Rumba, Anyone?

I am so excited about this
Willie Torres arrangement.

It may seem like nothing
has changed in my approach
to these but I have truly
pushed these patterns
closer to both the horn and
rhythm arrangements. I
wonder if you will be able
to tell the difference.

Here it is:

http://www.thediametrixletter.com/LaRumbaSeFormo3.mp3

Here is the virgin track:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/87o52o

Of course, these tunes are
not written, with drums in
mind but I am playing them
as though they were, keeping
their original intent/context,
as I perceive it.

I hope you enjoy it.

Regards,

You nail it as always, Pete... My own opinion would be that the drums could be played a bit more aggresively, especially on the groove end as for me, this makes catching all the horn hits and accents that much more spectacular. You're right on the money. I just feel that you could probably differentiate a bit more rhythmically speaking between the drums and the rest of the percussion package.

One must be careful because as a listener, I am wondering if I'm at a club and want to do some salsa dancing, this particular piece with not just the hits but tempo changes could be a bit discouraging to get out on the floor on. I'm thinking if I were a professional dancer and wanted to put together some serious choreogrophy, This tune would be the stuff. I feel that there are area's where the drums could bring out a more solidified rhythm base.

Great playing as always though, man, I enjoyed it very much!

My Wooden Nickel, for what it's worth.

Don.

Wow, this song is at once epic and hypnotic. Haven't heard the virgin track, but your take is tight.

Good playing, Pete, and awesome arrangement.

Best regards!

Thanks, Don, Woof and Alex. I
really respect all of you - your
playing and advice.

I thought about an aggressive
approach, Don, as a matter of
fact but as soon as I played it
back, I felt like I was going to
get 'fired'. Really.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like
I am working with the band but
I really tried to get into the mind-
set of actually doing it and my
only experience, with ensembles
like this, have been with 50-piece
orchestra's and big-band situations
but that, way back in high school
and I had no clue, back then, hon-
estly. I had no concept.

The orchestra situation was more
pop but even then, the director
was quite clear that she would
not tolerate any 'interference'.

The rumba is a very subtle rhythm.
It's distinguishable by moderately
percussed sounds. To step over
them is to make enemies of the
rest of the rhythm-section.

I did try a couple of takes, with
a louder mix and then, a busier
part but felt badly about them;
sounding like I was stepping on
someone's toes, if you know
what I mean.

Musical directors can be quite
dictatorial and that is fine but
in Latin music, I have found
that they 'Hitler-tarians'.



Thanks, Woof! You are always
very encouraging and I love to
hear your criticism. I know you
are listening to the production
and are not shy about letting
me know if you like it.

That is true for all of you.

Alex,

Thanks. You know that anything
you say about me means a great
deal to me. You have played,
with the best in Europe and in
all types of situations. Tell me
if I am near-target, with these
Latin arrangers. Have they been
very particular about drums parts,
per your experience? Here, I see
drums VERY LITTLE in these ar-
rangments. Only in the more pop.

I am still fresh, with this and will
see how it feels, again.

Thanks, so much, guys.


Regards,

Cool, Pete,

But just so we're clear, I didn't mean so much of playing more as much as I meant solidifying the drum parts rhythmically. I was thinking a bit more groove and a little less on all the horn hits. Maybe it's not so much being more aggressive, but rather a different approach that balances out in the end.

There are no conductors, arrangers or music directors looming over you. My small piece of input would be to stop second guessing on a hypethetical level and just play, open up, experiment... Sounds like you're approaching these personal play along sessions as if you've got something to lose. On the contrary, part of the fun and excitement in doing this is having the liberty of throwing some or even all caution to the wind I would think. You just may find that you like what you hear.

But again, this is only my opinion. utimately, you must do what you feel works. And in the end, I respect that.

Don.

Higher in the mix:

http://www.thediametrixletter.com/LaRumbaSeFormo6.mp3

Wow, Pete!

You sure can play the drums, man. You're doin' some stuff in there that's got me listening hard!

Though I think the drums are a tad hot in this mix (Just a little less volume), I think what you're playing is freakin killer! Much of this I couldn't hear before. Olah-saleemah, Pete... You kick some serious arse!

I'm sched-uh-U!!!

Don.

Quick note: the jam out section toward the end sounds fine.

Hahaha! You are too much, Don!



I was glad to get through all the
sections and actually, I missed a
couple of things on that take but
wanted to get one in, though it
was, like you said - a tad hot.

I do these for the challenge of
getting the hits and keeping the
groove, at the same time. I act-
ually had the hardest time with
the verses, the kick so foreign
to me, on those beats. It just
feels odd to be there, with the
bass player but that's where I
have to be and it's something
that I have NOT done, in the past.

Thanks, hombre. Truly.