Rhythm of the Americas - Streaming Live Monday October 1st 8:15pm
Rhythm of the Americas LIVE STREAMING MONDAY OCT. 1st 8pm
Grammy Award–winning drummer, composer, and Berklee professor Mark Walker presents a powerful and intoxicating blend of jazz improvisation with the rhythms and percussion of South America, the Caribbean, and North America. His new ensemble, the Rhythm of the Americas, is a virtual wall of rhythm, sound, and color, and features two percussionists, Hammond organ, piano, guitar, saxophone, bass, and drums. Walker formed this group to balance the two sides of music he’s been involved in for over two decades: the tradition and folklore of his work with Paquito D’Rivera, Caribbean Jazz Project, Andy Narell, Cesar Camargo Mariano and Michel Camilo, and the expansive world jazz styles of Lyle Mays, Oregon, and Ralph Towner. At the core of the group are two masters of percussion from Berklee: assistant professor Ernesto Diaz (from Colombia) and Berklee alumnus Marcus Santos (from Brazil). Together these three percussion virtuosos drive the ensemble with passion, groove, and fire. The trio itself has been featured in concert at PASIC, the international percussion convention. The group also features Berklee faculty members Alain Mallet (piano), Tim Miller (guitar), Aubrey Johnson (vocals), Dave Limina (Hammond organ), and Dan Ian Smith (woodwinds), and Berklee alumnus Andres Rotmistrovsky (electric bass). These masters of improvisation and leaders in their own right provide all the elements of an exciting and rewarding musical experience for all listeners.