This text and audio package teaches timbales as played by the master percussionist Changuito. Topics include set-up, tuning, the clave, fills, independence exercises, listening recommendations, and a glossary of terms. Various styles are studied such as Danzon, Abanico, Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo, Pilon, Mozambique, Merengsongo, Conga, 6/8 Rhythms, Timba, Songo, Laye, and Afro-Cuban. Examples on the recording are performed by Changuito.

A complete study, including illustrations, on all the Latin rhythms.

In Volume I, Tomasito reveals the time tested conga method which he himselfstudied with Changuito and other master congueros at the ENA conservatory in Havana. Volume I starts at the absolute beginning and is designed for the personwho has never touched the congas, but is also of great value to the advanced player who wishes to understand the foundation and rudiments of the approach that has allowed the ENA and the other Havana conservatories to consistently turn out so many world class congueros each year. Volume I begins with simple exercises to develop technique and systematically works its way through rudiments and 'recursos' for use in solos and fills and basic rhythm patterns such as Salsa, Cha-Cha and Bolero. These are presented using the unique Step by Step online video Method, which enables the student to learn the patterns by watching the video and imitating Tomasito as he builds the patterns stroke by stroke. This, combined with a special type of notation designed to be simple for those who don't read music, results in a conga course that really works, rather than just another reference book to add to the bookshelf!

English / Spanish. The bible of Latin patterns and sounds. This compendium of native instruments shows how each instrument plays its part of the beat. There is also a special section of supplementary timbale exercises and correctly notated Latin-rhythm instrument scores.

English / Spanish. Practical Applications, using Afro-Caribbean Rhythms to Develop Command and Control of the Drumset. Formerly a three-part series that explores Afro-Caribbean rhythms as applied to the drumset, this revision combines the series into one book and online audio. The unique approach is in teaching rhythms while developing total drumset technique and independence. Includes English and Spanish text and an authentic recording performed by a band of Latin music all-stars. Styles covered include: cha-cha-cha, samba, mambo, cumbia, bolero, 6/8 merengue, songo, bossa nova, NY mozambique. Also covers Latin, jazz, rock, and funk applications for these styles.

Based on unprecedented research in Cuba, the direct testimony of scores of Cuban musicians, and the author's unique experience as a prominent jazz musician, Cubano Be, Cubano Bop is destined to take its place among the classics of jazz history. The work pays tribute not only to a distinguished lineage of Cuban jazz musicians and composers, but also to the rich musical exchanges between Cuban and American jazz throughout the twentieth century. The work begins with the first encounters between Cuban music and jazz around the turn of the last century. Acosta writes about the presence of Cuban musicians in New Orleans and the “Spanish tinge” in early jazz from the city, the formation and spread of the first jazz ensembles in Cuba, the big bands of the thirties, and the inception of “Latin jazz.” He explores the evolution of Bebop, Feeling, and Mambo in the forties, leading to the explosion of Cubop or Afro-Cuban jazz and the innovations of the legendary musicians and composers Machito, Mario Bauzá, Dizzy Gillespie, and Chano Pozo. The work concludes with a new generation of Cuban jazz artists, including the Grammy award-winning musicians and composers Chucho Valdés and Paquito D’Rivera.

Within one of the most complex musical categories yet to surface, Cal Tjader quietly pioneered the genre as a jazz vibraphonist, composer, arranger and bandleader from the 1950s through the 1980s. Reid tells the life story of a humble musician, written in a familiar, conversational tone that reveals Tjader's complex charisma. Tjader left behind a legacy and a labyrinth of influence, attested by his large audience and innovation that would change the course of jazz. Expanded and revised, this intimate biography now includes additional interviews and anecdotes from Tjader's family, bandmates, and community, print research, and rare photographs, presenting a full history of an undervalued musician, as well as a detailed account of the progression of Latin Jazz.