Groove o' the day: Milton Nascimento - Tudo Que Você Podia Ser

My apologies for the lack of new posts. I'm putting together a new show of my paintings— first one in 15 years— and that has been occupying most of my spare time of late. Here's a straightforward little GOTD played by one of my favorite Brazilian drummers, Robertinho Silva: Tudo Que Você Podia Ser, on Milton Nascimento's epic Clube de Esquina album. The groove happens mainly on an instrumental break between vocal parts. The crash happens every measure.

Silva plays through one of the verses without the crash:

What the heck, since the groove is pretty easy, let's do a practice loop too. At quarter note = 99 BPM, this will be a good right hand workout. Practice it with and without the crash. Here's a link to the actual song, which you'll love.

Daily best music in the world: Milton

Listening to Milton Nascimento's Clube Da Esquina 2 while working on the 2015 Book of the Blog, which should be finished today. We slowed up with the downloadable materials towards the end of the year, and I was concerned about that, but it's actually going to be pretty sweet. Over 100 pages.

Groove o' the day: Robertino Silva — Saídas E Bandeiras

Been having a little bit of writer's block in finishing several longer pieces this week, so let's do something easy. Here's a simple rock beat in 5/4 by one of my favorite Brazilian drummers, Robertinho Silva, on Saídas E Bandeiras (No. 1 or 2— there are two versions on the record) on Milton Nascimento's great Clube da Esquina album:

I left off the key, but you can figure it out: top line = hihat, middle line = snare, bottom = bass. In the No. 2 version he develops the groove a little bit on the instrumental section, emphasizing quarter note pulse on the hihat, and the &s on the bass drum, playing the snare on the 5-&, and making some other variations.

Audio of the track after the break, plus, for comparison, a couple of covers of the song with busier drumming:

DBMITW: Milton Nascimento with George Duke

George Duke's Brazilian Love Affair, again. Ao Que Vai Nascer, by Milton Nascimento. I'm glad someone put this onto YouTube, and you will be, too, in a moment: