About The Album Two summers ago, I heard the first subtle rumblings of a project that would soon be reverberating through sold-out dancehalls and auditoriums across the city. A friend of mine told me about a loosely assembled percussion ensemble she'd been meeting with on Sunday afternoons, and busking with regularly in the downtown core for kicks. They were a bunch of strangers from all walks of life, (only a handful of them were trained musicians,) who came together to bang on drums for the sheer joy of doing it. She summed the whole thing up in one concise mission statement, which today has become the enduring signature of the 32 member band. "It's a huge sound, and we really have a lot of fun making it - it's called Samba Squad." Envisioned, created, and motivated by their acclaimed musical director, Rick Shadrach Lazar - Toronto's kaleidoscopic grand-master of samba, soca, salsa, and Afro-Cuban drumming - Samba Squad has finally released their debut CD, to the delight of bongo junkies and rump-shakers everywhere. The self-titled 13 song collection spans a wide array of the aforementioned traditional grooves and rhythmic themes, while incorporating elements of funk and reggae in patches throughout it. Guiros ratchet back and forth, triangles chime, and swelling voices chant in metered unison, punctuating the hypnotic throb of the drums - and then there are the special guests. If the giant pulsating thunderbumps and tinkering bells and whistles don't get you bouncing, then the undulating talking-drum or the rapid-fire repinique will - and if that doesn't work, you should have your pulse checked. These are the inescapably uplifting rhythms of the universe, a syncopated celebration of life and music, captured on disc by a community drum-core of ordinary people, who are shaping their own extraordinary experience. (With files from Josee Duranleau, Duranleau Publicity.) To purchase a Samba Squad CD, visit www.sambasquad.com
	Samba Squad Rules! A 30-Member High Energy Toronto Percussion Group Gets You On Your Feet. by Janet "Slamdog" McClelland Samba Squad, a Brazilian influenced percussion street band, a.k.a. "bateria", has shaken up the local music scene, in Toronto and other parts of Canada, with its relentless energy and vitality. The group is led by award-winning percussionist Rick Shadrach Lazar (also known as the "Thrill Sergeant" as he leads the band with his drum and whistle), whose passion and sweeping talents drive the band, like the drum drives the music. Samba Squad features the full spectrum of Brazilian drums: surdos (big low drums), caixa and malacachetas (snare drums), tamborims (high pitched frame drums), agogo bells, ganza di pratinela (metal shakers), and repinique (a high pitched drum which leads the ensemble, played by Rick). Besides using traditional Brazilian beats, Samba Squad also combines West African, Caribbean and Afro-Cuban styles for an eclectic mix of Carnaval rhythms. Much like their audiences, the band has always reflected a multi-racial mix that is truly the face of Toronto. The 30-plus members are not only from many ethnicities, but also from different linguistic background, ages, sizes, shapes, genders and professions. Samba Squad can be experienced at live concerts, at guest performances, on their self-titled CD and if you're lucky, you can happen upon them busking on the cosmopolitan streets of Toronto. The vibrant, multicultural percussion group, Samba Squad. Thrill Sergeant, Rick Lazar leads a band member in a street dance, while busking on Queen St. West in Toronto. A founding band member reflects on how it all started... Samba Squad became a reality after I pestered Rick relentlessly to start up a new bateria in Toronto. Up until that time, Rick had only played with the big boys (Rick has worked/recorded with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Barry White, Paul Shaffer, Loreena McKennitt, Brian Hughes, and the Blues Brothers). Convincing him to get involved with a community project took several years. Initially, the thought was not appealing to him. Why would he deal with people who weren't professional percussionists? Well, he finally gave in. An initial call to a small circle of drummer friends, three years ago in January, resulted in our first rehearsal. It took place in the middle of one of the worst snowstorms of the decade. The group in full force. It didn't take long before word spread and more people started to join in. The band was named; and the philosophy of "One Heart, One Mind, One Groove" was adopted as our philosophy, which now dons our promotional t-shirts. But we also became a community. The joy that we felt playing Rick's arrangements was contagious, especially to Rick himself. He was thrilled and fed off our energy. On the street, friendly strangers holler at off-duty Samba