tag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:/blogs/latest-news?p=29Latest News2020-02-06T17:41:06-05:00Michael Washingtonfalsetag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/62070842020-02-06T17:41:06-05:002020-07-12T06:12:59-04:00You Can Play More (or less) With Four!<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/9199d3e352fdb1e8d6a76602d70e3352daaa2c41/original/tamburo-pop.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">You Can Play More With Four!</h2>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">I'm really enjoying playing this setup! You could definitely be inspired to bring out your inner Tony Williams with this setup but I caution you, don't play too many notes (Hahahaha!). I'm usually a 1 rack tom/1 floor tom kind of guy since you usually don't need more toms than that on a typical jazz, pop, R&B gig especially when it comes to fitting everything in the car and the load in/load out.. </span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/73e2262f990c1efbfe487b2c7049990d06155bb2/original/img-20200104-154821-627.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ee6eefad8a2c0b972d71e960c0d3aaf70d605b2a/original/db563a34-93f6-4ae1-8b33-9ad19c6578b7.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>In Creative World Recording studio recording Wahh's "Brother Ray"</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/804aa750698bdd419e23c8368f7cdbd6e1b33435/original/floor-toms.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>I have used the 13" on some recordings and various gigs but the 14" has been waiting patiently for years. I'm definitely feeling more melodic and harmonic creativity on the kit! I finally bought some R-Class hoop clamps by Gibraltar & Ronn Dunnett to turn this 14" rack tom and some other deep field snares into more usable instruments with an adjustable height without having to drill holes or possibly ruin the instruments. So far the hoop clamps are working very well for me. I can see how some people have had problems with them most likely my over tightening them and the holes for the tension rods are tight so be sure it's aligned so you don't strip the threads.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/2afe1921c8d1bfabb22c576710ca4b4ccae3d972/original/toms-sperspective.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">The classic Remo CS Black Dot batter heads and coated ambassadors resonant heads are providing the right type of sound necessary for a project I'm working on and really just can't help it that inspirations from Tony Williams and Billy Cobham come out from time to time. Now of course, just because we have more surfaces to play does not mean that wee need to play more notes or hit every surface on every fill. Making smart musical choices while putting melody, harmony, phrasing and ensemble dynamics first. It's certainly a little different having the ride pushed up and over a bit to fit the 13" rack tom in but I'll get used to it at least for this project.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">I have had these drums since the 1990's so this mixture of late 60's and 75 (bass drum) definitely have a story of their own.<br>Read about them <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://michaelwashingtonae.com/blog/blog/falling-into-drum-maintenance" target="_blank">here</a>!</span></p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/57645402019-05-22T17:36:46-04:002019-05-25T23:45:19-04:00It's A NOLA Thang! How I Got Hooked To New Orleans Music<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/7ecf51cb31c61913b7385aca4b165d6e2b6ab013/original/perseverance-bass.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Its A NOLA Thang! How I got hooked to New Orleans Music.</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="gqt81zJRO1Y" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/gqt81zJRO1Y/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gqt81zJRO1Y?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_large">I first began learning about this music from Kid Dutch back in 2003 and cut my teeth playing bass drum with his group The Perseverance brass band in Central Florida. I met Kid Dutch at a jazz jam back in 2001 in Orlando and a friend and great drummer Roger King introduced me to him. He had me come over and talked to me about the old Mardi Gras marching bands, played some Warren "Baby" Dodds recordings (which I still have and listen to) where Baby Dodds talked about the role of the two drummers in a marching band and the role of a drummer in a sit down band (Preservation Hall style) and demonstrated examples of playing a rag, playing a second line with the push on the & of 4, played examples of the New Orleans rumba, the "Momma Daddy" shuffle, how to support the horn players during a solo, how to support the clarinet player and how to bring that fire in a chorus or ending.</span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/a5592cbce4695c036b8cb1063afb06237a86d795/original/perse-march.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></span><span class="font_regular"><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">The Perseverance Brass Band</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="nneOEuBesOM" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/nneOEuBesOM/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nneOEuBesOM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_large">I got to travel to New Orleans 3 or 4 times in my 20s, once for a Disney special event for 2 days and man did we eat! I took some video on a Hi-8 camera of a few bands but that tape is long gone. A few other times I traveled there while I was teaching drum corps, we had a whole day of strolling around the French Quarter, seeing bands play on the Bourbon street, in Jackson Square, in restaurants and boy did we eat haha! The last time I was there, about 2 weeks before Katrina, I decided to try to get lost. I walked from Crescent Park, around the French Quarter to Congo Square, ran into a friend that I used to work on a cruise ship with who was doing the same thing I was while they were in port for the day. I went back through the quarter and stuck my head into any place that I heard music coming out of. I remember there was this record store in what looked like an old church building, full of LP’s, 45’s, cassette tapes and even some CD’s. Man, I wish I had a good camera back then.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">So I played with The Perseverance Brass Band at private events, Mardi Gras festivals and parades, funerals, at Italian festivals where we took that music and played it in the NOLA styles and the same for St Patricks festivals but of course, we threw in some old NOLA stuff too. I played with them for a few years and then ended up going back to Japan for a gig at Tokyo Disney Sea for about 5 years which gave me the opportunity to see everybody touring within and around the jazz world such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Krantz, Pat Metheny Quartet, Ron Carter, too many to name, etc at places like Tokyo Blue Note, The Cotton Club, Billboard club, Tokyo Forum and many other great venues around the city. I also got to see and play at dance classes with some friends from Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Ivory Coast west Africa which is the main root of much of the Caribbean music created by people of the African diaspora.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/f6c7647b32e1f66fd3079d423ac659209b62c842/original/1935938-132437546660-6611151-n.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Karamoko Camara, Seikoba Keita, Nasdy Keita and Fanta Conate</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/b9711d0b1db7ce291b2891645e9406340f4c595b/original/4498-82667791660-953244-n.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Oumar Guiende, You Dieng, Abdou and friends</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/394b0a2f320084415e396580c1720d64898d9b61/original/4498-82667776660-1562642-n.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/443dc2b61bc4b2a883b88512c01a90e0a7611265/original/1930914-31104456660-6148-n.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>With Elvin Jones after a Jazzmachine concert Shinjuku 1999</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Every Friday at The Hub in Shin Urayasu, I got to see Yoshi and Keiko Toyama who actually lived with Louis Armstrong and his wife starting back in 1963 after they finished university and got married. They spent years playing with many other greats at Preservation Hall and all around the French Quarter.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/e2c9b0e5bdac5cd0ed39e7e7642d21ef3bdc0fc4/original/35653243-2177725962243457-6866768780559646720-o.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>Yoshio & Keiko Toyoma playing at The Hub in Shin Urayasu, Japan</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">I found this DVD “New Orleans Drumming” featuring Johnny Vidacovich, Herlin Riley, Earl Palmer and Herman Ernest as well as Stanton Moore’s “Take It To The Streets”. I watched these religiously for a bit and listened to the textures they used and created, most importantly, the space they put between the notes (consistently or inconsistently) and the phrasing used to create “that” feel. I began listening more to music of Joe “King” Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Bunk Johnson, Allen Toussaint, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Professor Longhair, Dr John, Fats Domino, The Neville Brothers, The Meters, Buckwheat Zydeco, Harry Connick Jr., Louis Prima, Kid Ory, The Olympia Brass Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band and Galactic. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"> I got to see Galactic at Shibuya - O West just a few weeks after seeing Soulive at the same venue! Man, talk about being inspired and catching that vibe! Woo! <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/73741e1692eb7753d0039dbafa67856460a46e52/original/img-1096.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_large">When I finally came home from Japan, I began playing again with The Perseverance Brass Band, Kid Dutch and His Blusicians, Kid Dutch's Harlem Madness Hot Jazz Orchestra playing 1920's/1930's music of The Cotton Club and recently with The Jazz phools playing Tradjazz, Zydeco, Second-Line and NOLA Funk as well as with many other types of groups around Tampa Bay, Florida. I began to step deeper into studying Afro-Cuban Son and Rumba music and percussion, which was one of the heaviest influencers to New Orleans music, Puerto Rican Bomba with Cukiara as well as listening to and watching Concert bands and more folkloric ensembles playing Cumbia, Bambuco, Porro, Llanera, Gaita, Joropo, Vallenato, Bullerengue and Rajaleña during my many trips to Colombia.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/1865bbabcbcee7886dbd35532a634811370f7333/original/42559990-2621031224577297-7332838569729327104-o.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular">Maestro Germán Hernández Castro conducting the Symphonic Band of Tocancipá</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/e2ce7ef28e266c376b15c10411226834a8cce3cb/original/42604061-2621816721165414-2263042302899388416-o.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Banda Filharmónica Integrada of Tocancipá</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ae6d3a7b74d4a4a69faa83db0223e4a86fb321c9/original/42677623-2621815491165537-459630675415269376-o.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Waking up the neighboorhod at 4:30 AM to start the celebration</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Last September I was in Tocancipá (north of Bogotá) for the Colombianidad festival and as the concert bands began to march around the town at 4:30 AM playing songs like "Cumbia Sobre El Mar", "Colombia Tierra Querida" and "Cumbia Del Caribe" but now hearing it played with clarinets, saxophones, oboe, sousaphones and of course trumpets, euphoniums, trombones and percussionists using a scotch bass drum, a metal kit/concert type snare drum, an alegre (Colombian hand drum), a tambora, large Colombian maracas and guasá, I begin to hear Colombia's influence on Zydeco and Second Line.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">That old New Orleans music from the delta blues, the Cajun and Creole music to rag time and the jazz are all fusions with African, European and Native Indian influences from all over the Caribbean. From the worst of situations such as slavery where enslaved Africans were brought to NOLA from all around the Caribbean islands, Central America and South America to be sold, Indians being decimated by disease brought by the Europeans and being displaced by the French Indian wars against the Brits and the 13 colonies. Even through these horrible histories, the Africans shared their tribe’s cultures of dancing, chanting, worshiping and food in Congo Square once a week every Sunday. Eventually the leftovers so to speak of all of these cultures including the French and later Creole and Cajun formed the gumbo (mixture) of what we know today as New Orleans music and cuisine. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Thinking back to when I was a little kid at age 5, singing in my family’s choir at Mt. Olive Baptist church in Columbia, SC where we had our own style back then as to harmonic arrangements and phrasings with my great-aunt (grand-aunt) playing Hammond B3 with the foot pedal bass and directing and arranging the choir’s songs. When the preacher would began to get heated during the call and answer part of the sermon and my aunt would start to play the B3 pretty much in a second line format even with the push on the & of 4. The drummer, guitarist joined in. My cousins and a few other aunts (in the choir) would play tambourine and it was on! Completely second-line form and feel from the rhythm section but with our style of harmonizing. Then came the up tempo 2-beat shout chorus, kind of a fast zydeco. it was so connected to New Orleans but we had no idea.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">If you're a drummer/percussionist (any rhythm section player really) playing any American music be it Rock, Funk, Country or Western, all corners of Jazz, Modern Rap, Blues, Gospel or old school Soul, old school rap from the golden eras of Hip-Hop and R&B, you gotta know about that NOLA music baby! That's the key!