I have talents as a PRODUCER, VIDEOGRAPHER, PHOTOGRAPHER, ARTIST, GRAPHICS DESIGNER, MUSIC EDUCATOR AND MUSICIAN and a down-to-earth, spiritual focus to the heavens good gal., but my project now is my PASSAGE IN TIME my cd project: PASAJE - "FROM THERE TO HERE" - As artist, musician, multimedia performance artsit and long time music educator, I have worked with and taught from babies to adults for 25 years. With the community and at private schools was a choir conductor, kodaly instructor, music educator and producer of multimedia extravaganzas. I lived in Los Angeles for many years and was inspired by GARY CARDILE to play congas and also took up the vibraphone. Starting my musician's life as a conga player, I quickly evolved to timbales, drum set and percussion. In 1972 met and studied with Mongo Santamaria, who told me to pack my bags and go to Cuba. Finally, after music college, I moved back to Los Angeles to study at Dick Grove Music Workshops. Piano, composition, arranging, orchestration, improvisation, film scoring, the whole nine yards and played around Los Angeles at that time as a conga player.

 

I returned to Vancouver and decided to focus mainly on the VIBRAPHONE and MARIMBA. I became involved with Brazilian music and a student of CELSO MACHADO Batucada, capoeira and learning the elements of Brazilian percussion and rhythms from afoxe, maracatu, frevo, baiao to samba. Made a six week sojourn to Brazil and returned with an entourage of percussion instruments to use in my teaching career and playing.

When my daughter was in her teens, I made my way to Cubanismo at Banff, Alberta 1994 and 1996. An extraordinary conference with every bit of cultural life from Cuba - modern dance, film, percussion, timbales, congas, folkloric dance and music, piano, performance, history, Santeria. I made connections with many great Cuban musician, including LOS MUNEQUITOS DE MATANZAS, CHUCHO VALDEZ, RICHARD EQUES, and CHANQUITO. To be acknowledged by and play with Chanquito was a great uplift to my progress. Through Jane Bunnett I met HILARIO DURAN, who has produced and played on two songs on my new cd.

The Cuba fever had hit Vancouver and Toronto, and the voice of Mongo still range in my head, ("You need to go to Cuba"). You guessed it...finally made my way to Havanna, three times, and met ROBERTO CONCEPCION, the amazing professor of mallet instruments and teacher of many, many Cuban musicians. I met my mentor...and his inspiration and instant belief in me, led me to express who I was and record my first cd. I am also a videographer and photographer so I had taken many photos of many famous Cuban musicians at Banff.

JOSE SANCHEZ, an exceptional timbalero and conga player who has played with many name Cuban musicians and groups (now living in Canada) invited me to stay at his home in Havanna and during my stay was able to revisit everyone I met at Banff and deliver my photographs. The first night there we (SALSA BRAVA) were introduced to CHARANGA HABANERA. Then to NG, PAULITO F.G and the new style of "timba" that had emerged in Cuba, not to mention the old school of Charanga, LOS AMIGOS, with Chanquito, Emilio Franz, TaTa, and Cachao and others, which I began to video document_ We began creating an ensemble with "Wicho", one of the then keyboardists with "KLIMAX", and recorded at his home. Everyone had since moved on, but I got the incentive to continue my dream, and began working on my first recording at AKXL RECORDS with Richard Amazou.

My second home is Los Angeles, and thanks to my dearest friend and music producer, ANTONIO NEWTON who jumped in and came to my rescue to not only produce my last six songs, but also wrote two for the project, we were able to put the finishing touches on that dream. We connected with HAAKON GRAF, keyboards, who contributed his amazing talents and co-wrote a tune with Tony, and brought two of his compositions to the project.Release to come in 2008. Still lots of tunes to complete at DUBVIBE PRODUCTIONS, in Vancouver, where I will be laying vibe tracks and mixing part of the first cd project, PASAJE - FROM THERE TO HERE, with DANNY ELMES. The Vancouver area, is now home to a host of great Cuban musicians, ALEXIS PUENTIS (The AlexCubaBand-2006 Juno Award winner for an excellent album), ADONIS PUENTIS , JOSE SANCHEZ , GILBERTO MOREAUX (ex-timbalero for Charanga Habanero, after Eduardo Lazaga), not to mention alll the wonderful female musicians that have managed to stay after their world tour.

I formed Pasaje C.U.B.A.- Cultures United By Arts in 1995, to further the interactive creative communication, a hands-on interactive interface for all aspects of Cuban culture worldwide, beginning with music, film, dance and literature, both mainstream and folkloric. The videotaping of Cuban bata drumming and conga style began.