The Latin Bass Book

This is a practical, comprehensive approach to learning Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and South American styles of bass playing, featuring 3 CDs of Berklee professor Oscar Stagnaro playing with three different world-class rhythm sections. The book consists mostly of transcriptions of every note Oscar plays on the accompanying CDs. Some amazing music, and logically progressing from simple to complex examples of each style.
Customer Review: What does one say?
This is a MASSIVE book (262 pages!) of latin bass in all it's various styles. We are not talking simple repetive patterns here either, we are talking from moderate to complex lines with excellent notation and a top notch CD set behind it. If you want to learn Latin Bass, you can start here, and stop here, as you won't find more and better probably anywhere else. Although it is not a Real Book, You can think of that kind of setup and variety.
Customer Review: Good intro to latin bass playing
This book is well thought, thorough and enjoyable. Comes with 3 CDs that stand alone on their own, if you don't mind having bass on one side and the rest of the band on the other. This arrangement allows you to pan the track and play along with the band, or focus on the bass line only. I googled some of the guys who play with Oscar in these CDs and they are first rate musicians with impressive resumes (try Rebeca Mauleón). It comes with no tab, but the first bass lines are simple enough so it wouldn't be a bad place to start reading, and once you understand the beats and where the bassline falls, you should be in a good position to read almost anything! The book takes you to a series of concepts that become more complex from track to track in a well thought way, so you build on your understanding of the subject. Probably the hardest part is to keep yourself from dancing while you play along to the CDs! A good purchase.

The Birmingham ArtsFest is an annual festival that features the best in arts and entertainment that the West Midlands have to offer. This festival was inspired by the UitMarkt festival in Amsterdam. It was first held in 1998 with the purpose of showcasing the local artists' work and brings international attention to these talents.

ArtsFest is collaboration between the Birmingham City Council and Audience Central, a research agency dedicated to promoting and improving people's participation in the West Midlands' arts scene. In 2005 however, the Birmingham City Council started organizing the festival on its own.

The celebrations primarily take place at Centenary Square but activities are also held at Victoria Square, Custard Factory, Brindleyplace and Chamberlain Square.

The 2007 festival highlights are the giant air sculpture and an Arts Village. The air sculpture, called the Luminarium is a gigantic construction of tunnels and domes that can be explored by visitors. The Visual Arts Village features a wide array of artistic creations ranging from print-making to sculpture.

Activities are varied depending on which cluster area you are visiting. The areas and their respective events for the 2007 festival are as follows:

Centenary Square - in Centenary Square, featured performances are:

1. Painting on the Railings where local artists sold affordable artwork to visitors.
2. Drum voice orchestra and kiss the ceiling accapella singers. This is where performances from African orchestra and an accapella group make the celebrations even more festive.
3. Acrobatic arts performances
4. The Birmingham St. Patrick's Festival
5. Performance from the Birmingham Young Voices choir.

Chamberlain and Victoria Square Cluster - In this cluster you can witness the following:

1. A comedy performance at the Custard Balti Comedy Club
2. A singing workshop at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
3. A dance performance showcasing an eclectic mix of dance styles presented by the Windsor Dance company.
4. A drama performance and a presentation featuring a combination of World music and poetry.

Brindleyplace Cluster - The Brindley Place cluster events included:

1. A children's street dance performance based on "High School Musical."
2. A fun carnival workshop where visitors could learn mask-making and such similar activities.
3. A family-oriented and hands-on activities centered on a carnival theme.
4. A fashion show held at the Brindleyplace fountain.

Rep Cluster and CBSO Cluster - Activities in this area includes:

1. A workshop on t-shirt printing and badge-making.
2. A den-making activity where kids can make their own hideouts.
3. A songwriting workshop, storytelling, poetry and musical activities for children.
4. A Jazz-Latin performance
5. The Make your Mark with Art event, where visitors are asked to help make artwork to raise funds for charity.

St. Martin's and Eastside Cluster - The St. Martin and Eastside cluster featured events such as:

1. The revitalization of oral traditions through storytelling
2. A steelpans musical performance backed by Caribbean dancers doing street dance.
3. An exhibit of clay sculpture and a clay workshop.
4. The Festival of Extreme Building where a display of experimental buildings were showcased.

A street theater festival was also another highlight of the 2007 ArtsFest where performances and activities ranging from walkabout characters to circus troupe shows were featured.

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ballroom dance music