</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">The Jazz Phools at Zydeco Brew Werks in Ybor</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ad6f73c896d9e0ebf7ca6c64ce48b30fdc3db356/original/53231196-10100501233441182-7038079040128811008-o.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/4d052702adebdf53467ddabddd7eaf7320a9720c/original/persev-venezuela.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular">With Venezuelan dancers from Divas Dancing Latin Show for Mardi Gras</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/82805eed583cbc676b31cc29cbf02d5ae7e24620/original/40141564-2293585323991239-5961591516550922240-o.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>The Jazz Phools at Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen in Brandon</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/4194fee56befd3f6e28a7aec248aae484df575dd/original/50505659-10212994133424592-6124408151874732032-o.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />With Kid Dutch, John Lamb, Allan Vaché and Mark McKee</p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/51672462018-03-09T09:00:00-05:002018-04-06T01:29:17-04:00Back To Bogotá 2018<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c4cacd7a906bbc676dc43dd22dda9d361ed9d296/original/guadalupe-bogotafb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_xl"><strong>Back To Bogotá!</strong></span><br><br><span class="font_large">I am on my way back to Bogotá! Heading to the southside of the city for the first time to help Guardia Fantasma solidify the fundamental technical and musical building blocks for their percussion section. It is 54 degrees F in the airport in miami right now, this is my training for the cold weather I will encounter this time of year in Bogotá hahaha!</span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Stay tuned for updates...</span></p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/49614152017-12-04T11:42:44-05:002017-12-16T14:37:14-05:00A Journey Through The Spirit of Bangkok<p><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/0b397b2f4d51d2fd7d9a471d3320a37f40456584/original/buddha-at-wat-phofb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">A tiny meditating Buddha statue in front of the reclining Buddha</span><br> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="font_xl"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><strong>A Journey Through The Spirit of Bangkok</strong></span></span><br> </h2>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_xl">It is with great pleasure that I am releasing more photos taken on my 2010 trip to <a contents="Thailand" data-link-label="The Spirit of Bangkok" data-link-type="page" href="/the-spirit-of-bangkok">Thailand</a>!</span><span class="font_large"> </span></strong><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">What started as a five day layover turned into a seven day adventure. I had originally extend a 7 hour layover flying from <em><a contents="Bali" data-link-label="Bali" data-link-type="page" href="/bali">Bali</a></em> to <em><a contents="Bangkok" data-link-label="The Spirit of Bangkok" data-link-type="page" href="/the-spirit-of-bangkok">Bangkok</a></em> to get to <em><a contents="Cairo" data-link-label="Adventures In Egypt" data-link-type="page" href="/adventures-in-egypt">Cairo</a></em> so that I could better experience a bit of Thailand for the first time. I explored Bangkok every day and night on foot in Adidas cross trainers with a backpack on carrying extra weather appropriate clothes, sandals, a rain poncho, Timberland boots (just incase) and camera gear at hand. I filled most of every day going to temples, shrines and other historical places in the Phra Nakhon district, next to the Chao Phraya river, to admire the architecture, visual art and monuments, then I retreated to markets and restaurants during the rain although in my opinion, the best food was from the street food cart vendors. I did ride the BTS skytrain to venture into the city a bit and I rode a tuk-tuk a few times if it was raining and I was stuck with camera gear.</span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/541cae11416827b0dddda7a35f2f834fe73c0ab2/original/phra-sumen-ftdb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">Phra Sumen Fort next to the river</span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/dc1bc0f186ecafd5911d6a3cee7b7b24455ad8b5/original/phra-sumen-rdfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><span class="font_regular">Phra Sumen Rd by my hotel</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">The Temples</span></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">The first Wat (temple) that I visited was Wat Biwonniwet Vihara down Phra Sumen Rd just a short walk from my hotel. There is this amazing structure with a height of 50 m covered in gold mosaic tiles called a chedi that enshrines sacred relics. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/a0c31d268e04901bee41c34e4eaa0f48d093939a/original/wat-bowon-niwetfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular">Wat Bowonniwet Vihara</span><br><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/f11dced79b1fb7f0dc355f6ef91d85897f622f94/original/wat-bowon-niwetsidefb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular">A side view of the main hall</span><br><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/fba5eb7bd9fe79d30f8b78db13d1eb0f6a642249/original/golden-chedifb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular">The Great Cetiya (golden chedi shrine)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><br><span class="font_large"> On to Wat Pho, just a few blocks southwest of my hotel and next to the Chao Phraya river, this temple has many incredible structures, statues and monuments. The temple grounds are adorned with Chedis (shrine monuments), statues of the Buddha and even Chinese guard statues and a Chinese garden. Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of The Reclining Buddha, is a UNESCO Memory of The World Programme site.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/3f2549c560a251f1dbb90409e978278ce6f74a1b/original/wat-phofb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">Chedis of Wat Pho</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/e36f9b567daa3745e86a60ce27ab3b1cad02a297/original/wat-chineseguardfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Chinese Guardian</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/110f364bcbebd191aca7ebe53ca351bc558f9bae/original/golden-buddhafb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Phra Ubosot of Wat Pho</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">There are many statues of all sizes of the Buddha sitting and meditating within the temple complex but the most incredible one was the very large (46 meters long) reclining Buddha which symbolizes his entry into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The soles of the feet of the Buddha are 3 m high and 4.5 m long, and are inlaid with mother-of-pearl artworks.</span><span class="font_large">The paintings on the walls within the hall depict the teachings of the Buddha through his journey to awakening (enlightenment) and it also tells stories of Thai history and folklore. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/2930899c185f2c392247f3252c79a0fef46fae1e/original/enlightenmentfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular">Entry Into Nirvana</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/f6618fa9caa804d80d364b9bbc586674fbbf0fec/original/the-pathfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The Path</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/a42b542767ac5e3817e0a61056d16d3f28640b76/original/buddha-perspectivefb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Buddha Perspective</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Politics And History</span></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Not too far from Wat Pho and on the main Avenue of Phra Nakhon district is the Democracy Monument built in 1939 just after the Siamese revolution of 1932 which led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in what was then the Kingdom of Siam which later changed it's name to (Kingdon of) Thailand. Thai means "free man" and in some dialects means "people". Many years of military dictatorships from 1932 to 1973 led to many college student protests and demonstrations that led to the popular uprising of the14th of October 1973 when Seventy-seven student were killed and 857 were injured by the military. In recent history through multiple military coups, this site has truly become a rally point for people to fight for what they believe is right. Just across the street is the 14th of October Memorial honoring their memory.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/bc0d68940f2976845e13422b94500f5ee09595ab/original/memorialfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>The Democracy Monument</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ca8330308bcd6c5c67e9535eb4e467c334696d05/original/monk-at-73-memorialfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>A Monk's Homage To The Day of Sorrow at the 14th of October 1973 Memorial</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">The Streets</span></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">My daily walks around Bangkok in the warm,sunny but slightly (or really cloudy when it rained..) cloudy weather presented many opportunities to work on my street photography skills. I found a few Muay Thai kick boxing schools ran by "old school" fighters who all have multiple students who are national champions (in many countries) and world champion Thai kick boxers and MMA fighters, my back and legs were rejuvenated with legit Thai massage and of course, all of that will make you hungry so eating lunch and dinner from food carts were a daily treat.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c7a8c7c8b488a40d7a7be85eb19de0c908b0b1a4/original/school-of-hard-knocksfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The School of Hard Knocks</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/3460ba8fddaafb038234abc1c912e2dcd4f783c8/original/khao-san-clipfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Moving Through The Day</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/1e0561f8b81382b085185f0d64d47b4ee5736d89/original/woman-near-khao-san-rdfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Let's Meet for Lunch</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/82cf02abe99328f91478ecc95724aecb3698648c/original/cooking-scenefb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Khaosan Masters of Pad Thai</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/e1ba7eb35d4777d17bcf67bdf551489c405f083b/original/thai-foodfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Thai Food</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/54896783bd0e8f4e6bb9ee3368c9cad199c52f9f/original/woman-on-khaosan-rdfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Relaxing After Lunch On Khaosan Rd</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/0043e0da5826425fd069c9df8dde44d813ff49de/original/chao-phraya-riverfb.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The Chao Phraya River</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Such a rich culture the Thai people have created with fusions of food, philosophy, architecture and arts from it's neighbors all the way from India to China and the surrounding countries or regions of Malaysia, Tibet, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam and Cambodia. With the help of my recent studies into Confucian and Buddhist Philosophies and through study of the history of the Kingdom of Thailand (a country that has never been colonized) and it's many name changes, I am beginning to better understand some of the culture of this part of Thailand a little more. Digging deeper into information on the places in Bangkok that I walked around and photographed, learning how they got there, why and who built or inspired these places definitely brings a refreshing quality of mind and it also makes the viewing of these finished photos a much more enlightening experience.</span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a contents="You can see more of my Thailand Collection here!" data-link-label="The Spirit of Bangkok" data-link-type="page" href="/the-spirit-of-bangkok"><span class="font_large">You can see more of my Thailand Collection here!</span></a></h2>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/47721602017-07-08T17:05:25-04:002023-10-16T10:48:19-04:00Last Day In NYC<p style="text-align: center;"><br><br><strong><span class="font_xl">Last Day In NYC</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/a8d84ed76f09640b5070b02aa071597f716846bf/original/img-2744.jpg?1499541914" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Taken from the corner of Prospect Park in Flatbush</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">The last day in NYC, the day in which I had originally planned to be a tourist the whole day and take lots of photos but having dropped my DSLR camera (Canon 50d) the night before and causing a problem with my camera sensor chip, I was a bit bummed out. I decided to go and see with my eyes anyway and just snap a few photos here and there with my iPhone. Although there are some limitations with it being a very tiny lens, light sensor chip and not necessarily the "best" quality glass, you can still take descent photos for small prints or sharing online with an iPhone when there is a good balance of natural or artificial light. I was actually surprised how descent some of the photos came out (at the iPad and smaller iPhone viewing size) since I usually go deep into a photo's actual size and am very detailed with the editing (i.e sharpening, adjusting light balance when needed and giving the photo that color pop) with the much larger photos taken on my "real camera" that are naturally much sharper and have much more depth of field and color.