Internet Radio Broadcasts/Podcasts

	BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour Why women want to play the drums
Here is a selection of streaming radio shows.
CAS Just choose a show below. Website	Spirit of Brazil Just choose a show below. Website

Instituto Moreira Salles

Brazilian Music & Dance Tweets

Caipirinha Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 1 lime quartered or sliced 2 teaspoons of sugar 2 shots of cachaça 1/2 Cup of crushed ice with water PREPARE: Place the lime and sugar in the bottom of a glass. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, crush and mash the limes. Pour in the cachaça and ice. Stir well. Play your favourite samba track and Enjoy.

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Cachaça is Brazilian sugarcane liquor Cachaça, also known as Aguardente, is a spirit distilled from sugarcane. It is one of the most popular drinks in Brazil. It is the liquor used to make caipirinha and batidas. While rum is distilled from molasses, cachaça is distilled directly from the juice of the unrefined sugar cane. Before distillation, the juice ferments in a wood or copper container for three weeks, and is then boiled down three times to a concentrate. Cachaça is always distilled in such a way that the scent of sugar cane and inimitable flavour, typical of rum, are retained.

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Many thanks to Viviane in Brasil for this donation.
An alternative recipe!
	Wash your hands and take some limes, a tree-full should do it.
Wash and cut them into chunks.
	Place in a large bucket.
Take your Cachaça from the freezer.
	Four should be enough.
Add sugar to taste, start with 2 teaspoons per lime.
	Use one of the (clean) bottles and trouble it with the butt! Not too much as the rind will make the brew turn bitter.
Empty your four bottles into the potion and mix well.
	Fill to the brim with ice and apply straws.Then call your friends!

Canto do Brasil by Geoffrey Hiller.

To view this site you will need the Flash Player | Contains audio
Each regional section contains three parts. Total playing time: approximately 30 minutes
Returning to Brazil after 25 years I was captivated once again by the charm and beauty of the country. No doubt the Brazilians are photogenic subjects, but it goes deeper than the image. Compared to the paranoia of people I've wanted to photograph on American streets, Brazil is absolutely refreshing.

Another way of being exists in Latin America, and Brazil's own national psyche is distinctive. It's a country of street poets, where taxi drivers and housewives wax philosophical about the meaning of life. It can be a brutal place, but beautiful too.

The image so often found in these photographs, of faces so wide open, is that of tolerance. Despite the incredible diversity in Brazil, acceptance is part of the language, both the one spoken and that of the body. When you greet someone you ask in Portuguese, "Tudu bem?", "are you okay?" and it is really an invitation to interact, rather than a cue to go on your solitary way. There is no better place for a photographer. It's okay to look.

But it's not always a pretty picture. According to a World Bank study, Brazil has the most unequal distribution of wealth of any country. The fifth biggest nation in the world, Brazil has a population of 180 million people. Approximately 24 million Brazilians live in extreme poverty and earn less than $1 a day while the minimum salary of $65 per month hasn't changed from when I lived there 25 years ago.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has plenty of challenges ahead. Relations with the United States are at an all time low. Unless we here in the north begin to recognize our southern neighbor, the price of further isolation will be too great. For all of us.

Email Lists around the World

Not got Google Earth?

Hearing Protection

Health & Safety Executive (HSE) links: NOISE (inc. an audio test) Free leaflets on NOISE Free Managing H & S leaflets

Earplugs (or some other means of protection) are vital for all Sambistas, especially those involved in performances or rehearsals indoors.

However, despite the long-term and irreversible damage that can be caused to our hearing, some of us might not wear protection of any kind, believing that hearing is in some way impaired.

This article provides a brief description of Tinnitus, a precis of different types of ear protection, list of manufacturers and suppliers, and comments emailed by members of the Britain and Ireland Sambistas List - contributors are credited at the bottom.

What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the name given to the condition of noises 'in the ears' and/or 'in the head' with no external source. Tinnitus noises are described variously as ringing, whistling, buzzing and humming.

The word tinnitus describes the sensation of hearing a noise in the absence of any external sound. This noise may be heard in one ear, both ears or in the middle of the head or it may be difficult to pinpoint its exact location. The noise may be low, medium or high-pitched. There may be a single noise or two or more components. The noise may be continuous or it may come and go.
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What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus is not a disease or an illness, it is a symptom generated within a person's own auditory pathways. Although it is often assumed that tinnitus occurs as a result of disease of the ears, this is often not the cause. The precise cause of tinnitus is still not fully understood.

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Who gets tinnitus?

Experiences of tinnitus are very common in all age groups, especially following exposure to loud noise, however, it is unusual for it to be a major problem. There is a widely held misconception that tinnitus is confined to the elderly, but various studies have shown that it can occur at any age, even quite young children. Mild tinnitus is common - about 10 per cent of the population have it all the time and, in up to one per cent of adults, this may affect the quality of their life.

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British Tinnitus Association

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Noise Exposure

Over-exposure to Loud Noises:

Repeated exposure to loud noises such as guns, artillery, aircraft, lawn mowers, movie theatres, amplified music, heavy construction, etc can cause permanent hearing damage. Some people report auditory fatigue from driving automobiles long distances with the windows down. Anybody regularly exposed to these conditions should consider wearing earplugs or other hearing protection.

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Earplugs

Wearing earplugs protects your ears from new damage as well as allowing them to rest without external stimuli. Noise attenuation may vary by frequency, so if you're a musician you may want to shop around for ear protection with fairly flat frequency response. Hearing protection devices are assigned Noise Reduction Ratings (NRRs) by their manufacturers under laboratory conditions and may not reflect Real World performance. Most plugs average around 20dB of noise reduction. Maximal noise reduction (about 50dB NRR) can be achieved by wearing canal plugs in combination with muffs, but *some* noise will still be perceived via bone conduction of the skull in extremely loud situations. The following classes of hearing protection devices are available:

Mouldable ear canal plugs

Mouldable earplugs come in foam, silicone, and wax and fit into the ear canal itself. Because they are mouldable, a tight fit is always obtained. These are the best hearing protection devices available today, with NRRs ranging from 15-33dB. Cheap, available in drugstores, and reusable.

Custom ear plugs

These plugs are made from impressions taken of the customer's ear canal. NRRs range from 27-29dB, with the cost typically US$30-70. You generally order these through a hearing specialist who will take the impressions.
Filtered musician's ear plugs

A variation on custom plugs that offer even sound attenuation across a broad spectrum of frequencies. NRRs range from 15-20dB, and cost ranges from US$50-150
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Manufacturers:
Aearo(TM)

Jim Kennedy,
Region Sales Manager,
Acumen Centre,
First Avenue,
Poynton,
Stockport,
Cheshire,
SK12 1FJ
England
phone: +44 (0)1625 878320 fax: +44 (0)1625 877348
Email

Aearos -

E·A·Rshrooms(TM) - are also worth checking out but they're only available in Canada.

Alpine
- Dutch brand
“Most of our group use Alpine which are designed for musicians. We have ordered them direct or got them from Soar Valley Music. They cost about Euro 25.00 per pair but they come with a cute little zip case and cleaning fluid and changeable filters and stuff!”

ACS
Ltd (Elcea),
129 Southdown Road,
Harpenden,
Hertfordshire,
AL5 1PU
Tel: 01582 767 007

Email

"In the UK one of the most popular plugs is the ER15, named because it cuts out 15 decibels of sound."
A review from The
Chaucer Hospital Hearing Care Centre.

