Now Batukada

BATUKADA . In Brazil, it means the beat. And true to it's name's origins, the group played with the latin beat made famous by Jobim, Gilberto and Mendes. Then Moreira,Deodato and Purim took the beat to greater heights and Batukada flew with them. The search for other highs continued. And the group soared on the heady mixture of Hancock, Corea, Crusaders, Bob James, Cobham, McLaughlin and Weather Report, further elevating their musical conciousness. And all through these passages, the beat goes on. NOW BATUKADA. A musical force reborn along with it's new directions and spirit of inventiveness and experimentation. And in this spirit makes itself evident in the metamorphosis that standard Pilipino love ballads like Dahil sa isang Bulaklak, Aliw, Sa iyo ang araw, sa akin ang gabi (composed by Don Manolo P. Villar Sr.) undergo in the hands and heads of this group. NOW BATUKADA's treatment eludes description. One cannot simply put it down as Pilipino or Pinoy Jazz as with the scant recordings available, the idiom has yet to be defined. Perhaps we can call it new music, one that transcends traditional forms as well as nationalistic borders. NOW BATUKADA with it's members BoyYob Katindig (keyboards and arrangement), Jun Save Me Salvame (flute, trumpet), Papa Jun Enriquez (Guitar), Sonny Chaba Nabong (bass), Cesar Bachu Yumping (drums, roto toms), Nick Egub Boogie (percussion). It's vibrant, it's exciting, it's the here and Now Batukada.