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_large">My first stop was just 3 blocks down Ocean Av to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The smells of BBQ led me to the faint sound of hand drumming. Every weekend in Spring and summer there is a drum circle at Drummers Cove on the Southeast side of the park that goes all day. There were all ages here from a senior citizen drumming down to a 2 1/2 year old dancing to the groove.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/e0d39f918530434cf27ecd9fc628ad416cd84efd/original/drummers-cove.jpg?1499542129" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Drummer's Cove</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Feeling a bit refreshed and more in sync with this day, I caught the Q train and transferred to the 3 train to exit at Borough Hall station. Just 2 blocks away, there it is, the gateway to Manhattan appears between the buildings. The historic Brooklyn Bridge built in 1869 - 1883 when it was finally completed and opened is one of the oldest surviving bridges in the US and was one of the first cable-stay/suspension hybrid bridges.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/e2369199292ea1e81112971de5df2868c6671765/original/manhattan-skyline.jpg?1499542356" class="size_l justify_center border_" />A view of Manhattan from Brooklyn<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/81df81d13f9d1d76f01cd8a2cc7245ec2fae9cc2/original/brooklyn-skyline.jpg?1499543568" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Brooklyn</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/0a9427578e5d1dce44b66fd4c0b54bc35d76dc48/original/manhattan-bridge.jpg?1499898657" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>The Manhattan bridge</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c67cf4673e98cd2b3a3971215448c8b2e3c5e4ff/original/catching-a-break-from-the-sun.jpg?1499544342" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Catching a break from the sun</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/86ddd0ef10e325b7de322c3820930e7523e80f60/original/web-of-suspension.jpg?1499544648" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Web of Suspension</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/dca64aefddcc8a683bd6390b2675608221695c84/original/self-portrait-bk-bridge2.jpg?1499544706" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Sunny side of the bridge</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Thankfully this day was sunny with light cloud formations, perfect for lighting landscape photographs. It was also a little humid which felt like early spring weather to this Floridian. I saw so many people walking over from the Manhattan side and taking selfless to no end but not really stopping to take in the view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn side.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/2452827a69de7ee7d09599130d92dab122eb7033/original/park-at-city-hall.jpg?1499544840" class="size_l justify_center border_" />City hall park</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Strolling off of the bridge past city hall and finally making it into the shade between the buildings on Broadway, I found one of my favorite fresh & healthy quick food shops but low and behold, it was closed…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/770f6feeef2457bfd7dcdcce3a61e77ab1bc8689/original/pret-a-manger.jpg?1499544958" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Taking a right on Canal St, I found Chinatown. Oddly enough, I had been to a small mostly Chinese and Korean towns while living in Tokyo and also to Chinatown in <a contents="Bangkok" data-link-label="The Spirit of Bangkok" data-link-type="page" href="/the-spirit-of-bangkok">Bangkok</a>, Thailand but this was my first time in the US to be in a city that really has a wealth of Chinese culture and legit cuisine and not just those same old cheap take-out shops that are all over the US that all have the exact menu and photos. This place has restaurants that specialize in regional dishes.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/53976c272924649581fa361cbf04b5e3d176d1ea/original/chinatown-lafayette.jpg?1499545153" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>Welcome to Chinatown</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/a0f7cedad5c9deaca32c07d4c630db4cd56a7d02/original/chinatown-blue.jpg?1499545201" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/f0d7acf9db5501e191482033d4fd97d55a879368/original/chinatown-parking.jpg?1499545297" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>I saw similar parking in Tokyo back in 1998</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/f9305ec1976136e830229c6c96a5576a09e99ae3/original/chinatown-wonton-garden.jpg?1499545432" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c9d78975666cff736785e6923c5fc18990ec7d70/original/kimlau.jpg?1499545519" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>statue of Lin Zexu</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/855dd9a6d4c1ad2976a04a06a7d5952cf249afa0/original/e-broadway.jpg?1499545565" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>Taken from Kim Lau Park at Chatham Square</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">After this week full of carrying heavy cymbal gear and a snare drum case around while traveling on the trains, I could have used a stop at one of the many acupuncture, massage and reflexology shops but I had to keep on moving while there was still sunlight out.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">I took the 6 train uptown to 86th Av and took a stroll to central park east to see the Guggenheim with my own eyes but by accident I went east out of the exit and almost to the East river before I turned around. The loss of sunlight may have (definitely did) taken the use of my camera phone beyond it's usable limit but I could still see the curves and contrasts of the Guggenheim museum's architecture very clearly with my eyes thanks to the amber streetlights and the moonlight.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/b49e5a9b43ff1862c04a532ce188bddd127190fe/original/guggenheim.jpg?1499545716" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The Guggenheim Museum</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Well, I'm here standing next to central park so I might as well go for a walk around the "lake" or reservoir (named after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), it's only pitch-black by this time, what's the worst that could happen? Of course my mind began to have visions of the shows CSI: NY and NYPD Blue and the 10s of episodes where they found a body in the woods of Central Park haha! It was pretty peaceful though with a few joggers going around the reservoir and the clouds making way for the moon to light the path around. I eventually made my way over a stone bridge (from another episode of CSI: NY HAHA!) and exited right next to the Metropolitan museum.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c334e9e5c76e7aded10e03ffdfbcda7e89408c5a/original/temple-of-dendur.jpg?1499545788" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>The Temple of Dendur at the NY Metropolitan Museum</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Seeing the side of the Egyptian temple of Dendur reminded me of the days when I walked past the temple complex at Giza and through the temple complex at Saqqara in <a contents="Egypt." data-link-label="Adventures In Egypt" data-link-type="page" href="/adventures-in-egypt">Egypt.</a> I must get back to the MET to see that exhibit.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Finally, on the train again and on the way to 42nd st station to see Times Square. Definitely many sites to see here from street entertainers wearing the most outlandish costumes to the led signs and ads running graphic photo designs and video and the delicious NY street food. The tourists though (not me, the other tourists). People standing aimlessly on the 7 streets between 42nd and 50th not paying any attention to the crossing signs as cars were trying to travel when they had the right of way. Trying to get through that crowd gave me more of an appreciation of how organized movement in all directions or sitting/standing at <a contents="Shibuya" data-link-label="Tokyo At Night" data-link-type="page" href="/tokyo-at-night">Shibuya</a> crossing was in Tokyo. I never felt stressed to walk there and never had anyone look directly at me, walk toward me and just stop in front of me to then watch something else as 4 or 5 people did in Times Square.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/11a5f5c508b709803bc2f2341b85a857ea816ab9/original/times-square1.jpg?1499546158" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/6550eef7847fb0a44f6357770272185fa965dcf8/original/times-square2.jpg?1499546221" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">My next to last stop that night was at Red Bull studios in the Chelsea area. One of my drum corps brothers was the drummer for the band <a contents="Outernational" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://outernational.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Outernational</a> and they were working on a soon to be released EP and of course I ended up playing some percussion on both tracks until a little after 4:30 AM. Finally realizing the time, I rushed out to catch the F train back to Brooklyn so that I could catch 8 AM flight back home to Tampa. So as the saying goes "No sleep till Brooklyn!!" but really, there was no sleep till Tampa.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/b1342266f415607d7fb61833c3dd6a2de651ba1d/original/img-2851.jpg?1499546453" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>At 14th St Station 4:45 AM</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/1eaf94db953617d194e12a5e6736453050e81277/original/sunrise-on-the-f-train.jpg?1499546562" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The sunrise from the F train to Brooklyn</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/0745976f4369b765475e8a7474332e7c3d9ce22c/original/ocean-pkway-530am.jpg?1499546629" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Church Av and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/480554541536dd54dc2dedc651d46ea293bae696/original/goodbyeny.jpg?1499547014" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Goodbye till next time NYC</p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/47325422017-06-03T15:12:05-04:002017-06-22T11:35:29-04:00New Photo Collections!<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/13ee391da13ddb25805b23f3d9102825a1e5303a/original/the-sunsetfb.jpg?1496516682" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> <span class="font_regular"> The Sunset over St Petersburg Beach</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_xl"><strong>Another Summer of beach photos!</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">So, we have finally reach that time of year again in Florida when the weather is extremely sunny, hot and unbearably humid and the rain and thunder storms are almost daily.<br>These weather patterns reveal to us some of the best sunrises and sunsets along our coastlines but if only we had mountains to help us better appreciate a much fuller view. <br>I am currently working working on a collection of photos from the west coast of Florida taken at Clearwater, St Petersburg, Treasure Island and Madeira beaches so stay tuned because these photos will be some of my first to go to print!<br><br>If you know of any great spots or have a favorite restaurant or cafe, please leave a suggestion of where to visit in the comments box below.<br><br><a contents="See the collection here" data-link-label="Sunsets if St, Petersburg" data-link-type="page" href="/sunsets-if-st-petersburg">See the collection here</a></span></p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/46579352017-03-29T16:30:00-04:002017-04-04T16:30:36-04:00Preparing for Frida<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/176440963875bb8e5c022b91016e40e10bae7f87/original/17457970-10209233262294006-8039629238768061608-n.jpg?1491337232" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br> <p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">I am spending this afternoon getting ready for the Frida Kahlo event tomorrow at <a contents="The Dali Museum" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://thedali.org/exhibit/frida-kahlo-dali/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwiI3HBRDv0q_qhqXZ-N4BEiQAOTiCHvPtjccmb0KNitiBWfziM_ppQgOA8LKON-VS1_tioY0aAssc8P8HAQ" target="_blank">The Dali Museum</a>, performing with Rhonda J. Nelson and The Irritable Tribe of Poets, by listening to the music of Mexican artists such as Lila Downs, Celso Duarte and studying the styles and feel of sones del istmo, son jarocho, son huasteco and mariachi. Although much of the music will be eclectic improvisation and a few songs with a Tampa style (fusion of Cuban, Italian and Spanish music), I want to bring some texture and rhythms rooted in Mexican/Aztec culture and the fusion of Spanish & African influence on the coasts. So far I have the instruments of rain stick (palo de lluvia), vibraslap (quijada morderna), tambourine (panderos), snare drum (tarola), guiro, ocarina, using my Senegalese djembe as a tlalpanhuehuetl, ayayote nut shell shakers (chachayotes), claves, tumbadoras and I hope to find or make a slit drum (teponaztle), maracas and gourd water drums tomorrow.</span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/8884fc54faf657cd69a733629c6b920c02d3e021/original/17635479-10155261345786661-5943479387626912838-o.jpg?1491337500" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/45401032017-01-06T14:10:54-05:002017-08-31T17:02:57-04:00Fresh Musical Ideas From Another Point of View<p> </p>