The same plug can be fitted with a 25 decibel filter, to provide higher protection. The ER15 retails for around £150.
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Suppliers:

Brookes

- suppilers of EAR Ultrafit, and many other related products

Greenham - suppliers of EAR and Bilsom products
tel: 0208-560-1244

Lucy Dell Earplugs - Stocking 40 types of ear plug in various pack sizes.

Stratfords Ltd. - suppliers of EAR Ultrafit and many other related products
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Advice:

Lucy Dell Earplugs - The Lucy Dell Guide to Ear Plugs

Music Teachers - Noise regulations explained.
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Sambistas comments:

“Earplugs are designed not just to reduce volume but also for dealing with different frequencies and frankly I am not over enthusiastic about those used in industry such as the commonly available yellow foam E.A.R. ones being used for music noise. Industrial noise and music noise are at different ends of the frequency spectrum ….”

“E.A.R. and Bilsom are the two big names in industrial ear defending and it may well be that they will offer free advice if someone wishes to contact them - I remember asking for assistance from the latter some years ago and I received an avalanche of material. Because of their experience and the wide variety of noise that one finds in modern industry it may well be that these days they do have some plugs that are suitable for our use …”

Ray Shakeshaft (Someone At The Door)

“I've imported ear plugs in bulk from the US. Yellow orange soft foam (no cords or anything). They would cost about 30p per pair plus costs of post and packing. We got these at LSS so that newcomers to our workshops (open access) would find it easy to buy on their first visit (rather than find out the hard way).”

“Yes, the earplugs I had in mind are cheap (yellow, soft, one round end one square) and better than nothing, but other protection may be worth getting in the long term. They have a noise reduction rating of 29db which is not very high (and they do cut out much of what you really would like to hear for musical reasons). I don't find the foam ones comfortable in the long term …. (e.g. playing 3 times per week)”

Steve Sarre (G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres)

“Some of us have also experimented with ear plugs from gunshops but I personally found these uncomfortable and that they cut out too much sound.”
Dick Richards

“Gun plugs let you hear the bateria more clearly, but are more expensive and I don't find them comfortable in the long term.”

Steve Sarre (G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres)

“Most pharmacies sell wax ones that can be moulded to fit but these obviously have a limited life.”

Dick Richards

“I appreciate that ear plugs specifically for music are not cheap (mine were £10 - available from any decent drum/music shop) but they will do the job. They should also be 'fitted', though it is a pretty Heath Robinson procedure of someone looking at your ear through a piece of transparent film …it does rule out the bulk buying idea unless you can persuade the
dealer to come to a practice on the basis that he will do good business.”

Ray Shakeshaft (Someone At The Door)

“I also have a pair of Doc's ProPlugs, which are much more expensive (£10-15), but as they are vented they don't attenuate as much as the E.A.R. plugs, so you can still hear normal speech. They need to be sized to your ears, so it is best to buy them from a shop - I got mine from a specialist drum shop.”

Alan Burlison

Personally, I am hoping to get some Elcea ER25 for £150, real soon. Apparently these are custom moulded for your own ear and are brilliant. You have to make sure your ears (inside) are free of wax before you go for a fitting!

Steve Sarre (G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres)

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Thanks go to:

Alexandre Nouvel (France) - Alan Burlison (‘Ruidogrande’, Derbyshire) - Andy Bilham ('White Noise', Cornwall) - Dick Richards/Wendy Dison ('Skibbamba', Ireland) - Ray Shakeshaft ('Someone At The Door') - Stephen Dunn - Steve Sarre ('G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres')

Home built surdo

In the past 20 years Brazilian music inspired percussion groups have boomed in the UK & Ireland

Do you think the number of groups is still growing?

plateaued out?

or is in decline?

Legs/stands for Surdos

A question was asked ........

Does anyone have recommendations for surdo stands?

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We have been using legs on surdos for several years now, and I tend to find Gope to be the most useful make.

The Contemporanea ones are also very good, but I believe they are quite expensive. Both can be loosened and tightened by hand, which is handy when having to set up quickly, as is often the case.

RMV also make quite good legs, but they have to be loosened and tightened with a drum key (a standard drum key, not a surdo key). This is a little bit more fiddley and you have to remember to bring the key (not that anyone on this list would ever forget a tuning key, or sticks, straps, beaters, or anything like that).

All the above have to have the  mounts screwed into the shell of the drum, which is not a difficult task, but take a little bit of measurement and planning, and, of course, a drill.

The other option is the tripod stands which are available from Kalango (www.kalango.de) which consist of a folding tripod, which isn't attached to the drum. These work quite well, but are not really adjustable height-wise, which may cause a problem with certain players.

Finally, I see that some companies (most recently Pearl) are making legs that attach onto the tuning rods, saving the need to drill the shell. These are height-adjustable, but I haven't had a chance to test them, and I don't know of they are available separate to their own brand of surdos - maybe some else knows?

Hope this helps!

Simeon

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Check out Meinl's samba range, 14, 16, 18 and 20" drums?

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Hi,

We have been using surdo stands ever since we started - we only had one player who could keep time back then, so he had to play both the 1 and 2. Now we are just lazy. I made the stands out of 3 x 1 timber My carpentry skills are basic, but still better than my computer skills, so I had to draw this and then photograph the drawing. You have to get the diameter of each surdo right, and it is important to get the height of the notch right, otherwise the surdo will wobble. You can add a bit of padding to the notch. The two pieces fit together using the notch at the bottom, and this should be as tight as possible- just don't forget to make them opposite hands !

You can buy surdo stands but these cost about £4 each, less if you can get the timber for free. All of ours pack into a single suitcase with room in the middle for more stuff, but if you do that I would advise one with wheels !

I have to say that having the surdos on stands does not do much for the sound. On hard surfaces the sound bounces right back off the floor and it ruins the tone. It sounds a lot better with carpet or grass underneath.

There must be other ways to make them but this is cheap, fairly easy and they pack flat.
regards
Les.

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Hi,

I tried this version but it's much too close to the floor.

Mick

Hinged

Map of known, Brazilian Percussion Inspired, Groups in the British Isles.

Patron

João Bosco de Oliveira " Europe's leading Brazilian percussionist "

