Luxury Experience - Find the Rhythm! A Guide for the Salsa Dancer by Alex Wilson and Lee Knights

Find the Rhythm! A Guide for the Salsa Dancer by Alex Wilson and Lee Knights is a must for anyone interested in learning about and connecting with the music, and not just merely learning the dance steps. Alex Wilson is a Latin musician, composer, arranger, producer, and educator, Lee Knights is a salsa dancer, salsa instructor, performer, and choreographer; together they make a formidable team to share the passion of the music - Salsa.

I was introduced to Alex Wilson several years in London at the Jazz club, Ronnie Scott's by my friend, Neal Richardson, pianist, vocalist, Managing Director and Producer of Splash Point Music, who told me that Alex Wilson was one of the top Latin musicians in the UK. High praise indeed, and I made it a point to keep my eyes and ears tuned over the years as to what projects Alex Wilson was working on.

The album Alex Wilson - Inglaterra, reviewed in Luxury Experience's Music Scene, was a blend of salsa, R&B, soul, reggae, and bhangra-salsa that whetted the appetite for more; hence when I received, Find the Rhythm! A Guide for the Salsa Dancer by Alex Wilson and Lee Knights, conceived as "The Ultimate Salsa Work Book for Dancers Who Want to Connect to the Music," I could hardly wait to read the book and listen to the accompanying CD.

Often the hardest part of mastering the art of a new dance style is learning the nuances and the rhythms of the music, as well as understanding the beats so that you can get into the flow and react to the music, not merely memorize and execute the dance steps. A while back my friends Neil and Annette Atkinson had the idea that Edward and I, along with our niece Nicole Moskal, and our friend, Kenneth Jarosz, should take Salsa lessons at a club, as we all love to dance. We thought that this would be something fun for us to do together, and it was; however, trying to anticipate the rhythms and changes of the music while attempting to learn the dance steps was a definite challenge. Where were Alex and Lee when we needed them?

Now that I have read, Find the Rhythm! A Guide for the Salsa Dancer and have listened to the CD I have a greater appreciation and insight of the music and of the different styles of Salsa. The chapter "The Source of the Sauce" looks at the various dances from the 1920s and 1930s (Son and Danzón), the 1940s and 1950s (Mambo and Cha Cha Cha), the 1960s (Pachanga and Boogaloo), and the 1970s (Salsa); "Anatomy of a Salsa Song" breaks the song into understandable components; "Latin Rhythms that Make the Salsa Sauce" looks at the music from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Salsa in New York and what makes them different; "The Clave" delves into and defines what are the Son and Rhumba Claves and how to distinguish them; "The Instrument Signposts" dissects the verse and the various instruments and how to relate to them, and the Montuno section incorporates each of the instruments used. The book also has interesting chapters entitled, "The Questions you Always Wanted Answered;" "Know Your Salsa Musicians;" "Where to Next?" and a "Musical Phrasebook" that will have you "speaking" Salsa like a professional. In addition to the well thought-out book, the 82-track CD lets you experience the rhythm as Alex gently guides you through the music.

So, what are you are waiting for; pick up a copy of Find the Rhythm! A Guide for the Salsa Dancer by Alex Wilson and Lee Knights and let the rhythm take you to new dance heights. I am now confident and ready to return to my Salsa dance lessons. If my feet take some time picking up the beat, so be it; at least I now understand the music and know the difference between a batá, an iya, a llamador, a tambor alegre, and a tumba, which incidentally are types of drums used in Salsa. While it may take awhile for me to look like a Salsa dancer on the dance floor, as for "speaking" Salsa, consider me fluent.

Find the Rhythm! A Guide for the Salsa Dancer CD was produced, directed, and arranged by Alex Wilson and recorded by Alex Wilson Records. Personnel: Piano: Alex Wilson; Bass: Ray Crespo, Javier Fioramonti, Alex Wilson; Trumpets: Steve Dawson, Annette Brown, Paul Jayasihna; Trombone: Trevor Mires, Alistair White; Percussion: Dave Pattman, Emeris Solis, Davide Giovannini,; Vocals: Alfonso de Jesus, Davide Giovannini, Shahid Abbas Khan, Aquilla Fearon, Naomi Phillips. Kuljit Bhamra

To purchase Find the Rhythm! A Guide for the Salsa Dancer by Alex Wilson and Lee Knights, please visit the websites: www.FindTheRhythm.com and www.AlexWilson.net.