<p><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/2df2dd4b8c720ea184ab586ffeb2c194701442a6/original/theshot.jpg?1483714353" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><span style="font-size: 12px;"> A fresh self portrait for the new year!</span></span><br><br><strong><span class="font_xl">Happy new year everybody!<br> </span></strong></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">After coming off of a New Year's Eve concert with my band Wahh (an East meets West fusion Indian classical/folk & western R&B, rock, jazz and funk) and finally having a day or two of relatively cool and dry weather here in South Florida, it's a perfect time to play my frame drums! I do say relatively because it only got down to maybe 60oF last night and humidity of around 80% (yep, that's "Florida cold" ;) and today with a high of only 78oF. My <a contents="Meinl frame drums" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://meinlpercussion.com/" target="_blank">Meinl frame drums</a> with goat and calf skin heads are holding a higher pitch at the point where they are speaking very well along with a better separation between the bass of the doum, the highs of the tek & ka and this beautiful tone in the sweet spot. They are actually resonating fully to where just a slight touch to the shell will awaken the harmonics of the shell and head both together. If you have ever been around a camp fire with a very well headed drum (with skin), you know exactly what I am talking about!</span></p>
<p><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c9c4ca17909e4843b14abe89702a3e8702d4cd7c/original/skinonskin1.jpg?1483728050" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> </span><span class="font_regular"> 18" Meinl Mizhar headed with thin calfskin </span><br> </p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">With the help of so much inspiration at the beginning of this year from the weather, the modern/contemporary music of artists/composers such as Yshay Afterman, V. Selvaganesh, Tigran Hamasayan, Avishai Cohen (the bass player), Eugene Frisen with Paul Winter's Consort, Trilok Gurtu's brand of fusion and of course Ustad Zakir Hussain; I am feeling the urge to work on some compositions. I have been blessed to play in <a contents="Wahh" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://on%20the%20hand." target="_blank">Wahh</a> with the tabla maestro <a contents="Shankh Lahiri " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.shrutischoolofmusic.com/" target="_blank">Shankh Lahiri </a>for the last 3 years as well as with sitar players <a contents="Abhik Mukherjee" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://abhikmukherjee.com/" target="_blank">Abhik Mukherjee</a> and <a contents="Rajib Karmakar" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://sitarrajib.com/" target="_blank">Rajib Karmakar</a>. With all three being so deeply rooted in classical Indian music as well as with the fusion of Wahh, I have had the opportunity to come to a much better understanding of that classical music and how the interplay of fixed composition with improvisation staying within the <em>ragga</em> (scale) and <em>taal</em> (beat cycle) while using a <em>kaida</em> or improvising changing rhythm and using metric modulation and being sure the <em>tihai</em> comes back to <em>sum</em> or 1 (beat 1). A <em>kaida</em> is a fixed phrase where the phrase is always exact and only the sound changes on specific beats within the rhythm. Yea, a bit difficult to explain in words exactly especially seeing how the study and performance of classical Indian music, especially on tabla takes 1 lifetime of study and practice and if you are lucky, maybe you will get 2 lifetimes hahaha! </span></div>
<p><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/1e5fa8fadd857194747dfdacba26e2bf9ea4855b/medium/wahh-2017.jpg?1483725642" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
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<span class="font_large">I am working on some compositional ideas inspired by Shankh Lahiri and also Trilok Gurtu's song "Seven Brings Return" and I am using this as a means of study to gain a better understanding of how to compose from a completely different point of view than the western way where we can just make a melody how ever we want and change time signatures within any measure (1 bar phrase of music) and even change the tempo at any given measure. I am understanding much better some of the rhythm theory thanks to learning <em>Konnakol </em>from Shankh-Ji and I have been studying <em>solkattu</em> for some time now from an excellent book/CD combo by percussionist Jarrod Cagwin titled <a contents='"One By One: Exercises for Rhythmic Development"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://onebyonejcagwin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">"One By One: Exercises for Rhythmic Development"</a>. Solkattu <em>(sol </em>meaning syllable and <em>kattu</em> meaning bunch or group) is the system of names to represent the sounds playedon the mridangam which is the predecessor to the tabla and <em>konnakol </em> is the onomatopoetic</span> <span class="font_large"><em>taal</em> </span><span class="font_large">(meter or beat cycle) system used to speak<br>the rhythms out loud while counting </span><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">on the hand.</span>
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<p><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/9dfba04803e13640d4fc09df926f5bf14332a61c/original/tabla-mridangam.jpg?1483724970" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular"> Tabla on the left and mridangam on the right.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"> For example: for 1 beat we would say <strong><em>Ta</em>, </strong>for 2<strong> <em>Ta ka</em>, </strong>3 <strong><em>Ta ki ta</em>, </strong>4<strong> <em>Ta ka di mi,</em> </strong>5 <strong><em>Ta di ki na thoum</em>, <br> </strong>6 <strong><em>Ta ri ki ta ta ka</em> </strong>and 7<strong> T<em>a ka di mi ta ki ta</em>. </strong></span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">There are also other syllables that can be changed out but just to start, these are fine for the basics.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Music in general uses a combination of math and the science of physics to create sound but within Indian music, the compositions are very mathematical and the rules for the rhythm cycle and structure are very strict so it forces you to creatively improvise by dividing the beat cycle into smaller parts then using fractions to change the speed of the rhythm within the the beat cycle. Is your head exploding yet? Take a deep breath haha!</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="2CGiYq2GvQs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/2CGiYq2GvQs/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2CGiYq2GvQs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="320" width="600" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">Wahh playing "Kavi"</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">So for example, the composition I am working on is in 7 so it's a 7 beat cycle. Now, within that cycle, sure we can just play it as 7 but also as 4+3, 3+4, 5+2, 6+1 etc. You can even take multiples of 7 and divide those up and create a longer phrase but it is very important that the numbers add up correctly and our rhythm phrase<br>will always come back to 1. </span><br><br><span class="font_large">Stay tuned here for some follow up video on how to use konnakol, and some playing examples of what I have so far in this composition which will be a fusion of Indian compositional ideas and north African/middle eastern instruments and the belly dance rhythm Darw Hindi which is in 7!<br>I am looking to have it morph into it's own<br>living work of art eventually!<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/a89539b9a41654214e166f8d9b099f363ad873d4/medium/dfth2.jpg?1467399815" class="size_m justify_center border_" style="text-align: center;" /></span></p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/44576272016-11-08T13:45:19-05:002016-12-20T14:37:08-05:00Some Website Updates!<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ef202bf1529d172e7033662a8c08f8330a1606ff/original/img-0375.jpg?1454375940" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> On Mt. Noko Giri in Chiba, Japan 2007<br><br><span class="font_large"><strong><span class="font_xl">Finally we have arrived!</span></strong></span><br> <p><span class="font_large">It has been a work in progress for some time and finally, I have the <a contents="Spanish" data-link-label="Español" data-link-type="page" href="/espanol">Spanish</a> version of my site up and running so that I can better connect with the world of music and the arts in Colombia and the rest of Latin America thanks to Cristian Aguirre - Translations & Linguistic Solutions. I have been studying Spanish and working to achieve a better understanding in the last year and 4 months so that I can be of more help to teachers and students in Latin America, but also to prepare for my move to the country of Colombia in the near future .<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/18fdf6d508068e0c85fe1863f18fa568460d0bd9/original/13217016-1759127447644204-8225183293097877045-o.jpg?1477700501" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> </span><span class="font_regular">Giving a percussion class to students in Guasca, Colombia May 2016</span><br><br><span class="font_large">Of course, my use of Spanish is not at all perfect, but I can carry conversations well and since June 2015 or a little after that, I have been working on the necessary words and phrases about different percussion techniques, sound production, musical phrasing and rhythms and how to break those ideas into smaller parts to help them create a practice and rehearsal system that works better for the students and band directors in Colombia.</span><br><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/01f629c6309a1300e34cd09477e712140eeaf8b2/original/efmtrehearsal.jpg?1437588845" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> Grand Ensemble of E.F.M.T rehearsing for TOQUEMUS in June 2015<br> <br><span class="font_large">In my Spanish blog I will share with you all some of my photos and experiences of my time in <a contents="Colombia" data-link-label="Colombia Linda" data-link-type="page" href="/colombia-linda">Colombia</a>, as well as what is happening here with the bands and ensembles that I play with in the USA. In my English blogs I will share about all the positive things that happen in the country of Colombia within the arts and share what I will be learning when I travel there next year to study folkloric percussion, traditional percussion and General Colombian music. Many Americans only know or think of Pablo Escobar and cocaine when I mention Colombia, but there is much more there than those old problems. Colombia is a country very rich in culture of the visual arts, music, food and a long history with roots coming from west Africa, Spain and of course the indigenous ancestors, with many of the towns at or near 430 + years old and some of the positive things that happen in small communities and villages, this story has to be told to the rest of the world.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/efb4c9ce11d4341eac80c823a56590885662c850/original/happy-drumfb.jpg?1477701584" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span> <span class="font_regular"> </span>Kindergarten and 1st grade students enjoying drumming in Tocancipá, Colombia May 2016</p>
<p><span class="font_large">I will definitely be traveling through the nearby towns of Bogotá like Zipaquirá, Tocancipá and Tunja, but also return to Barranquilla, Cali, Medellin and other places to study music with some great percussionists and bands, to photograph real life in the streets and villages as well as the beautiful views from the Andes mountains. Please help me share the positive aspects of Colombia with the world. Which art festivals, music festivals and other cities do you suggest I travel to?</span><br><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/54c61ddbc027e28458b8fb58d6f75cd2ad34f673/original/califb.jpg?1477702192" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> Cali, Colombia taken from the hotel balcony Jan 2016<br><br><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/d07cb49d439b5c13d3c74f1015f530aad33eafb7/original/boyacense-villagefb.jpg?1477702334" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> Boyacense Village in Duitama, Colombia May 2016</p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/44128162016-10-10T16:51:03-04:002023-05-24T17:00:27-04:00Falling Into Drum Maintenance <p><br><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/efb322c3ede6455a5df14cb34d43315358a65b19/original/img-20190518-192138.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br> <span class="font_large">(posted Oct. 2016) <br>I spent some quality time this weekend doing some maintenance on my vintage <a contents="Ludwig" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.ludwig-drums.com/" target="_blank">Ludwig</a> drums! Since most of the mahogany used in instrument and furniture production in the US in the 60s/70 was from trees in South America, I of course just had to have some delicious Colombian <a contents="coffee" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.cafelosnogales.com/" target="_blank">coffee</a> to go with that old American mahogany wood grain ;) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/719b9130a83e75fd80b01d9676a1e00a9bfe5eda/original/vintage-grain.jpg?1476128156" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> </span><span class="font_regular"> The background used for my business card</span><br><br><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ac6325cad8f64aa44da52f340b37864c4ca2b879/original/photo.jpg?1476128292" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span> Coffee I brought back from my latest trip to Bogotå & Tocancipå in September <br> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">The last time I re-headed my toms was only early spring, much longer for the bass drum though (2011) but with performing in the Jungle Book: Alive With Magic show at Disney's Animal Kingdom all summer and 3 life changing trips to Colombia between May and September, it feels like it's been a long time since I have had my hands on these beautifully crafted sweet sounding tools of elegant expression. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Saturday I unloaded and unpacked all of my instruments, mechanics tools and other important things from my car which I prepped just incase if the hurricane decided to turn westward or produced any tornado heavy storms from it's bands and an evacuation toward northeast Florida or Alabama was necessary. I have lost and reinvested in gear too many times to go through that again hahahaha! This unpacking though was an opportunity to help these instruments find their voice again. