#70 Papo Pepin- Percussionist for Roberto Roena, Willie Rosario and Countless Others!
This episode was recorded before the passing of John "Jabo" Starks. There will be a tribute to him next week.
Today's guest is the great Papo Pepin. You can see a list of albums he's played on by clicking HERE.
Scott Kettner has new video lessons out. If you use our promo code (below) you can get your first two months for free and sign up on his site: World Drum Lessons dot Com.
Educational spotlight.....
Long Beach is named the best community for Music (and music education) for the eighth time. There are six new percussion works for percussion ensembles by award winning composers that fuses/integrates percussion instruments with electronics, media and algorithms. You can check out and/or purchase individual works (or the whole collection) at this link HERE.
Product review.....
The LP Bluetooth Mix Cajon. This pro-quality cajon features an integrated 40-watt amp, with 2-channel mixer allowing players to jam with their friend or along with their favorite songs from any Bluetooth enabled device while a rechargeable lithium- ion battery gives musicians the freedom to bring their music anywhere. UPDATE: The battery can hold a charge for 10 hours. The Direct Link Cajon Pedal can be used in conjunction with the cajon as well.
Music news.....
Studying song structure can help you learn new material quickly. Six tools to better manage your music career. European regulators say they’ll investigate whether Apple’s Shazam buy could unfairly hurt Spotify. Super-Secret Pro Tips for Approaching Any Music Supervisor. New stripped down version of YouTube that doesn't have video suggestions, ads, or comments. Just the videos.
Papo talks about his father Tono and brother Tito inspiring him at a young age. He also mentions the influence of Art Blakey and the Jazz messengers. His grandson is Percussionist Christian Pepin.
This is the album cover where Papo described Willie looking like a cowboy.
Papo went to the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music for his schooling. There he learned and honed his skills on piano, conga, drums, & bass. He later learned to sing and one of the songs he learned was Granada.
After moving to Puerto Rico after Brooklyn, Papo started off by playing in commercial jingles. He created a group that featured the legendary Giovanni Hidalgo at a young age, before the group Batacumbele started.
Here's a link just in case you forgot the tune "Our Day Will Come" by Ruby and the Romantics. After Papo graduated he added trumpet to the list of instruments he could play.
One of the instruments Papo refers to aside from the old bass made from the barrel as well as the Quijada de Burro (Donkey's Jawbone), which is the predecessor for the Vibraslap.
Special shoutout to Marc Quiñones. Great player and even better human being.
Cheo Feliciano was Papo's favorite singer to work with.
Apparently hand drummers aren't the only ones that have succumbed to the superstition of peeing on their hands (baseball players do it too) to make them tough. It is said to be an old African tradition passed down through the music of the African-Latin diaspora. While there is no scientific evidence on proving that this works, we will let that decision be made by you if you choose to do it or not.
Once Papo came back from Puerto Rico he continued his illustrious career with Mario Bauza, and Tito Puente, Marc Anthony, La India, Issac Delgado and so many more. The two albums by Tito Puente that Papo mentions are "Pachanga in New York" and "El Rey Bravo"
Papo plays Pearl Percussion instruments.