Courtesy of G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres

"In 1984, I started the London School of Samba with Alan Hayman. It's a great thing as it's still going on with other Samba Schools springing up".
Bosco singing with the Bateria at the Covent Garden piazza in 1985.	How I came to this music: I was born in 1952 in Belo Horizonte, a city in north west of Rio. When I grew up, the radio played Brazilian popular music, Samba, a lot of Brazilian 'western' music, a lot of Rock Roll and the Bossa Nova. It was the folkloric music from the north which was fashionable and hooked me in, not the pop music. There the street music, played in carnivals and music played by the Congados, was a festival of music and drama in honour of a Catholic saint, celebrated by Africans or Afro-Brazilians. The plays relate to medieval wars and feature the King and Queen of Congo, ambassadors and captain. It's done to drumming and it's fascinating. One saint, Senora de Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary), the patroness of all , was commemorated the day I was born. On my birthday when I a kid you'd always hear the drums outside as the Congados passed. That's how my love of the drum developed. I came to England because first wife was English. There weren't many Brazilians here in the 80's but now there are loads. In 1984, I started the London School Samba with Alan Hayman. It's still going on.
Where I play: I've always been a freelancer doing loads of different. I do gigs with my band Arakatuba which plays Brazilian music. play a variety of styles from Samba to folk with a lot of input from as well. We've performed at big festivals in the continent with drummers, Dom Um Romao and Airto Moreira while here in England I've played with Rhythm Sticks, the annual world music festival at London's South Bank. I also do gigs with King Salsa which is Afro-Cuban music, and Mr Hermano which is a Latin band from Brighton. Occasionally I do some teaching at the Guildhall. Mainly I teach at Drumtech, a school for drummers in Acton, West London. I wrote the percussion course there. I do lots of workshops and one-offs in different places up and down the country. You have to keep your fingers in as many pies as possible otherwise you can't make it!When I'm in Rio, I love to play in small groups of 10 or 12 people especially at carnival. You go there at 4 5 o'clock in the afternoon around a corner near a bar where people playing and singing. It goes on all night and you finish at 4 or the next morning exhausted. Of course, you take breaks and turns and have a drink. You go across to the sea and have a dive and dip and back. It's fantastic! I love that. I'd rather have that than almost really.		Bosco leading the LSS at the 1985 Carnival.
Bosco leading the LSS at Covent Garden, 1984. Another early picture of some members of the LSS Bateria showing Bosco (standing, centre) and Hamish Orr (seated, 2nd from left).	A favourite song: I wrote 'Riva' as a tribute to the great Brazilian. I mention about 35 different percussionists from past present, a few samba schools and some afoches and blocos. The chorus, 'On the skin of the drum and on the sound of the berimbau, I pay tribute to the Brazilian percussionists who have no equals in the.' Guys like Nana Vasconcelos, Airto Moreira, Papete and Paolo. There's Pascoal Meirelles who grew up in my neighbourhood called. He was a great friend and inspiration. He was already in playing with famous people when he was 16. There used to be lots rehearsals at his house. Even Milton Nascimento would come round play bass. I also mention a lot of new guys like the people from, a percussion group from my home town. Olli Saville and I overdubbed the Brazilian percussion - berimbaus and surdos. The singer is Liliana, lives in London and works with me from time to time. Mr Bongo wanted the tracks on the CD to have names of Brazilian football players the past so when he got to that track he chose the name Riva. I subtitled 'Respecto' - respect!
Final word: Now other samba schools have sprung up out of the London School of Samba like Quilombo do Samba and Paraiso. I was asked join Grupa Sambando by John Harborne who'd discovered a group called do Quintal. He fell in love with their music and decided to start band. There are three Brazilians in it. This music came out of very early style of Samba called Partido Alto which had a lot of improvisation. There was a big revival in the late 70s, early 80s. It became know as Pagode, the name for party. So Pagode music is party music.
Bosco was one of the founding members of the LSS - and the first official member of the school - here is his original membership card no. 001 from 1984. The other founding members of the School were: Alan Hayman (South Africa); Gerry Hunt (UK); Carlos Fuentes (Chile); Pato Fuentes (Chile); Dave Patman (UK); Roberta Pla (Colombia); Kim Burton (UK); Liliana Chachian (Brasil); German Santana (Chile); Dawson Miller (UK) and Dave Bitelli (UK/Italy)		LSS first membership card.
For sound files of Bosco playing with his band Sambando and talking about the history of Samba visit www.bbc.co.uk/radio3

Message from Barak Scmool to the UK & I Sambistas list [Sambistas List UK] 14th October 2011 Title Goodbye to Bosco Dear uksamba people.... Bosco De Oliveira has left the UK now returning to Brazil... whilst he was here (the last 30 something years) he has had an direct or indirect effect on most of the UK samba scene, not least in being part of the team that founded the LSS and his tireless teachings.... we know he will be back, but in the meantime, you may like something to remember him by.... someone captured most of a show he put together on the history of samba in its most recent incarnation:
Os Tempos do Samba: How samba began	This was the first item of Rhythms of the City's performance, titled Os Tempos do Samba. A major influence in samba is the ring dance of Africa, and it was used as a victory song during Brazil's liberation. The other half of samba as it began was influenced by Portuguese songs.
Os Tempos do Samba: Tango		Chorinho A maxixe by Ernesto Nazareth called Gaúcho (Corta-Jaca) This was what was marketed as the Brazilian tango, but I'm not sure how to spell its original name... Apparently the upper class people hated it because it combined the polka and African influence (pelvic thrust anyone........?), and they branded it indecent. Then later, one of the composers of this genre brought this dance to Europe FIRST BY GOING TO THE VATICAN (people would call this daring, but read on...) just to clarify if this thing was indecent. Turned out that they said no, and it spread all over Europe.
Os Tempos do Samba: Improvisatory song		In this item performed by Rhythms of the City, the verses would be improvised, and everyone would join in the chorus. It was a staple in social gatherings for a time.
Os Tempos do Samba: One of THE samba anthems		Apparently this was THE samba anthem of the 1920s or 30s.
Os Tempos do Samba: Performance before the intermission		This was the item performed before we took a half-hour break.
Os Tempos do Samba: The second-to-last item		Awwww, it's almost reaching the end.
Os Tempos do Samba: The Final Showdown		Batucada
Videos by kingdomherts Performers of Rhythms of the City: Laurie Blundell, Jon Preiss, Gaio de Lima (strings) Fabio de Oliveira, Barak Schmool, Brian Taylor, Jeremy Shaverin, Mishka Adams, Gabby Messeder, Ccatherine Ring, David Fairburn, Pat Davey (perc. etc) Liliana Martins, Fabio Louis, Leny Etienne (dance)

Portuguese (Brasilian) Word of the Day .........

Samba Groups:A Snapshot

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Definitions 1.2 Size 1.3 Characteristics 2.0 History and Context 2.1 Afro-Brazilian music 2.2 Samba music and carnival in Brazil 2.3 History of samba in Britain 2.4 Evolution of the musical form 3.0 Case Studies 3.1 London School of Samba 3.2 Paraiso School of Samba 3.3 Carnival Collective 3.4 Sambando 3.5 Rhythms of Resistance

3.6 Beatroots Bateria 3.7 Sambangra 3.8 Silver Sounds 3.9 Costume, Visuals and Dance 4.0 Regional Carnival Activities 4.1 London 4.2 Manchester 4.3 Brighton 4.4 Scotland 4.5 Eastern Bloco 4.6 Drogheda 5.0 Development Needs 5.1 Current Issues 5.2 Setting up a Samba Group: Best Practise?

5.3 National Networking Association 6.0 Employment; Training and Links with Institutions 7.0 The Future 7.1 Summary of conclusions 7.2 Recommendations 8.0 References 9.0 Appendices 9.1 List of samba bands 9.2 List of tutors

1.0 INTRODUCTION
This reports aims to give an overview of the current activities and practise of “samba bands” in England, and how they have developed into the carnival street drumming explosion that is occurring around Britain and Northern Europe. The nature of the art form is such that it crosses country divides, so the report will not avoid the development in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.The report attempts to: -

1. Define terms so a common language can be used thereby minimising misunderstanding and controversy.
2. Place the art form in a geographical, sociological and historical context.
3. Describe some case studies to show the diversity of the groups.
4. Describe some of the regional activities occurring around Britain and Ireland.
5. Set out the developmental needs of the art form as agreed by a gathering of practitioners in Brighton in May 2002.
6. Describe training, educational links and other employment issues.
7. Conclude by giving recommendations to aid its development in the future.

1.1 DEFINITIONS
Due to the lack of written documentation charting the development of samba bands in Britain, there is a lack of a distinct language in English. Instead Brazilian terms are used loosely. This can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. It is important to define the terms and expressions used, and for the practitioners of the art form (percussionists, dancers and artists) to evolve a common vocabulary. In order to avoid confusion within this report, below are set out the terms that are used: -

Samba: The term samba describes a particular dance form and a type of music from Brazil. Samba music: An evolving musical form from Brazil incorporating percussion, song and musical accompaniment (often a cavaquinho – a small ukulele style instrument) with a particular rhythmic pattern.