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span class="font_large">I usually go with <a contents="Remo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://remo.com/" target="_blank">Remo</a> coated ambassadors on bottom and top but this time I am trying out Remo's fiberskyn ambassadors on the batter side of the toms and a Remo fiberskyn ambassador powerstroke 3 on the bass resonant side to get closer to the original open and full bodied sound and tonality that recorded drums of this type (3 ply with a reinforcement hoops) had back in the 60s and 70s. This kit when tuned well is one of those instruments that has that special vibe, that magic that springs from the resonance of the shells and pulls on your emotions forcing you to play from your soul in a way that you don't normally play but not to only find your voice but to allow the drums themselves to speak through you. </span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/f8801bef189de930233131b12fdaa8f08e4786a2/original/photo-1-2.jpg?1476127631" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> </span><span class="font_regular">Putting on new heads, cleaning up the bass hoops and making rubber gaskets for floor tom the leg adapters</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">This kit is a combination from 3 different drum sets of 1969 toms and a 1975 bass drum made in the old Ludwig factory in Chicago on Damen Ave (open from1937 to1984) by some great craftsmen using north American maple, poplar and central/south American mahogany from trees that were at least a few hundred years old so who knows what kind of "mojo" they have in them. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">I acquired a 1960's white enterior Black Panther wrapped kit in the Super Classic setup with added 12" rack, 18" floor tom, a 14"x10" snare and a 26"x10" bass. These drums were from a church who sadly stored them in an outside storage unit with a leaky roof and no climate control in Florida, another 1969 Black Panther in the Super Classic setup from a music store in Orlando and this bass drum from ebay but the other drums are gone due to theft and negligence during those years when I was living in Japan. This is what is left after all of that...</span><br> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/4e8b2089033f8d3092ea63e8ef1ffbc250268768/original/crw-2694.jpg?1476128910" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> </span><span class="font_regular">These shells needed a lot of work and care. Taken in my great grandmother's house in </span>S.C. 2008</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">I had to do some major work from 2004 -2008 when I had those short 6 day home leave trips once a year while in Japan to get these drums back in shape and make them more tunable by removing the wrap (PITA!), sanding, cleaning and removing rust and corrosion from the lugs, rims and other metal parts, filling splits and cracks with wood filler, recutting and hand sanding bearing edges to get them perfect for tuning but still close to original to embody that "Ludwig" sound and then finishing with coats of tung oil to nourish the wood. Thank goodness for the drum forums of those days which is where I learned how to do all of that then I put in some practice on junk wood to learn how to use the router.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">These drums really have a story of their own but I will save that for another time. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">You can hear them on <a contents="Wahh" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wahhmusic.com/" target="_blank">Wahh</a> World Fusion Band's albums <a contents="Liberation" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/brother-ray/1362331362" target="_blank">"Brother Ray" & "Liberation" </a>.</span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/87ac1f2b3b1723e32f4c30b6bca3356f8a831671/original/mg-7843.jpg?1433749349" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/42811232016-07-15T20:27:00-04:002018-04-15T21:09:24-04:00July Update! Looking Presidential! <p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/e2fc2f498bc8537504c9cdd0c3520c693a1d4567/original/13620999-10154420466276661-6850307295665050005-n.jpg?1468628541" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
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<br><br><span class="font_large">So, I have been MIA a bit for the last week and a half due to lots of work and the preparation for the performance at the White House on July 14th for First Lady Michelle Obama's last Kids "State Dinner"!</span>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"> I was honored to be given the opportunity to perform with other musicians, dancers, singers and a narrator from Disney's Jungle Book: Alive With Magic show in the East Room fusing Indian classical and folk music into the Disney style known with the film. We got to take many photos in some of the rooms and see many incredible historic paintings, sculptures and one off furniture and I will be sharing those shortly.<br> In the video you will see me next to/behind King Louie towards the end when the camera finally shifts center. <br><br><br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="KQ0uc3WP4gQ" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/KQ0uc3WP4gQ/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KQ0uc3WP4gQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="400" width="620" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></div>
<p><span class="font_large"> </span><span class="font_regular"> Having a blast performing with the cast!</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/d26dd945ed4c850b04c278e388f29011b20c30b8/original/washington-meets-washingtonfb.jpg?1496610776" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> "Washington Meets Washington"</span><br><br><span class="font_large"> To see more photos from this experience, please take a look at my <a contents="gallery" data-link-label="D.C. Photos" data-link-type="page" href="/d-c-photos">gallery</a>.</span></p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/42518352016-06-27T17:03:44-04:002017-01-16T11:37:49-05:00Middle Eastern Percussion Workshop Update!<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/646bea3d65477efe8fd1cf292996438cb3c031d0/original/event-editsmall.png?1467050924" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>The introduction to middle eastern percussion and the improvisation classes went great! We went over the techniques and the meanings given to the sounds by the Nubians and Egyptians. We also talked about how to improvise and work with a dancer in the Arabic style, We talked about Zaar music and also introduced improvisation in the Indian style using Konnakol which is seen from many great players of the Turkish style..<br>This update features some of what we worked on and is mainly a supplement for the students to keep the techniques and ideas fresh in their heads and to take them farther along. <br><br>The 4 main sounds that we worked on were Dum, Tek, Ka and Pa better known as a "grab" of "slap" type stroke.<br>Please note that this is setup for right handed drummers. If you are a lefty, just switch the side wording (right to left) to suit your natural strong side.<br><br><strong>Dum</strong> is usually played with the right hand at the 3 o' clock position with the hand flat, fingers closed and the thumb open and placed outside of the head and rim. Be sure that your finger tips are at or near the center of the drum and allow the hand to bounce off of the head to create a full low pitched "bass" sound.</span><br><br><span class="font_large"><strong>Tek</strong> for darbuka is played with middle and ring finger together from the right hand. The index and pinky should be apart as not to hit the head or skin of the drum. To make the proper sound, hit at the edge of the drum head where the edge meets the rim to create a sharp high pitched sound.<br><br><strong>Ka</strong> is player with the left hand ring finger. Start by placing you hand at the 12 o' clock position and rotate your hand slightly counter clockwise until the top of your ring finger meets the edge of the head. Lift your left arm and raise your hand. When you allow it to fall down, your wrist lands on the body of the drum (softly) and your ring fingers continues on the strike the edge of the head at the finger tip to create a high pitched sharp sound.<br><br><strong>Pa </strong>is played with the right hand and all 4 fingers together. The middle of your hand should be near the edge of the head and the tips of your fingers should be at or near the center of the hear. The hand is not flat but slightly cupped (a tiny house shape) and your fingers should be very relaxed without any tension. Remember, for beginners, making the "slap" sound is not so important. When it comes to Pa strokes, focus more on grabbing and muting the head. </span>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="_wNA8m0nssA" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/_wNA8m0nssA/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_wNA8m0nssA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="400" width="620" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
</div><br><br><br><span class="font_large">Here are some exercises to work on those strokes. By concentrating more on our hand/finger shapes and positions and a little less on intricate rhythms, we can learn to create the proper sounds.<br><br>This exercise counts up and each line should be repeated 4 times. After you have become comfortable with playing every line, you should play it in whole going line to line but again, repeating every line 4 times.<br><br> </span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="font_xl"> DT</span><br> 1 2<br><br><span class="font_xl">DTK</span><br><span class="font_regular"> 1 2 3</span><br><br><span class="font_xl">DTKT</span><br><span class="font_regular"> 1 2 3 4</span><br><br><span class="font_xl">DTKTK</span><br><span class="font_regular"> 1 2 3 4 5</span><br><br><span class="font_xl">DTKTKT</span><br><span class="font_regular"> 1 2 3 4 5 6</span><br><br><span class="font_xl">DTKTKTK</span><br><span class="font_regular"> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7</span><br><br><span class="font_xl">DTKTKTKT</span><br><span class="font_regular"> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8</span><br> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">Now you can substitute the T stroke with a Pa stroke to focus on that sound.<br><br>Here are some links to work on many Arabic, Persian and Turkish belly dance rhythms and their many variations.<br>Please remember that this music was originally taught orally and many of them have a very particular feel that may breathe here or there so you will usually see these letters in the place of musical notation to represent the different sounds and the hash mark will represent a space or rest. <br><br><a contents="Jas's Middle Eastern Rhythms" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.khafif.com/rhy/" target="_blank">Jas's Middle Eastern Rhythms</a><br><br><a contents="More Middle Eastern Rhythms" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.maqamworld.com/rhythms.html" target="_blank">More Middle Eastern Rhythms<br><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/47bf18bfa8e31a5569c749c4431bd2e2735ad6e2/original/13502687-10206622727068151-415391865433823171-o.jpg?1467060829" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a></span></div>
<div> Taken at the Middle Eastern Percussion Workshop for the Dance for The Heart belly dance convention 2016<br><br><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/a89539b9a41654214e166f8d9b099f363ad873d4/original/dfth2.jpg?1467399815" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> Performing with Johanna Zenobia at the belly dance gala event<br><br><span class="font_large">The next edition of this blog will include some video of the most popular rhythms for mainly Egyptian classical and folkloric belly dance.<br><br> </span><span class="font_xl"> Stay tuned!!!!!!!!</span><br> </div>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/42048542016-05-31T13:30:53-04:002018-02-18T13:08:05-05:00New Gallery Posts!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/3d6695cc916d98daa5f3de0714d06713c32c8e6e/medium/sakura-domefb.jpg?1458760006" class="size_m justify_none border_" /></span><br><span class="font_regular">The A-Dome during cherry blossom season</span><br><br><span class="font_large">I have begun to add more galleries to my photography page!<br>I will be working a little more primarily at night which means that I will be able to have more time in the mornings to work on editing the thousands of photos that I have from my travels around the world.<br>I have recently added a gallery of photos from <a contents="Bali" data-link-label="Bali" data-link-type="page" href="/bali">Bali</a>, <a contents="Colombia" data-link-label="Colombia Linda" data-link-type="page" href="/colombia-linda">Colombia</a> and <a contents="Thailand" data-link-label="The Spirit of Bangkok" data-link-type="page" href="/the-spirit-of-bangkok">Thailand</a> and will soon be adding galleries from Hiroshima and my visit to the Peace Memorial Park and museum as well as my visit to many of the shrines, temples and UNESCO heritage sites there along with photos from my 6 years in Tokyo, Japan.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/da960e660ffa081ab4e8e3b80a7f45736496926a/medium/okasan-asakusafb.jpg?1464713845" class="size_m justify_none border_" /></span><br><span class="font_regular">Okasan and Musume in Asakusa, Japan</span><br><br><span class="font_large">I am starting the process of learning how to print my photos and get the exact colors that I want. Believe it or not, it is a very difficult and time consuming process of re-editing and I hope to find a local printer who does great work with specialty colors transferring from RGB to the CMYK color profile so that my photos can have the original colors and depth of color that I intended. That is really THE tough part of showing your work in print form and to all of the photographers out there that go to print multiple times a week with their personal works, my hat's off to you.