer Miles Jay and the late Babatunde Olatunji, a Grammy-winning West African percussionist.

He also has performed in New York shows on and off Broadway including "Timbuktu" with Kitt and Melba Moore; "Guys and Dolls" with Robert Guillume; "Reggae" with Calvin Lockhart and Philip Michael Thomas; and Vinnette Carroll’s "Never Jam Today."

Participants must register in advance by calling Jennifer Ramirez at 962-9001 and pay a $5 fee. The workshop is offered as part of the Stone Center’s mission to encourage and support the critical examination of African-American and African diaspora cultures. For more information about this and other Stone Center programs, call 962-9001 or visit http://ibiblio.org/shscbch/programs/.

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(Wittkamp, of Raleigh, is a senior majoring in women’s studies and journalism and mass communication.)

Note: Simmons can be reached at (919) 286-2143

Stone Center contact: Terry Spicer, (919) 962-9001, tspicer@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589, laura_toler@unc.edu