Album Notes

Maracatu New York is New York’s first and only Maracatu ensemble dedicated to the performance and knowledge of traditional Maracatu de Baque Virado and other musical styles from the Northeast of Brazil, while fusing these rhythms with New Orleans Second Line rhythms. Upon returning to New York after an extended study of Folkloric northeastern Brazilian music, Scott Kettner founded Maracatu NY in the hopes of exposing the community to a rhythm outside of the popularly known music of Brazil such as Samba and Bossa Nova. With his experience and contacts, Scott developed the goal of capturing this folk art with its traditional rhythms and presenting them to the New York community through weekly Maracatu percussion workshops and performances. Kettner received an artist grant from The Brooklyn Arts Council in February 2003 and 2005 for this project. In 2005 Maracatu NY was the first and only United States Maracatu group to travel to Recife, Brazil where they studied with Corpos Percussivos and Jorge Martins and performed in Carnival.