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/f9d97ea99a0c17c508c363c2e43d2c895d64d208/large/buddha-at-wat-phofb.jpg?1464711838" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><span class="font_regular">Praying Buddha at Wat Pho, Bangkok</span><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/8752089146ca2871dc08634a4604eaed9a8078bb/large/pesca-curvefb.jpg?1464715174" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Highway 45a Pescadero in Santander, Colombia<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/4e8c746f404ed44c7124ccc73554e668457bade9/original/terrace3fb.jpg?1464715723" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Restaurant among the rice terraces Bali, Indonesia</div>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/41571792016-05-05T04:59:12-04:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00Voy A Viajar A Bogotá! I'm Traveling To Bogotá!<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/2bac468dfb4dd256a1bcefe85701f04b41f1073d/original/morning-poolfb.jpg?1458760383" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">The Central Andes in Santander</p></div>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong> <br> Vamos a ir a las montañas</strong> [Let's go to the mountains!]</span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span class="font_large"> Usually I say "let's go to the beach" but being a Tampa bay, FL resident, I only seem to get to the beach when friends come from out of state or country to visit or when I am out of the country.<br>On this trip I will of course be heading to Gachancipá & Tocancipá which is about 30 to 15 minutes north of Bogotá but I will also be venturing into Suesca to teach percussion at a few schools. I will also be traveling to Boyaca with my girlfriend to teach music and I am sure there will be many incredible mountain views to see!</span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/97f8c4aec7c19a5dd310e7892233f7334f6c82d3/original/town-watchmgb.jpg?1437588897" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br> </p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/41019042016-03-23T15:51:31-04:002017-03-09T18:11:39-05:00It Might As Well Be Spring!<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/7fd60c228cdc0f3f0df248e221774748f8f16d6a/large/sakura-budokanfb.jpg?0" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">Cherry blossom festival at Kudanshita outside of the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan</p></div><br><span class="font_large"><strong> Well, it finally happened! It's finally spring in Florida!</strong> </span>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Sadly for sakura lovers though, no, cherry blossoms (sakura) still can not survive here. We had such a weird winter season though with lows that we have not seen in decades and for longer periods of time when in the past our "winter" lasted for about 2 or 3 weeks. Two weeks ago it was <em>hot </em>and now it back to the 60s and 70s when in the past, this time of year has pretty much been on the cusp of the typical Florida summer weather.<br>This is a great time to go exploring into some local state parks, botanical gardens and the like to freshen up my photography skills and take in the atmosphere and great weather to inspire some new music works.<br><br>Until then, here are a few shots from my travels to hold you over<br>and hopefully give you some fresh inspiration.</span></div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/cd8eb9c10f94dbe29f1e2b1229e17888de583967/large/pesca-flowbwfb.jpg?0" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">In The East Andes Mountains of Vado Real in Santander, ColombiaIn the valley of the rice terraces of Tegallalang Bali, Indonesia</p></div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/451f563717ca587a60a34c15f9c4d5a2169f7f4f/original/sun-flowerfb.jpg?0" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">In the West Andes mountains of Itagui in Medellin, Colombia</p></div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/3d6695cc916d98daa5f3de0714d06713c32c8e6e/original/sakura-domefb.jpg?0" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">At Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan</p></div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/04be5177480c62a49719eac3b09c07cf3de68a8e/original/red-sun-flowerfb.jpg?0" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">In the West Andes mountains of Itagui in Medellin, Colombia</p></div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/12cb719244aeb96d750e3df3b451a0b2d44d91e4/original/stpetetreefb.jpg?0" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">The main strip at St Pete Beach in Florida</p></div><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c867f580f3700d5db96fc7acc7339c2c470f6986/large/naranja-del-catalina.jpg?1486698446" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /> Taken in Gachancipá Colombia<br> <div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/2bac468dfb4dd256a1bcefe85701f04b41f1073d/original/morning-poolfb.jpg?0" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">In The East Andes Mountains of Vado Real in Santander, Colombia<br> </p></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="font_large">I will be playing a few evenings at a local city park in Tampa right on the banks of the Hillsborough river for a public art installation and I will definitely be taking my camera! Sure I definitely miss springtime in Tokyo, Japan and much of the atmosphere of cherry blossom season full of spending time with friends at temples, shrines & parks underneath cherry blossom trees (and the inspiration that came with it) but there is so much out there in the world to see, hear and learn from. Inspiration can come from anywhere and at any time but only if you allow it.</span><br><span class="font_large"> I am currently reorganizing my <a contents="photography gallery" data-link-label="My Photography" data-link-type="page" href="/my-photography">photography gallery</a> on my website<br>so for now if you would like to see more,<br>please visit my <br><a contents="flickr page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelwashingtonphotography/" target="_blank">flickr page</a>.</span>
</div><br><span class="font_large"> Oh yeah, <em>get out there and shoot photos!</em></span>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/39971132016-01-19T18:12:02-05:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00Upcoming Percussion Masterclasses<span class="font_xl"><strong>Middle Eastern Percussion Workshops!</strong></span><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/abb444c08c2c3de068af1e298c9e8fff9f75e012/original/img-9314r.jpg?1453243884" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> Playing with Madrin'ha at the <em>Amar Ala Masr</em> show 2011<br> <br> <em><strong><span class="font_large"><a contents="Update!!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://michaelwashingtonae.com/blog/blog/middle-eastern-percussion-workshop-update">Update!!</a></span></strong></em><br><span class="font_large">I will be teaching some workshops on Arabic percussion connected to classical and folkloric belly dance and I will also be offering a class to help you with improvisational musical ideas on these instruments.<br>The instruments covered in these classes will be the Egyptian tabla better known as the doumbek, the riqq (Egyptian tambourine) and the duff which is basically a single headed frame drum.<br>I will be covering basic techniques and rhythms to get you started on your journey.<br><br>Checkout <a contents="Dance From The Heart" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://theresa827.wix.com/dancefromtheheart#!instructors/o7kr6" target="_blank">Dance From The Heart</a> for summer workshops on June 24th & 25th! <strong><em>Be sure to select "Michael Washington drum workshop" from the <a contents="drop down pay menu" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.dancefromthehearttampa.com/" target="_blank">drop down pay menu</a>.</em></strong><br>Be sure to stay tuned for classes at belly dance schools and schools of music within the Tampa Bay area and around Bogota, Colombia in winter & spring!</span><br> <p><em><span class="font_xl"><strong>"Introduction To Middle Eastern Percussion Instruments" </strong></span></em></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"> Includes beginner Egyptian Tabla (doumbek), Riqq (Egyptian tambourine) and Duff (frame drum). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Beginner level </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Middle Eastern music creates mystery and movement through the textures of its rhythmic instruments. In this class you will learn a brief history of these drums, some of the popular Arabic rhythms used in Egyptian belly dance and the techniques to create the proper sounds that will bring the rhythms to life. Understanding these instruments will bring you to a better relationship with Middle Eastern music, it will put you more in touch with the feel of the music and will allow dancers and musicians to bring the richness of the music alive through their dancing and rhythmic exploration. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Learn basic technique and rhythm for the Egyptian tabla (doumbek), riqq and duff (frame drum). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Great for musicians and dancers! </span></p>
<p><em><span class="font_xl"><strong>"Taking Your Drumming To The Next Level With Improvisation" </strong></span></em></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Intermediate/advanced level</span><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Do you have doumbek, riqq or frame drum skills? Put them to work to create music! Learn new strokes to create different sounds, new Middle Eastern rhythms, and the techniques to create a drum solo. This class will focus on Arabic style soloing used for belly dancer/percussionist "drum solo" duets and also an introduction to the South Indian style of improvisation using Solkattu (vocal rhythmic recitation) which has been a major influence on the Turkish style of (doumbek, riqq & frame drum) playing and soloing. Learn how to create melody with rhythm! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">(Basic Egyptian tabla, riqq or frame drum skills required)</span></p><br><em><strong><span class="font_large"><a contents="Update!!!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://michaelwashingtonae.com/blog/blog/middle-eastern-percussion-workshop-update">Update!!!</a></span></strong></em><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ecc646050c1e54f2f5dfa9885eaeeda0666e32b2/original/dkrf.jpg?1453244670" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/39675552015-12-24T16:34:22-05:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00Update: The Element - Tao Concert<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/889228790f4e6767855776a767ef582a555f172d/original/12049252-979446535411098-7493738712391397834-n.jpg?1443027209" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><hr><br><span class="font_large">The <a contents="concert" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://michaelwashingtonae.com/blog/blog/playing-with-element-tao" target="_blank">concert</a> at the Unity Church went great and the sound was incredible! The room is in the shape of an octagon with a beautifully crafted raised wooden ceiling and a small dome in the center. I got to use my newly re-headed <a contents="Meinl Mizhar" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://meinlpercussion.com/products/Product/PER-MIZHARS/PER-MIZHARS/" target="_blank">Meinl Mizhar</a> along with my djembe, Ludwig bass drum, a studio shaker and lots of bells, seed pods and sea shells to help create the necessary textures. Our sound guy Jim setup multiple Bose speaker tower/sub combinations to create a surround sound and enhance the atmospheric feeling that we were creating musically. I suggest listening to the video through some quality headphones or stereo system with speakers that cover the high, mid and low frequency range very well and in HD. <br>Checkout <a contents="Element - Tao" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.element-tao.com/" target="_blank">Element - Tao</a> for a future CD release!<br> <br> <br><br><br> <iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="iriM_p9G4YI" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/iriM_p9G4YI/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iriM_p9G4YI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="400" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br> <iframe class="justify_center" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="xhom_yF0YMU" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/xhom_yF0YMU/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xhom_yF0YMU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="400" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br> <iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="z90ce1CwEJM" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/z90ce1CwEJM/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z90ce1CwEJM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="400" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span><br><br> Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/39670662015-12-22T14:53:05-05:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00¡Traveling back to Bogotá, Colombia!<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/36523a5f19717bc018418ac36cb3f1e3b22bac63/original/bogota-cityfb.jpg?1450811421" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>
<p><span class="font_large">Estoy viajando de regreso a Bogotá!</span></p><br><span class="font_large">So, I'm heading back to Bogota and it's surrounding municipalities of Gachancipá & Tocancipá again on New Year's Eve and I can't wait! I'll be there until January 14th so I will get to spend a little more time in the city of Bogota to check out the live music scene and I will be hanging in a few jazz clubs. I will also be heading back to Cali, (although it will be too late for the salsa festival) and traveling to Santa Marta, Barranquilla and Cartagena along with my girlfriend and her family. I am currently working on making some connections with musicians, schools, venues & promoters in Bogota to get <a contents="Wahh World Fusion Band" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.wahhmusic.com" target="_blank">Wahh World Fusion Band</a> down there and for some projects of my own within the jazz, belly dance & percussion worlds in the near future.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/97f8c4aec7c19a5dd310e7892233f7334f6c82d3/original/town-watchmgb.jpg?1437588897" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>