School of Samba: British derivation of Escola de Samba which is the name given to the huge organisations that participate in Brazilian carnival. In Brazil, Escola de Samba follows guidelines and incorporates specific groups of percussionists, dancers and visual elements. In Britain, some Schools of Samba do not try to closely follow this tradition, whilst others do. Most groups in Britain cannot really claim to be Schools of Samba.

Bloco: Originally Northern Brazilian group, in the UK it has come to mean a step below a samba school, usually mixing percussion and dancers.

Bateria: A group that only has percussionists. Sambista: A person who plays percussion in a samba band, dances samba, or is otherwise an active participant in the world of samba.

Samba band: An ensemble playing percussion music on traditional Brazilian instruments. This is a British term to describe (somewhat confusingly) the 300 or so bands that have formed since 1984 in Britain. They have evolved organically and many do not play samba music. The term "band" often feels exclusive of dancers.

Samba group: A more inclusive term to describe a group of percussionists, dancers and visual artists and performers.

Carnival Street Drumming: An activity that describes well how the samba bands are developing around Europe. An umbrella term to describe the different range of groups playing Brazilian inspired percussion. First used by Lee Higgins in his seminal paper “Carnival Street Drumming: the development and survival of community percussion ensembles in the U.K.” However it focuses on the music, possibly ignoring the dance and costume sides of the art form.

Mestre: The musical leader/conductor of the group. In Brazil, "Mestre" means true master and is a title of great respect. In the UK it is applied to anyone leading a bateria.

For lack of a better description, and the purposes of this report, the term "samba group" is used, even though the group in question may not play much, if any, authentic samba music.
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1.2 SIZE
It is a relatively new art form in this country (not quite 20 years old) and has not been well documented or supported by funding bodies. Nevertheless it is significant. There are currently 180 samba groups listed on the UK’s web pages . This has grown from 79 in 1997. However there are dozens more who are recently formed who do not appear on the list, putting a realistic estimate of 300. We can also assume that each of these groups contains 25 regular attendees. From this we can conclude that there are around 7,500 sambistas in the country. If each group gives workshops to 100 new people per year, another 30,000 try participating in the art form each year. Add to this the 20,000 or so attendees of corporate workshops and another 20,000 children who are introduced to the musical form (see section 6) some 70,000 new people try carnival street drumming each year.As for spectators, by its nature of being a street performance art, it is notoriously difficult to calculate audience numbers. If each group performs 20 times per year, to a conservative 1,000 people per performance (often as part of a street parade) then each group performs to 20,000 people every year. Multiplied by 300 groups would lead to a conservative estimate of 6 million people seeing a carnival drumming group every year. If audiences at carnivals such as Notting Hill, Leeds and Luton (all of which attract more and more samba activity) are included, then audience sizes could run into the tens of millions.
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1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF SAMBA GROUPS
Carnival as an art form has received precious little media coverage in the UK except in connection with violence. “Carnival has moved from being a story about culture to one about crime and race.” (Guardian 2002). Samba groups have received little to no attention in mainstream media, hence the general public often incorrectly referring to it as “salsa!” A typical samba group might have the following characteristics: -

· A group of 15-50 people will meet weekly to play music based on Brazilian instrumentation. Many groups also encourage dancers to come too.
· The individuals playing music are mainly people who would not have necessarily called themselves musicians prior to their involvement in the group.
· Most members of the group would describe themselves as white, and British born.
· One or two more experienced players will be the musical leaders of the group (mestre). They are likely to have formed the group and/or come from another group previously.
· Anyone can join the group, although there are usually levels of membership and/or skill to reach before performing publicly with the group.
· The group will usually perform a number of outdoor gigs during the year: anything from 10 – 50 performances. These performances are usually organised by others (parades, festivals, community events, town celebrations).
· Many of the groups also play a significant number of indoor gigs each year: at concerts, in bars or clubs.
· The groups are financed to break even. Members pay weekly/monthly subscriptions and performance revenues supplement income.
· A few groups have received RALP or other funding from Arts sources. A number of them have been set up with the help of a local Arts Development Officer.
· Most groups would fall into the unincorporated association category, although many might not know it! In other words they are informal groups of people who have come together to play music and dance. Some have constitutions and bank accounts: others are one-person organisations. Few bother with issues such as Public Liability insurance. · The focus of these groups is a balance between social (a drink after rehearsal is as important as the actual rehearsal); fun (an interesting hobby) and performing group (where improvements in performing ability are key). A few are becoming more professional organisations, and beginning to employ administrators and arts mangers. · The teaching methods are oral/aural. Very little is written down by either teacher or student. However a number of written materials are being made available for teaching purposes.

“Samba schools are as much about socialising and having fun, as they are about the business of dancing and playing music. Our Sunday workshops are a great way of meeting people who have a shared interest in music and performance” (London School of Samba website)
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2.0 HISTORY AND CONTEXT
Since this is the first time a report about the art form has been commissioned by the Arts Council of England, it is important to spend a little time exploring the history of the art form in Brazil, as well as the short history of it in Britain. This report does not claim to be the definitive history, but an attempt to develop a written account of the phenomena.
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2.1 AFRO-BRAZILIAN MUSICBrazil’s music history has evolved from the meeting of different cultures. People from West and Central African were forcibly taken to many parts of Brazil by European colonialists (mainly Portuguese) where they encountered the native Amerindian population.This meeting of cultures during the past 400 years has evolved many different musical styles. Some have existed for centuries, whilst others have emerged fairly recently. Many emerged out of groups of African people illicitly practising their religious beliefs, known as Candomble. Often the music would be played after a religious ceremony. For example in the Pernambuco region (Northeast Brazil) Maracatu style emerged 100 years ago out of the European style marching band, but with an African twist.“The buzz roll effect of the snares and the accents in the syncopation of the bass drums gives this rhythm a particular character.” (Jayasuriya 2000)In Salvador, a port used extensively for slave and other trading in Bahia, a more recent musical form grew out of existing "Afoxé"/"afro" music. During the 1970’s and 80’s samba reggae evolved. With the rise of black cultural awareness around the world, reggae was incorporated into the styles the groups were playing. Thus Blocos Afros formed playing slow tempo rhythms with the accent on the offbeat. Some of these groups gained reputations all over the world (e.g. Olodum, Ile Aiye) and are still in existence today acting as cultural and community hubs.
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2.2 SAMBA MUSIC AND CARNIVAL IN BRAZIL
It is impossible to trace the origins of the music without also tracing the origins of carnival as the two are intertwined in Brazil. There is an irony about the concept of taking carnival traditions from Brazil and building upon them in Europe, as this is precisely the reverse of what has happened over the past 150 years. Through the colonization of Brazil, Europeans introduced pre-Lent festivities in February/March into the calendar. In the early European celebrations there had always been elements of inversion of hierarchy: slaves became masters; lower ranks within the Church were allowed to run free to mock the nobility and high priests. Instead of burning incense they were allowed to “burn excrement and old shoes”. With the abolition of slavery, people of African descent were allowed for the first time to join in the annual Carnival. It was a time of lavish consumption and often mask wearing, so that forbidden fruits could be discreetly consumed. This allowed the previously enslaved to practice and perform their traditions publicly for the first time.The roots of samba music can be traced back to West Africa via Bahia. It has its roots in the Congo-Angola round dance known as Samba de Roda. It is a musical form that has evolved over the past 200 years reflecting both the changes in people’s fortunes and the environments in which it is played. It has therefore never been a static musical form (are any?) but there is a rhythmic flavour that can be identified.With the abolition of slavery in 1888, many black migrants from Bahia moved to Rio. At the turn of the century it developed within the poor favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Slowly, during carnival in Rio, these groups would hold parties, and samba was born: a particular drumming and dancing style that spread like wildfire amongst all the population of Brazil. Police tried to crackdown on it (a common problem with carnival) but it was too late. Groups of musicians gathered in houses improvising songs over the top of percussive beats. New musical venues opened around the city, allowing white audiences to see the music performed for the first time. (Thompson and Avario 1999). In 1917 “Samba Telefone” became a huge hit at carnival time, and was the first recorded samba tune. By 1929, a samba carnival group called Deixa Falar (from the district of Estacio de Sa) paraded through the streets of Rio. This inspired many others. The following year 19 other groups did the same. A competition was formed judging an assortment of artistic elements. These included:-

