Afro-Caribbean Adventure

Afro-Caribbean Adventure

Marlon Simon Latin Jazz Ensemble

No style of jazz is more popular today in the United States than Latin jazz. But even though most of us love the rhythms and the beat of Latin music, few of us know the fascinating history of its origins and how it found its way into contemporary American culture. Tracing these elements, students of all ages and levels of musical sophistication learn how the roots of Latin jazz lie in the rhythms that originated in Africa and were brought to the Caribbean and South America by way of the slave trade. History comes alive through the workshop activities.

The residency begins with an Afro-Caribbean Rhythms assembly for the full-school population by the Marlon Simon Latin Jazz Ensemble, where the compelling rhythms are introduced using piano, bass, congas, chekeres, claves and cowbells. Marlon Simon returns for a series of workshops designed to give students a more in-depth view of the evolution of Afro-Caribbean music as we know it today.

Using authentic instruments, Marlon teaches the traditional hand motions of drumming that separate Latin jazz from traditional jazz. Older students learn to decode and even create basic drumming charts in the sequence of workshops, moving from the simpler cha-cha-cha rhythm to the more challenging 6/8 bembe. For dedicated music students in middle or high school, Marlon can work with as large a group as a full band, showing students how to reinterpret jazz standards by way of the fundamental Latin rhythms. Some students learn best with their whole bodies, so most of the workshop sessions also include explorations of the basic steps of popular dances such as the cha-cha-cha and the merengue. In each workshop, Marlon reviews the material students have learned in the previous session. Towards the end of the workshop sequence, the sessions focus in on rehearsing the selected music for the students’ final performance with the full Latin Jazz Ensemble.

Throughout the residency, Marlon varies the activities by offering descriptions of his home country of Venezuela and giving students suggested research topics for independent exploration. Students study how this South American country was settled and learn about its cities, its language and its culture. Along the way, students learn valuable lessons about the science of sound. Studying conga drums, the pivotal instrument in Afro-Caribbean jazz, leads quite naturally to a discussion of the acoustic properties of the instrument, and why the use of different hand motions on the same instrument changes its sound.

This residency can be adapted for any age and is suitable for both instrumental and non-instrumental students. To enhance the experience for non-instrumental students, Marlon brings approximately 20 small percussion instruments for the students to play.

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