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.
© April 2010. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com
All rights reserved.
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