· Music of the group (bateria, singers, guitarists and originally horns).
· The flag bearer ('Porta Bandeira')
· The theme chosen (“enredo”)
· The costume ("fantasia")
· The dancing.

Since then many styles, at different speeds, played in large or small ensembles have evolved. However there is a common rhythmic element, and for carnival in Rio and Escola de Samba must incorporate the above elements.
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2.3 HISTORY OF SAMBA IN BRITAIN.
Although there were isolated enthusiasts, and Brazilians playing samba music in Britain prior to 1984, the first group to establish themselves, and play publicly, were the London School of Samba (LSS) in 1984. Again this was a meeting of cultures, this time Brazilian and British. Bosco De Oliveira, Pato Fuentes , Alan Hayman and others musicians started the group trying to replicate the sounds of samba from Brazil. Other non-musicians joined and were encouraged to join in and were trained in the various percussion instruments. LSS played in festivals and parades around the country. They also recorded their work. Notting Hill and WOMAD were two events that inspired many other individuals. Colin Sedden who later went on to form Inner Sense Percussion witnessed an early performance at WOMAD. The seeds were sown: without tracing every group’s history it is possible to say that almost all of them have either LSS or Inner Sense as ancestors. However there is a lack of tradition within most of the British groups to write a history of their group. Most sambistas only have a sketchy knowledge of the history of their own group, yet alone the history of the activity in Britain or Brazil. This needs to change if an accurate record of the artform is to be kept. In a period of 16 years it is perhaps surprising how deeply carnival street drumming is engrained into the celebratory fabric of Britain. Take a close look at the Millennium celebrations New Years Eve 1999/2000. Most groups were involved in their town's/city's New Years Eve Celebrations, including London (when L.S.S. played as a climax to the opening of the Dome), Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Southampton, Brighton to name a few. Although only a teenager as an art form, it has achieved much already.
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2.4 EVOLUTION OF THE MUSICAL FORM
As we have seen in Brazil, musical traditions from Africa mixed with European traditions to form different styles. This has happened in the Britain too. An early (and still current) discussion amongst sambistas is whether “pure” samba should be played (i.e. the style which has developed in Rio), or whether other Brazilian styles should be adopted (e.g. Maracatu, Samba Reggae). Further removed still, since the majority groups in Britain are predominantly organised by, and made up of non-Brazilians, there are some groups who are now adopting other forms of music (e.g. punk, drum ’n bass, break beat, bangra, ska) and incorporating the style into their musical arrangements.“The musical structure is very flexible, essentially a large ensemble playing a range of percussion instruments, a back-beat, layered rhythmic cells, a stop, a start, and a set of musical events called breaks. This flexibility is an invitation to develop new musical hybrids.” (Higgins 1997)Jimmy Rodrigues joined L.S.S. as a dancer from Brazil in 1989. He later went on to form G.R.E.S. Quilombo de Samba in 1991. This London based group tries to stay true to the Rio style samba. In his opinion, the music currently being played by groups in Britain should be divided into three: -

1. Samba from Rio (as played on parade by Quilombo; L.S.S. and more recently by Paraiso and The Edinburgh School of samba) 2. Samba from Northeast Brazil e.g. samba reggae; Maracatu (as played by Manchester School of Samba) 3. Music based on Brazilian percussion (as developed by Bloco Vomit; Samba Galez; Carnival Collective, Sambangra)

However most groups around the UK actually play a combination of all of the above in their repertoire. Very few restrict themselves to one type. There seems to be greater confidence within groups to play what they like. Some stick to the original samba form, whilst others are attempting to evolve it to encompass and reflect the musical and artistic interests of the group.
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3.0 CASE STUDIES Since this is a relatively new art form, and it changes daily, it is difficult to present a definitive list of groups or practitioners. In appendix 1 there is a list of groups currently (September 2002) listed on the Britain and Ireland section of the world of samba Website. In the following paragraphs I will write about a few case studies, not because they are necessarily the biggest or the best, but because they are good examples of the art form which help to describe the development and the diversity of it’s practise.
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3.1 G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres / LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (London) L.S.S is a limited company and registered charity (patron: Evelyn Glennie). The following is taken from the L.S.S. website:-

“The L.S.S. was formed in 1984 by a group of South American and European musicians who shared a love of Brazilian music and carnival tradition. Since then they have pursued their aim of teaching, performing and promoting these traditional arts and offering affordable access to percussion and dance classes in London. The London School of Samba sets out to popularise these traditional carnival arts through tuition and performance. The school is run by a committee, who are elected for a two year period at the Annual General Meeting held in November.”The main focus of LSS is for the annual Notting Hill Carnival which last year (2001) saw the highest ever placing (2nd) in the competition. No mean feat for a Caribbean inspired carnival. L.S.S. welcomes, accommodates and instructs sambistas from around 10 different samba groups from across the British Isles and continental Europe The L.S.S. thus provides a meeting point and valuable experience to numerous other groups. It also provides publicity to Greenpeace and Survival International. Other recent highlights of their performance calendar include performance tours to Coburg and Stockholm plus performances at Wembley Stadium, the London Marathon and The Royal Albert Hall.
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3.2 PARAISO SCHOOL OF SAMBA (London)

Paraiso are a very new addition to the community of groups in Britain. Started in 2002 by a creative team from L.S.S., led by Esteves and Henrique Da Silva who were brought up in the samba schools of Rio. They have stormed onto the samba scene as one of the highlights of Notting Hill 2002. “It was the Paraiso Samba School which stole the show with its gorgeously plumed costumes, confetti explosions, and sheer numbers” (Guardian 2002). Paraiso are attempting to follow very closely the set-up and organisation used by schools of samba in Brazil, due to the thorough experience that Paraiso's leaders have of this model.
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3.3 CARNIVAL COLLECTIVE (Brighton)

Started in 1994 following a number of people from Brighton going to the L.S.S. rehearsals. It grew informally, taking on people with music, dance and organisational skills. It is run collectively, with a Board of Members; 2 office employees and freelance workshop leaders. It has developed both the performance side (with live break-beat, mixed with brass, visuals and dancers) and also with workshop provision. Carnival Collective is now the main samba provider for Rhythmix – the YMAZ for the southeast (see section 6).CC applied for an Awards 4 All grant in 1997 – successfully putting on Fat Monday (a live club event written about by Lee Higgins). It has also organised large-scale events including Beating Time in 2000 (see section 4.5) and the Brighton Samba Encounter (2002). Carnival Collective is a closed band (in that it is not open to members of the public to turn up and join in) but does run regular open access workshops. At 50 members and a turnover for 2001/2002 in excess of £100,000 it is one of the larger organisations in the country.
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3.4 SAMBANDO (Leicestershire)

