A Tale of Two Nations

New York's love affair with northeastern Brazilian rhythms is breaking new ground this month, with an appearance at Lincoln Center Out of Doors by Nation Beat and Maracatu Estrelha Brilhante.  Estrelha Brilhante is one of the oldest and largest representatives of the maracatu percussion style -- the infectious, syncopated rhythm from the northeastern state of Pernambuco.  Nation Beat is the performance group within the American percussion school Maracatu New York.  It's headed by Scott Kettner, who has imported these patterns and brought them to American audiences for the past ten years.  The two bands are scheduled to go on the road in the U.S., touring Los Angeles, Miami, Albuquerque, and other locations in a show billed as A Tale of Two Nations, with a full complement of 13 traditional drummers and dancers from Recife (Pernambuco's capitol).  This will be, by all accounts, the first time a maracatu band has toured the United States.  The show, however, is facing some challenges, and will need immediate public support in order to succeed.

It's been a busy year for Scott and his group.  They're releasing a CD in a couple of weeks, titled "Baque do Brooklyn".  An instructional book, co-authored with his wife Michelle Nascimento-Kettner and Aaron Shafer-Haiss, which is the first book in English about maracatu, has also just come out.  This past Sunday, Maracatu New York opened their studios to the public, offering a free lesson and a slideshow to discuss the project.  Everyone was very excited about the prospect of maracatu music being in the American spotlight for the first time.  However, in spite of grants from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and American Airlines, other important grant money failed to materialize, and Maracatu New York is appealing to the public through a Kickstarter campaign to make up the shortfall.  (Click here to watch the Kickstarter video.)

Please support this groundbreaking musical endeavor.  As of this writing, A Tale of Two Nations is funded at 60% but only has about another 60 hours left.  As with all Kickstarter fundraisers, if funding doesn't reach 100%, there is no funding from Kickstarter at all.  Estrelha Brilhante will still come to the U.S., but without the full complement of dancers and drummers.  Funds are needed to cover the cost of domestic airline flights, artist fees, hotels, meals, visas, and other incidentals.  There are few things New Yorkers haven't seen before.  A full maracatu band from Northeastern Brazil will undoubtedly be one of them.

Click here to become a supporter.