<p><span class="font_large">T</span><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">his will be my first time making it to the Caribbean coast in this country via a road trip through the east & west Andes and also the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains (highest in Colombia) so I know there will be many great opportunities for incredible photos. Stay on the lookout for more photos from Colombia next week!<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/c4cacd7a906bbc676dc43dd22dda9d361ed9d296/original/guadalupe-bogotafb.jpg?1450813763" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/39247062015-11-13T16:20:21-05:002022-06-30T14:48:18-04:00Missing Tokyo Life<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/1d7e87fa18c6d2193076db8df27fcd17cdbc8cfc/original/img-0454.jpg?1447448835" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>I was looking through some photos last night and rating them to get my travel photo editing moving along (finally haha!). Getting into my Japan photos, I realized how much I miss living in Tokyo. I miss the weeknights hanging with friends in Urayasu, taking bike rides over to Gyotoku, Kasai and Nishi- Kasai discovering new izakayas, yakitori-yas and ramen-yas. I miss going to one concert a week at The Blue Note, the Cotton Club, Billboard Club, Pitt Inn, Shibuya O, Tokyo Forum and many other mom & pop venues. I miss the real "old-school" Hip-Hop scene at T-en and Big Mammas and the dance crews out of Urayasu. The Jazz Jams at Miles Cafe, going to African, Cuban & Brazilian dance/music events with live music and catching everybody at the top of the jazz, world music and RnB scene who is still touring.<br><br>I think the time of year that I miss the most though is spring time. In spring, we can finally wear thin jackets but not sweat riding a packed train and the absolute best part; Sakura (cherry blossoms). In Japan, you can go to temples, shrines, the Imperial palace, parks or wherever and set up a blanket or mat to sit on, break out some sho-chu, sake or Sapporo beer (yes in public or on the train ride there) and spend some time with friends enjoying the moment; Reflecting on the past year and enjoying the cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms are only in full bloom for a few days but the process from bloom to the petals falling takes a few weeks. <br><br>Sure, there was some stress involved in living there with "rules" and "The Way" being unchangeable even when it makes no sense or is inefficient but man, leaving Tower Records in Shibuya (8 floors of recorded music/music video heaven) and picking up music that can't be found in the states (Japan/Europe releases or concert videos), heading across Shibuya crossing to get a Sakura frappuccino from Starbucks then walking up the street to Meiji Shrine in Harajuku to enjoy the cherry blossoms; You can't beat that!<br> Here's a taste of the scene to show you what I mean with <a contents="Tokyo Nights" data-link-label="Tokyo At Night" data-link-type="page" href="/tokyo-at-night">Tokyo Nights</a> and <a contents="A Day In Tokyo" data-link-label="A Day In Tokyo" data-link-type="page" href="/a-day-in-tokyo">A Day In Tokyo</a><br><br>Stay on the lookout for some of my photos from Tokyo, Kyoto & Hiroshima during the sakura matsuri (cherry blossom festival)!<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/73741e1692eb7753d0039dbafa67856460a46e52/original/img-1096.jpg?1447449463" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><br><br> </p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/39086612015-11-02T14:53:48-05:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00Masterclass On The History of Jazz Drumming<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/32d1b6e6ac71481dbc937cbf9b113c911bc80dea/original/cwjazz2.jpg?1446493251" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">Playing at the 2015 Clearwater Jazz Holiday Photo by: Joe Sale @ www.TampaimageFactory.com</p></div><span class="font_large"> <font size="1"> </font></span><br><br><span class="font_large">I had a great time last week presenting a masterclass on the history of Jazz drumming and it's connections to blues over at Academy on The lakes School in Lutz. I of course started with an introduction to 2nd line drumming and also talked about and displayed the way Baby Dodds had to play with King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band before I went back to the military drumming of the Revolutionary war era and the Swiss rudiments. I also brought along some instruments from Egypt, West Africa, Cuba, Brazil, Persia and Morocco to give the students a taste of some of the music that are within the roots of jazz and to show how there has been a re-birth of the multi percussion setup. The students really enjoyed it and they especially enjoyed the rendition of Chameleon that Mr. Cameron Schmitz(guitar) and I played and of course there were many questions about the strange instruments from all over the world that I had setup on the table. I had to play each of them hahaha!<br><br>I am going to continue to work out some more ideas based around the history of jazz and also the histories of different percussion instruments from North and West Africa that have migrated all the way to the coast of China and to the Americas.</span><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/be1abeed07eb4afbb5d35ae66f087db30b043aee/original/mg-4542.jpg?1446493960" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/38735502015-09-29T05:34:13-04:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00Discs, Wax and Bits!<p class="p1"><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/d911d6660faf68f943b05edbec87ee9381e1e2ac/original/me-at-cleartrack.jpg?1443326723" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Searching for me on recordings? Look no further!<br>You can find me on the album "Liberation"- by the band Wahh World Fusion Band. On this album I play drum set and some hand percussion. Ray (the bass player) and I supply the pocket of groove while the sitar (Abhik Mukherjee and Rajib Karmakar), guitar (Peter Mongaya) and tabla (Shankh Lahiri) voices create a harmonious fusion of Indian classical, funk, rock and jazz. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="font_large">You can hear and purchase the album <a contents='"Liberation"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.wahhmusic.com/music/" target="_blank">"Liberation"</a> at <a contents="wahhmusic.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.wahhmusic.com/" target="_blank">wahhmusic.com</a> also you can find us on <a contents="iTunes music," data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/wahh-world-fusion-band/id910733056" target="_blank">iTunes music,</a> <a contents="CDBaby " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wahhworldfusionband" target="_blank">CDBaby </a>and <a contents="Amazon Mp3." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_srch_drd_B00MW5I16Q?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=Wahh%20World%20Fusion%20Band&index=digital-music&search-type=ss" target="_blank">Amazon Mp3.</a><br><br>I also played on an album by the band <a contents="PoOg" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://poog.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">PoOg</a> titled <a contents='"Conspiracy of Geography"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/dronemaker/poog-conspiracy-of-geography" target="_blank">"Conspiracy of Geography"</a>. This album fuses Moroccan folk music such as Gnawa, Chaabi and berber music with western jazz improvisation. The featured artists are Rick Olson (bass, synth and percussion), Jim Stewart (drums and percussion), Ayoub Zokhrouf (Arabic vocals, doumbek and guitar) and Preston Beebe (marimba). On this album I play darbuka, mizhar (frame drum), karkabous, caxixi (Afro-Brazilian shakers), congas, sea shells, bells and gongs.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="font_large">I did some recording for Rick Olson (of bands Bogus Pomp and PoOg) on the tracks "Ayoub's Improvisation", "Geofunk" and "Sambaesque". You can hear those <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.reverbnation.com/rickolson/song/19451478-ayoubs-improvisation-studio" target="_blank">here</a></span></p>
<p class="p2"><br><br><span class="font_large">As for future recordings, I have some coming up soon with Gloria West & The Gents that will be put out on vinyl, CD & available for digital download in February at <a contents="Gloria West & The Gents" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.gloriawestmusic.com/" target="_blank">Gloria West & The Gents</a> <br><br><a contents="here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://gloriawestmusic.wix.com/gloriawestmusic#!music/c10tw" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/946d0f26bd9d48177e8f142561ff09432fee7b5e/original/wahhstud.jpg?1443519153" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a></span><br> </p>
<p class="p1"> </p>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/38639202015-09-23T14:59:57-04:002017-10-18T16:53:35-04:00Music & Percussion Studies<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/4c42c61f838cfa4e0dabb8fcbc12a28b76216e1e/original/dkrf.jpg?1433598883" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>I am taking more time to dive deeper into the music of the hand percussion lessons and studies that I started in 2007. I am mostly doing it to help keep some of the histories fresh in my mind and for those histories to become real knowledge that I can fully share and not just bits and pieces of memorized lessons. On the other side of things, I of course want to be a much better player in the near future than I am today and keeping a detailed focus on fundamentals of techniques as for sound quality and the proper "feel" for the rhythms will facilitate that.<br><br>My studies on North African/Middle Eastern percussion consist of the music of:<br><br><strong>Egyptian</strong></span>
<ul> <li>
<span style="font-size: 16.8px;"></span><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">Hamza El Din, The riq playing of Mohamed Elarabi with Um Kalthoum and the Mohamed Abdel Wahab orchestra, Hassan Anwar, Khamis Henkish, Hossam Ramzy and Hisham Elarabi. </span>
</li>
</ul><span class="font_large"><strong>Persian</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Ostad Hossein Tehrani, Peyman Nasehpuor and Nagmeh Faramand. </span></li>
</ul><span class="font_large"><strong>Turkish</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Misirli Ahmet, Levent Yildirim, Zohar Fresco, brothers Hamdi and Mehmet Akatay, Hakan Kaya</span></li>
</ul><span class="font_large"><strong>General Frame Drum/Fusion of Styles</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Glen Velez, Layne Redmond, Yshai Afterman and David Kuckhermann</span></li>
</ul><span class="font_large"><br>My Studies on West African percussion consist of the teachings and music of:</span>
<ul> <li>
<span class="font_large">Bolokada Conde,</span> <span class="font_large">Adama Drame, Abdoulaye Diakité, Famoudou Konaté, Mamady Keïta, Doudou N'Diaye Rose, Bayefall Revolution, Latyr Sy, You Dieng and Mamadou Lo</span>
</li>
</ul><span class="font_large">My studies on Latin American percussion could be talked about in 2 or 3 blogs by itself but in short, it consists of the folkloric and popular dance music from:</span><br><br><br><span class="font_large"><strong>Cuba</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large"><strong> </strong>Carlos Potato Valdes, Mongo Santamaria, Chano Pozo, Guillermo Barreto, Alberto Zayas and Eliel Lazo</span></li>
</ul><br><span class="font_large"><strong>Brazil</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Bezerra da Silva, Luiz Gonzaga, Nana Vasconcelos, Airto Moreira and Marcos Suzano</span></li>
</ul><span class="font_large"><br><strong>Puerto Rico/New York</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Tito Puente, Ray Barreto, George Delgado, Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe</span></li>
</ul><span class="font_large"><br><strong>Argentina</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Mercedes Sosa and Pedro Aznar</span></li>
</ul><span class="font_large"><br><strong>Colombia</strong></span>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Totỏ la Momposina and Fransisco Zumaqué</span></li>