Sambando began in 1998 as a community music project led by North West Leicestershire District Council Arts Development working in partnership with Charnwood Arts and Mantle Community Arts. Following successful early workshops in North West Leicestershire and Charnwood, and the rapid development of a core group of members, Sambando constituted itself as the Leicestershire School of Samba and has been run and managed independently since January 1999. It has recently been awarded a three-year Regional Arts Lottery Programme award managed by East Midlands Arts for an Organisation Development Programme from 2002 - 2005. Sambando aims to develop complementary dance and visual carnival development project areas that work together to create visual carnival performance and spectacle.
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3.5 RHYTHMS OF RESISTANCE (London)

Formed in 2000 as "Slinky Pinkies", through their sister band Barking Bateria. Rhythms of Resistance are set up for different ideological reasons. Forming as a direct result of “anti-capitalist” movement of the late nineties. According to their Website: -“Rhythms of Resistance formed as part of the Earth First action against the IMF in September 2000. A pink and silver carnival bloc, focused around a 55 piece band, detached itself from a march of 67,000 and outmaneuvered police resources defending the IMF annual summit.”Clearly this is a very different objective to playing for fun or as a performing group: their aim is to bring protest and carnival together. They practice weekly (in a park in the summer) and are keen to encourage other band members to mestre. They meet after each practice for an hour to discuss strategy for the protests and also have a big meeting twice a year to discuss ethics, issues, and direction. It is self-funded. It's free to practice; anyone can come along. The safety of the band is also a consideration. Rhythms of Resistance takes as its inspiration the Afro Bloco movement emerging from Salvador, Bahia: -“Whilst people often refer to us as a “samba band” we actually have more affinity with the Afro Bloc parading bands…formed as a political expression of black awareness, resisting economic exclusion.” However Rhythms of Resistance are not alone in parading for political change. A group calling themselves Batucada Mandela played at the notorious Poll Tax demonstration in 1990. Most political protests and parades now have an accompanying musical soundtrack – of carnival street percussion.
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3.6 BEATROOTS BATERIA (Reading)

Started in 1995 from community work when an arts officer (Gavin Lombos) organised taster workshops and then set up a band. The band grew over the next few of years. For the last two they’ve been working with WOMAD and Reading council doing the procession at the Festival. According to Gavin “Lots want to join around May, just before the festival!” Initially the band was a partnership, but one individual now runs it. Larger events such as WOMAD and a performance at the Millennium River of Fire gig have helped it grow from 16 to 60-70 people. It was commissioned by Reading Borough Council to put a Millennium show together. It is also involved in the Thames Festival in 2002.
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3.7 SAMBANGRA (Manchester)

Sambangra formed in 1997 as part of a BBC Music Live event. A specific fusion project to join samba music with bangra: Latin America meets Asia in Manchester! Under the tutelage of Ian Holmes-Lewis the group have continued to evolve and are innovative in their fusion of samba and bangra traditions. They have recently been active in Manchester during the Commonwealth Games.
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3.8 SILVER SOUNDS (Brighton)
A relative newcomer to the world of samba, Silver Sounds was formed jointly by Brighton and Hove Council, and a local community music organisation (Red Zebra) in 2001. It is an older peoples group that evolved out of a wish by the council to encourage older people to be more active in the community.It has had remarkable success performing in Italy, Blackpool and festivals and conferences around the country. Its founder Paul Martin has plans to develop more older peoples groups in Brighton and Hove, as well as encourage other councils to do the same.
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3.9 COSTUME, VISUALS AND DANCE
One of the obvious areas of difference between an observer going to Rio to see Carnival, and watching a carnival street drumming group in England would be the development of the dance and visual strands. Most groups in England wear uniform T-shirts and white trousers. They have not developed the spectacular costumes and floats which are synonymous with carnival groups in Rio or Trinidad.Two visual artists working in the field are Charles Beauchamp and Julieta Rubio. They have been working exclusively with carnival drumming groups for the past 2 years, mainly with Quilombo, the Thames Festival and Paraiso. They have taken their visual inspiration from Brazil, but realize that it needs to be adapted for the UK. “The budgets are low but it’s not going to stop us!” As an artist, Charles is passionate about the importance of the carnival street drumming movement, as the groups perform live music on the streets, rather than sound systems being used. He believes the core ingredients of the visual, performance and live music are crucial to the success and development of the art form. “As an artist, the idea of just painting on canvas now seems redundant.”As with costume, dance is an area that has not been developed as strongly as the music side for most carnival street drumming groups in Britain. Some groups are accompanied by two or three dancers wearing a Brazilian style costume: a bit cold and revealing for most parades in Britain. Very few groups view the dance as intrinsic as the sound of the group. The exception to this seems to be the groups in London that have been formed by, or in collaboration with, Brazilians (L.S.S, Quilombo, Paraiso). These groups, following the model laid down in Rio, have dancers performing with the drummers, and a strong emphasis on costume.Other groups (Carnival Collective amongst others) do not try to copy the guidelines coming from Brazil, but instead use the opportunity to bring other dance styles and performance skills to their parades and performances.So why are the dance and visual sides of the art form undeveloped in comparison to the music? Are they more difficult to achieve good results quickly? Are they expensive to develop? Do they not appeal to the British participant as much as the music? In the future will we see adaptations of the dancing styles from Brazil, with a British twist? Both the dance and the visual areas of the art form seem in need of attention and development.
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4.0 REGIONAL CARNIVAL ACTIVITIES
Has the art form evolved in some areas and not so much in other? What are some of the key ingredients for success?
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4.1 LONDON
As the city with the largest population of Brazilians, London was the natural focus for samba activity originally. As previously mentioned the London School of Samba was the first, and is still perhaps the best known of groups in the UK and possibly Europe.Other groups include Quilombo De Samba; Paraiso and Rhythms of Resistance, Rhythms of the City, although there are others within the capital.The main event which most groups build towards is the Notting Hill Carnival. Other more recent events include Thames Festival, as well as a host of smaller events and parades in the capital. During carnival in Brazil (February/March) the groups are also busy often playing at carnival parties.We can conclude that as a result of having a large Brazilian population, and the largest carnival in Europe, London has evolved a tradition for samba groups that follow closely the traditions of that country. However there are other cities and regions, which have developed with a larger number of samba groups per capita than the capital.
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4.2 MANCHESTER
As previously described, Inner Sense was one of the grandparents of the samba movement in Britain. It was also a very fertile ancestor that has spawned children, who have in turn have given birth to bands, activities and projects which have put Manchester at the heart of the samba scene in Britain over the past 5 years.A brief summary of how this has developed is as follows. Having seen L.S.S. perform at WOMAD, Colin Sedden, based in Manchester, invited some musician friends to join him and formed Inner Sense Percussion Workshops (later to become Inner Sense). The group played and toured extensively between 1985 and 2000. Although they did not achieve mainstream commercial success (in terms of record sales), tens of thousands of people from islands in the North of Scotland to Cornwall were inspired by their performances, which were often accompanied by workshops. Out of Inner Sense a number of educators have evolved including:Eddie Sherwood and Jan Dzaran (Inner Sense); Tony Watt: (Manchester School of Samba); Ian Holmes-Lewis (Sambangra); Ravin Jayasuriya (One Voice Music); Leon Patel (Bang Drum). (For a fuller list and contact details see Appendix 2)There have also been projects developed that have showcased the artform to a huge audience, therefore encouraging more to take part, and the funding authorities to see it’s potential. These include:-

1. Manchester 5000 (1995 – 2001): an event devised by Dave Moutrey and Tony Watt in 1995 which involved master classes and a performance in the Streets Ahead Festival. This event grew in numbers annually until 1,200 drummers and dancers took to the streets in 1999. 2. Big Drum 2001 and Big Drum Too: an event involving Trans Express, Manchester International Arts, Ecodecor and Ian Holmes-Lewis which lead to performances in Street Ahead Festival, Manchester Commonwealth Games (2002) and Paris New Years Eve (2001).