Squad members, "Samba Squad rules!" The reason why we were able to turn so many people on was due to the intense energy of the band, but it was also because of the variety of the rhythms we played. Samba, was joined with Samba Reggae, Soca Samba, Samba Funk, Dancehall and Afro Samba, which further broadened the scope of interest in the band. Recently Rick has introduced more Brazilian rhythms like Afoxe and Maracatu, as well as West African rhythms like Gahu, Donba and Sabar into the mix. The group thrills audiences with their uplifting rhythms. Shaking it up in front of a crowd at the Reverb. At our current favorite venue, the Reverb (at Queen and Bathurst St.), fans and new-comers alike seriously get down whenever we play there. From the stage we look out onto a sea of a community that has built up around the love of this exciting music. A local musician dubbed us, the "happy-making machine". After every gig, we receive fan letters from across the city and beyond. Women and drums... For the women in the band, it has been particularly special. For the female percussionists amongst us, it has been our first opportunity to be full and equal partners in making music with our brothers. It has also been an opportunity for the women to share in forming the direction of our band – our presentation, our ethos and our musical passions. We are an ever-evolving project. As a woman, why was I so passionate about getting a project like this started in the first place? As a child, I was taken to hear the Washington Symphony, with Fred Begun, soloing on tympany. Later, when I declared my intention to learn tympany, my parents informed me that the piano was a girl's instrument. So I played the piano. After many years of learning - and loving - the piano, I found a way to combine my knowledge of chords and melody with my love for percussion. I then founded my first steel band. I was a teacher, and our student band became a hot item both at the school and the local music scene, where all the other band leaders were Trinidadian men. It was a good feeling to be a woman in what is typically a male arena. Synchronized beats at the Reverb. Another example of the male dominance in percussion became apparent while I was studying Chinese Martial Arts. I expressed a desire to learn to play the accompanying drum (a real "Mother" drum with a heavy bass sound and sharp clacks on the sides.) After I began to take drumming lessons with one of the young drummers at the club, the elders found out about it and immediately put a stop to what they considered to be a travesty: "Only men can play this drum!" they protested, and that was the end of it. The women spread joy and energy on a downtown street. In other cultural milieus, there were also objections to a woman playing the drum, sometimes subtle, sometimes accompanied by loud protest. At my debut of playing the surdo (big Brazilian bass drum) some of the Brazilians who had been friends of mine actually left the project in dismay. Ironically, our group went on to play Caribana (the largest Caribbean Festival outside of the Caribbean) with women in the band, led by Rick and Brazilians Sergei Bois and Iliani. All that discouragement seems a long way off now, but it means even more to me to have been not just allowed, but encouraged to play the surdo – the heartbeat to the world. Samba Squad today... Eventually, Samba Squad grew to over 30 members. It became clear that we needed a forum where new players could learn the repertoire and eventually become full band members. So, Samba Camp was started in the same studio where regular rehearsals take place. Like the band, our Sunday workshops at Samba Camp are full of people from all walks of life, who got hooked on the powerful energy and beat of the drum and want to take part. Rick leads the group with a whistle and a hand count at a street festival. The band has performed on local and national television, appeared at countless summer festivals, and played at the Air Canada Centre for the Toronto Raptors. We also appear as special guests on Jesse Cook's latest CD “Freefall”, as well as we performed at the Governor General Awards at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, which was televised nationally on CBC, both in French and English. Our independent album won the Urban Music Award for Best World Recording of 2001 and our BravoFact video plays on Bravo, MuchMore Music, and Vision TV. As our leader, Rick , says – "Samba Squad, Toronto’s Tear Down’ da House Percussion Posse keeps it real on the street and gives a big buzz of feel-good energy to the city." For more information on the Samba Squad, please visit them at www.sambasquad.com or visit http://www.montunopolice.com for more on Rick Lazar and his other projects. 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