</ul><br><br><span class="font_large">Hopefully I will finally make it to Cuba next year and possibly to Senegal in the winter of 2016/2017 but I feel that I should be further along in my playing of folk and dance styles (in depth), my knowledge of the histories of the music there and in speaking Spanish and French so that I can get more out of the trip. A full month in both countries would be perfect!<br><br>I will be sharing some videos within the next few months to show my playing progress and to talk about some of the musicians that I am learning from via books and recordings so stay tuned!</span><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/8136ec184eea6cd3b742f5167fdef0aeccafb533/original/img-4868-1024-300.jpg?1433590150" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/38634172015-09-23T12:54:38-04:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00Playing With Element-Tao<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/889228790f4e6767855776a767ef582a555f172d/original/12049252-979446535411098-7493738712391397834-n.jpg?1443027209" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>I will have more opportunity to play North African and Middle Eastern hand percussion with the group Element-Tao this fall and winter. We create meditative and energizing soundscapes using violin, cello, wooden flutes, sitar, Tibetan bowls, keyboard and acoustic guitar along with frame drums and other hand percussion. We received the opportunity to play at a yoga event earlier this year and wow was the energy in the room incredible. It went great! To see what we are all about, please checkout <a contents="Element-Tao" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://element-tao.com/" target="_blank">Element-Tao</a></span><br><br><a contents="Update:" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://michaelwashingtonae.com/blog/blog/update-the-element-tao-concert"><em><span class="font_large">Update</span></em>:</a><br><span class="font_large">Here is a live recording from the concert!</span><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="iriM_p9G4YI" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/iriM_p9G4YI/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iriM_p9G4YI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="400" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br> Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/38254422015-08-19T16:21:28-04:002017-01-16T11:37:48-05:00Playing The Clearwater Jazz Festival!<span class="font_large">Well, it's finally official. I will be backing up Gloria West and The Gents on October 15 opening the Jazz festival for The Ojays and Gladys Knight!<br>I am so excited and this is just the beginning of this adventure. Stay on the lookout for our album.</span><br><span class="font_large"><a contents="Gloria West & The Gents" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://gloriawestmusic.com/" target="_blank">Gloria West & The Gents</a></span><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/5046db956206a391b158cb76b2e66fabe2bf8431/original/10425455-1561711937418512-459650422333168405-n.jpg?1434178773" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/da7f3e52cdcab57338451cf55a9ca50ce8f47266/original/jazzfest2015.png?1440122051" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/38254232015-08-19T16:11:12-04:002023-02-02T17:37:29-05:00Going Back To Colombia<span class="font_large">I will be heading back to Tocancipá, Colombia from August 25 to September 3 to do some site seeing and work with the students at EFMT.<br>I can't wait to see where this adventure leads to down the road. </span><span style="font-size: 16.7999992370605px;">Tocancipá, </span><span class="font_large">Colombia is very rich with music and visual arts. Let's see if we can put together a model shoot in the mountains or in the city central park.</span><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/97f8c4aec7c19a5dd310e7892233f7334f6c82d3/original/town-watchmgb.jpg?1437588897" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/37980672015-07-31T15:35:00-04:002017-01-16T11:37:47-05:00Guru Purnima<p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; color: rgb(20, 24, 35); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><strong><span class="font_large">To all of my DCI, BOA, FMBC, FFCC, my music teachers and friends:</span></strong><br><br><span class="font_large">Today is the day that many of my band members from Wahh World Fusion Band celebrate Guru Purnima. Guru Purnima is an Indian and Nepalese festival dedicated to teachers and they use it to pay their respect and gratitude to their teachers.<br>I have many teachers in my life that I have to thank for their knowledge and leadership. Without them, I would not have had many of the great life experiences and musical performance<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"> opportunities that I have had so far.</span></span></p>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; color: rgb(20, 24, 35); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span class="font_large">To my aunt Elizabeth Martin, Ted Hope, Dino Riccio, William Meyers, Russell McCutcheon, Jonathan Zollo, Jack Starling, Paul Gansmer, Mark Smith, Rob Minier, Rick Adams, Mike Nedihart, Jody Dunwoody, Joe Southerd, Tom Mazzeo, Paula Williams, Diaz Clark, Eddie Capps, Eugene Fambrough, Benja Russell, Tim Church, Geddy, Mark Thurston, Kit Chatham, Christopher Hardy and Abdou Bayefall.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/3295f8efa940037f7b9727f146a3136c295dac6f/original/rhythms-shot.jpg?1438371046" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/ab87fc569c1359ea4f63bde3bd765f6f4d628b74/original/second-bass-with-spirit.jpg?1438371176" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/84f17bac7526698401aee08ebf46bd4825c04d10/original/578739-10151131231795295-1686819783-n.jpg?1438371248" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/146de3737ec4e576b7cda6fbee2ed967d9cc7dea/original/me-at-khufu.jpg?1433884078" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 6px 0px;"><span class="font_large">I will admit that at times, it is hard to keep track with who taught me which lessons or which version of ideas but never the less, I continue to pass the best of those ideas and ideals on to my current students.</span></p>
</div>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/37836352015-07-19T19:56:19-04:002017-01-16T11:37:47-05:00Going Into The Studio Tomorrow.<span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/5046db956206a391b158cb76b2e66fabe2bf8431/original/10425455-1561711937418512-459650422333168405-n.jpg?1434178773" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Tomorrow I will be in the studio for the Gloria West & The Gents project. Playing jazz from 11AM until 1 or 2 the next morning. Here's some info on the band and the album which will be out soon.</span><br> <h2 class="font_2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 30px; font-family: avenida-w01, avenida-w02, fantasy; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background: transparent;"><span class="font_small"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;"><span class="color_23" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(117, 84, 110); background: transparent;">Who we are:<br>Gloria West & The Gents play old school sultry jazz for private and public events all around Tampa Bay, FL. We play in a style we like to call stride-swing. It's fun, danceable, and allows us to show off our silly side!<br><br>Gloria, Stephen, and Tom began playing together weekly in May and have since added on more Gents that meld with their unique style! Since then, we have had guests asking to purchase cds, so we're ready to run with it! Along with digital download and cd, we'll also be releasing the album on VINYL! <br><br>A little bit about our first album:<br>Start off with old favorites and then add in a few lesser known favorites of ours! Then take some pop, Disney, and movie songs and give them an old school jazz feel! Lastly, throw in a couple jazzy originals, and you're all set for an eclectic mix that embodies the feel at a Gloria West & The Gents live show!<br><br>We're hoping to release the album in July, just in time for fireworks and watermelon!!<br><br>Gents lineup:<br>Stephen Dornfeld - Piano</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 class="font_2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 30px; font-family: avenida-w01, avenida-w02, fantasy; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background: transparent;"><span class="font_small"><span class="color_23" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(117, 84, 110); background: transparent;">Tony Shannon - Jazz Guitar</span><br><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;"><span class="color_23" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(117, 84, 110); background: transparent;">Tom Herbort - Sax</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 class="font_2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 30px; font-family: avenida-w01, avenida-w02, fantasy; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background: transparent;"><span class="font_small"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;"><span class="color_23" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(117, 84, 110); background: transparent;">James Suggs - Trumpet</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 class="font_2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 30px; font-family: avenida-w01, avenida-w02, fantasy; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background: transparent;"><span class="font_small"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;"><span class="color_23" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(117, 84, 110); background: transparent;">Gregory Forrest Wickstrom - Upright Bass</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 class="font_2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 30px; font-family: avenida-w01, avenida-w02, fantasy; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background: transparent;"><span class="font_small"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;"><span class="color_23" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(117, 84, 110); background: transparent;">Michael Washington - Drums</span></span></span></h2>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/37435652015-06-16T09:05:00-04:002017-01-16T11:37:47-05:00Flying to Colombia!<span class="font_large">Well, I am finally on the way to Colombia again to teach kids and young adults from age 5 to university age and also to give masterclasses to band directors. I'm so excited to see these students progress and play with a lot of heart.<br>I will try to get some video clips and I will definitely be taking lots of photos in Bogota and the surrounding areas. </span><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/01f629c6309a1300e34cd09477e712140eeaf8b2/original/efmtrehearsal.jpg?1437588845" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/97f8c4aec7c19a5dd310e7892233f7334f6c82d3/original/town-watchmgb.jpg?1437588897" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/37385282015-06-11T20:37:46-04:002017-01-16T11:37:47-05:00Recording Session @ Clear Track Studios!<span class="font_large">It was way early for laying down drum tracks. "How is the creative side of my brain going to function at 8AM to record some jazz?" I thought, especially after playing late the night before then staying up even later talking with friends. Well, there is just something about the process of setting up the drums that gets the brain going. Maybe kind of a ritual if you will. Checking side to side and top to bottom clearances of the stands and cymbals, adjusting the natural distance of the cymbals from the tips of my sticks being held in a relaxed position and doing quick fine tuning on the toms helping wake up my ears. There is also that magic that happens (well, usually ;) when you play with other top notch musicians that forms some sort of collective conscientiousness or force that seems to build through each practice rep and things really start locking up but not just the groove from a timing standpoint but from a phrasing standpoint. The point where you start to see in your head and sense where things will happen and they actually happen! <br>What a fun morning and a great way to start the day!<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/170128/d911d6660faf68f943b05edbec87ee9381e1e2ac/original/me-at-cleartrack.jpg?1443326723" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><br> Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/37323832015-06-07T13:39:07-04:002022-01-17T16:12:18-05:00My Site Is Up!<div class="tumblr-post" data-did="0d0a0cf45b8f222726a26a254e585a45c837a025" data-href="https://embed.tumblr.com/embed/post/cqKHDm4pDATLxtPH5NSp4g/120948934119">
<span class="font_large"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00784314);"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/system/5a6b812a5f705f047a9884214c2dfd2c67464c4f/original/equip-10.jpg?1399641746" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Well, I have finally built my website </span><a href="http://michaelwashingtonae.com/home" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; outline: none 0px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.298039); margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 21px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.247059) 50%); background-color: rgba(68, 68, 68, 0); background-size: 1em 2px; background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x;">http://michaelwashingtonae.com/home</a><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00784314);"> and have it up and running.I took a few days looking at the inner workings, T.O.S. and e-commerce setup of Wix, Square Space, Wordpress, Bandzoogle and a few others. In the end, Bandzoogle came out on top mostly thanks to Square Space only using Stripe to handle your money through their e-commerce side. Stripe has way too many problems from the customer side and way too many people have been left hanging with absolutely no customer service and thousands of dollars supposedly “refunded” to their customers but the customers not receiving a refund (WARNING SIGNS?! )I still need to get some current video of me playing percussion and drum set and I definitely need some photos for the products/instrument manufacturers that I endorse. </span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; outline: none 0px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00784314);"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00784314);">Please drop by and give me a review. </span></span><br><br><a href="http://soundquality.tumblr.com/post/120948934119/well-i-have-finally-built-my-website">http://soundquality.tumblr.com/post/120948934119/well-i-have-finally-built-my-website</a>
</div><script async src="https://secure.assets.tumblr.com/post.js"></script>Michael Washingtontag:michaelwashingtonae.com,2005:Post/37315582015-06-06T09:59:06-04:002015-09-17T22:27:01-04:00My New Drum!<div id="fb-root"> </div><script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script>
<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/Michael.WashingtonAE/posts/1071888446156823" data-width="500"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/Michael.WashingtonAE/posts/1071888446156823">
<p>I Finally Got My Re-Headed Meinl Mizhar Back! There was so much excitement Friday evening when I received my drum just...</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Michael.WashingtonAE">Michael Washington</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Michael.WashingtonAE/posts/1071888446156823">Sunday, May 10, 2015</a>
</blockquote></div></div>Michael Washington