However there are other elements that are crucial to the success and development of the artform in Manchester.

1. Manchester International Arts and the Streets Ahead Festival: the encouragement of an arts production company, and a Street Arts Festival of national significance, gave a stage for large-scale samba performances. The partnership with an organisation that understands street art; large-scale performance work; fundraising; arts management and administration should not be underestimated. This is also true in Brighton through the help of Zap Productions
2. Dave Moutrey: most people attracted to the samba scene in Britain are inspired by the music. Some happen to be animateurs – people who can make things happen by forming partnerships. This is crucial to the region’s success and Dave Moutrey made it happen in Manchester even though in his view “organising sambistas in like herding cats!”
3. Ecodecor (now called IDC Ltd): this educational establishment delivers meaningful accredited training programmes, with community arts being a cornerstone of their activity. Their help in funding (through education) lead to the financial viability of the projects. Interestingly neither North West Arts, the Arts Council of England or Manchester City Council have been the main catalysts of these activities.

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4.3 BRIGHTON
Brighton has seen an explosion in Carnival Street drumming activity over the past 3 years. There are now 7 groups in and around Brighton and Hove (Carnival Collective; Brincadeira; Silver Sounds; Barulho; Beach Bateria; Samba Sensational; Varndean Samba Band). All of these stem from the activities of Carnival Collective, many of them formed through workshops the group gave to members of the community for a project in 2000 called Beating Time. During the annual Children’s Parade at the Festival, 20-30 of the schools feature carnival street drumming groups. Samba has now been weaved into the fabric of the city. How has this happened?It is no coincidence that like Manchester, Brighton has a very strong street arts culture. Recognition of the potential that carnival street drumming has in encouraging participation in celebratory activities has been nurtured by Zap Productions (organiser of the annual National Street Arts Festival). Other factors include:-

1. An enthusiastic council who value arts activity as a cornerstone of the development of the city.
2. A prominent and supportive annual Festival. The Brighton Festival is the largest arts festival in England.
3. An understanding of the art form, and an officer with Street Arts in their remit within Southeast Arts (now SSEA).

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4.4 SCOTLAND
There seems to be an abundance of groups in Scotland. Many remote islands have their own groups. It seems that the art form is successful in bringing a small community together too. Inner Sense are certainly partly responsible as they toured extensively in Scotland during the 1990s. The Edinburgh School of Samba has recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a spectacular parade at the Edinburgh Cavalcade (the opening event of the Edinburgh Festival). It acts as a focal point for many of the Scottish sambistas to gather each year, as well as attracting other sambistas from around the country. The school has recently developed a homegrown enredo section with Scottish people singing in Portuguese, and playing cavaquinho. Another Festival that is growing in popularity (and attention from authorities) is the annual Beltane (May 1st) Festival. It could be said that the Beltane drums as a community/participatory artform are currently very much a result of (at least influenced by) the development of samba in Edinburgh.
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4.5 EASTERN BLOCO
The samba bands in the East of England have set up a communication network to inform each other of gigs, events and workshops happening in their region. The Suffolk School of Samba, along with groups from Cambridge, Ipswich, Luton, Norfolk, Kings-Lyn and Peterborough communicate with each other through e-mail. Many sambistas come together for the Luton Carnival (May), the Beford River Festival, as well as other carnivals in the region. The Eastern Bloco has not as yet organised events themselves, but may do so in the future.
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4.6 DROGHEDA FESTIVAL – IRELAND
The following is an extract form the festival website (www.droghedasambarestival.com):-“Drogheda Samba Festival first took place in 1994 as part of the Drogheda 800 celebrations, held to mark the 800 anniversary of the town's charter. The focus of the festival is very much on samba music, dance and costume but it is gradually broadening to include other forms of Latin music, percussion from other continents and street performance”It has grown to be one of Europe's leading annual samba festivals, along with Coburg (Germany) and Helsinki (Finland).
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5.0 DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS
In May 2002 Carnival Collective organised a conference in Brighton. The 60 participants from 40 samba groups met to discuss some issues that were facing them, what their developmental needs were, and what kind of organisation might represent this blossoming art form. The discussion can be seen as representative of the needs of the groups around the UK.
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5.1 CURRENT ISSUES
Some of the issues and dilemmas facing samba groups, whatever their size include:-

· Achieving a balance between community, fun, involvement and professionalism.
· When can people join? At set points? Anytime?
· How big should groups get? · Costume: how should the group look?
· Who makes decisions and controls the group? Some groups run by committee, some dictated to. Both have advantages and issues associated with them.
· What happens when some people want to break off and do something different?
· Managing growth: not knowing how to develop large projects e.g. carnival, and how to cope with the legacy that might result from them.
· Communication with the group.
· Managing conflict and artistic tension.
· Reliance on a few individuals.
· What are the appropriate structures, constitution and ways to organise the groups?
· Developing publicity materials.
· Health and safety issues around noise levels.
· Education and resources: professional development resources, networks, training and support for community bands.

Many issues were raised in Brighton, and informally many solutions were offered. There is still a lack of sources of information to tackle many of the organisational issues.
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5.2 SETTING UP A SAMBA GROUP: BEST PRACTISE?
Madeline Hutchins, a freelance arts trainer with a wealth of experience in the development of arts organisations drew some conclusions from the issues raised. These could be seen as an attempt at defining how best to set up a carnival street drumming group:-

1. Choose an identity. Decide why you are getting together: is it for social, musical, political reasons or just for fun?
2. Evolve your membership, through workshops and performance.
3. Set up as a legal entity with a constitution (you can't get funding without one, and it helps clarify to you and others who you are), but don't let your constitution run your group.
4. Set up a solid organisational structure. This can act as a protective layer as your band develops. It should underpin what you do (make and perform music) not get in the way of it. People will be happier funding you if they know who's who in your band, and how you organise yourselves.(e.g. decide who organises gigs, who deals with the finances, who is responsible for publicity etc)
5. Decide/create/evolve the style of the group. Keep some flexibility.
6. Agree how decisions are to be made, and how internal communication will work (e-mail, telephone,rehearsals, meetings etc)
7. Market yourself externally.

Two areas for development which were identified by Madelaine were:-

1. Advise on the requirements for legal structure: unincorporated association (simplest and most likely); sole trader (individual legal responsibility); partnership (in effect, two or more sole traders who are jointly and severally liable. More developed is being “incorporated” (the organisation is a 'legal person': its own legal identity. "It" can enter into contracts, employee people, and go bust). 2. Insurance advise: whatever the structure a group performing in public and giving workshops needs public liability insurance.

