When African slaves arrived in Cuba, they brought their sounds, rites, and the need to communicate with their gods through music. Cuban rhythms began to unite with those brought from Africa to form what we now know as Afro Cuban music. Though the rhythms that characterize the genre are fairly specific, a wide range of instruments is used to craft these sounds. Included are bongos, claves, the güiro, the shekeré, the pailas, tumbadoras, and many more.
Afro Cuban percussionist Elizabeth Pupo Walker is of Cuban descent and has studied at Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba and in Matanzas with the world-renown percussion ensemble, Los Munequitos de Matanzas. Through her extensive collaborations, she's become a sought-after studio musician and performer with much focus on folkloric rumba.
Pupo Walker strengthened her voice as a percussionist and gained a reputation for her versatility through playing with a variety of musicians in Seattle whom she considers family. Included in these experiences was being a member of the band Tuatara, led by Barrett Martin with members of R.E.M., Los Lobos, Luna, and Screaming Trees. As well as performing with Reggie Watts, among others. The invaluable experience she gained from improvising and performing with these players was formative to the development of her signature sound.
She moved to New York in 2004 and formed the seven-piece Latin Jazz group, La Buya with acclaimed west coast saxophonists Skerik, Cochemea Gastelum, and Jessica Lurie. She also began freelancing as a musician, providing percussion for NYC dance classes and theater productions with The Actors Temple Theater, Double Helix Theater, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and Djoniba Dance and Drum.
Pupo Walker has shared the stage with a variety of Latin artists such as David Oquendo, Nestor Torres, Los Munequitos de Matanzas, Obini Ashe, and Alvaro Benavides. From 2015-2019, she contributed her percussive skills to a variety of recordings and productions including "All My Relations" by Cochemea Gastelum on Daptone Records and The HBO series "Vinyl" Soundtrack.
This is the first in a series of sessions we recorded at Red Bull Studios NYC. This session was recorded on Neuman U47s and AKG C414s through Neve 1073 preamps on an SSL console.