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5.3 NATIONAL NETWORKING ASSOCIATION
For the final two hours the group split up again to discuss what needs samba bands had on a national level. The following were mentioned and the 60 individuals present were almost unanimous in agreement for their need:

1. Develop a UK-wide network: some e-mail based, some through Website and some face to face.
2. Develop the samba group Website with links to others.
3. Apply for initial funding to establish an ongoing membership organisation to help the development of samba in the UK (not just England)

The organisation would: -

· Facilitate the network of sambistas.
· Be an information resource including sign-posting for help. Most of this would be web based.
· Organise an annual get-together (not just playing music).
· Organise an annual showcase. · Use national and international experience of how best to operate.
· Develop and share expertise and resources.
· Offer training.
· Exchange information between groups.
· Develop the profile and collective voice of samba groups with press, bookers, funders and the public.

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6.0 EMPLOYMENT; TRAINING and LINKS WITH INSTITUTIONS
As a relatively new art form there are few people working full time within it, yet alone working within an employment structure. As Jermyn wrote in her report on Street arts and Circus: “As in other cultural sectors, a variety of different working models exist.” (Jermyn, 2001)
The vast majority of people involved in the art form see it as a hobby, which at best does not cost them to participate in. Most pay a small annual subscription to be trained and be part of the samba school. The group also raises funds through playing paid gigs and busking. This pays for travel to gigs; hire of rehearsal space; maintenance of instruments; costume making and maintenance; payment for a tutor to lead the group and other expenses that occur. The charges which many groups set are significantly under the rates set by Musician's Union. However there is an increase in the demand for Carnival Street drumming workshops. This can be seen in three major areas. The first of these areas is in schools. Government policy towards music tuition is steering towards greater opportunity for participation in music making opportunities. Carnival Street drumming workshops fulfils this policy by offering large numbers of children an opportunity to play in an ensemble setting in a relatively short period of time. Some of the leading organisations involved with this include:
Youth Music Action Zones (including Rhythmix; More Music Morecombe and Soundhouse); Sambawamba; Carnival Collective.
A list (not complete) of musical, dance and visual workshop leaders who make a significant proportion of their income from samba related activities are in Appendix 2.
The second area is in the development of Carnival Street drumming workshops in a corporate setting. With an increase in focus on the need for creativity in industry, more and more business trainers are looking towards arts practise for inspiration. Arts & Business are leaders in the field of developing this practise. Catalyst Events are the country’s leading provider of Carnival Street drumming workshops to companies in the UK and Europe. The third area is training the mestres: as more samba groups evolve, and as more groups are asked to provide workshops for schools and businesses, there is a growing demand from the mestres of groups for further development. The main providers and promoters of this are One Voice Music; Dudu Tuci; Barak Schmool.
Those who are working within the art form tend to be self-employed and have a variety of sources of income. The majority of their samba-derived income would come from giving workshops to schools, businesses and other community groups. Some of the institutions and organisations most involved in training are:-Dudu Tucci is a Master Percussionist who was born in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Dudu has been living and teaching in Berlin since 1982. Since 1986 he has been spreading his knowledge through Germany, which has lead to the emergence of over 100 groups there. He also regularly visits the UK to teach groups.One Voice Music was established in 1996 by Ravin Jayasuriya to “promote the teaching and performance of Afro Brazilian and Afro Cuban music in the UK.” OVM organises workshops over the period of a weekend, or more advanced residential courses over a period of a year, including learning trips to Cuba. Ravin trains many of the “mestres” (musical conductors) of the samba bands around the country.Barak Schmool is a World Music specialist at the Royal Academy of Music. He teaches music teachers to draw upon other musical traditions, drawing inspiration from “rhythmic art”. Barak is interested in establishing courses on best practise for teaching.Ecodecor / IDC Institute: runs accredited training programmes for a number of clients mainly in the field of widening participation in the arts. They have been instrumental in the developing Manchester scene, and have produced teaching materials for use in schools and other community settings, in collaboration with OVM.Youth Music Action Zones: 20 centres have been established around the country for the development of music teaching to young people, out of school hours. Most have offered some carnival street percussion style music projects to young people. One (Rhythmix in the Southeast) has samba as a core part of it’s offering. More Music Morecombe has become the centre for community music in the North of England. A company Limited by guarantee with charitable status, it organises weekends of samba tuition (amongst other activities). It is also the country’s first Youth Music Action Zone.Soundhouse, based in Plymouth, is an educational college housing performing groups including Weapons of Sound, Real Steel and Jamsamba. Recent projects have included the Golden Jubilee procession in London, as well as the opening of the Commonwealth Games. Sambawamba are based in Nottingham. A break-off from the Nottingham School of Samba, Matt Anderson has secured capital funding to develop a participatory music technology apparatus. In his own words Matt is “using the sense of collective music making, and working that into new musical forms.”Sound Sense: is a national organisation promoting good practise within community music. One of its directors is Lee Higgins who was one of the first to document the evolution of Carnival Street Drumming. It also commissions research into current issues within music education. Catalyst Events are based in Cumbria. One of the creative options they offer company employees is called “Beatswork” which involved Carnival Street drumming for groups of people between 35 and 1,200. They own 1,200 samba instruments, and put an estimated 15,000 business people through workshops each year.It is apparent from some of the above examples that on a regional level, there are numerous examples of Carnival Street drumming being applied in diverse educational settings.A recent report commissioned by Sound Sense makes important reading for the samba group community. “Tuning Up” looks at the “rationales behind various types of agency providing music services, and attempts to develop an overview within which different ways of working can be accommodated.” (Peggie, 2002). The report highlights how samba, and other World Popular Styles (e.g. bhangra, steel pan, gospel) are interesting to educators as they have a high “joining in” factor. Peggie argues that it is important for education and funding bodies to recognise this, but also to ensure that there is a progression from joining in to develop continuing opportunities for music making, perhaps even to making a career in music.
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7. THE FUTURE The report so far seems to highlight a flourishing of activity. A new inspiring art form has developed and is blossoming all over the country. What need is there to do anything to nurture it? How will it look in 10 years time?
In 1997, Higgins thought that we had reached a plateau in the formation of new bands. This has not been the case: there are more and more forming each week. He also asks whether carnival street drumming will develop into “a new kind of music that has a wide appeal and ensures a longevity beyond the community musician’s expectations?” This report seems to indicate that this is well on the way to happening. However whilst some groups focus on the traditions of the art form (samba) others are exploring new forms (e.g.breakbeat). Similarly the education system is beginning to recognise and encourage the infectious nature of the art form.
In 2012 will most schools have samba groups? Will every carnival in Britain have samba groups parading through the streets? Will some of the innovative and established groups record their work and achieve commercial sales success? Will the art form change the very nature of how Britain comes together to celebrate? Difficult to predict but we can draw some conclusions and make recommendations about how to develop the art form.
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7.1 SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

· Defining a common language will help avoid confusion.
· The art form is large and growing rapidly with approximately 300 groups; gives workshops to an estimated 70,000 people each year; performs to an estimated 6 million people each year.
· Samba groups are as much social groups as they are arts organisations.
· Samba groups could be described as at an elementary level of organisation.
· Little is written about the history of the art form in Britain; more has been written about it in Brazil.
· The musical form is constantly evolving with many groups in Britain pioneering new fusions.
· Some of the key ingredients for success in developing the art form in a region or city include:-

i. The presence of a Brazilian population. ii. A high profile carnival or festival in the area. iii. The encouragement of an arts production company. iv. An enthusiastic animateur to form partnerships. v. Linking-up with an educational partner. vi. Enthusiastic local council. vii. Support from Regional Arts Board.

· Practitioners of the art form have come together and clearly stated what the issues are and what their development needs are.
· Whilst the musical form is the most developed in this country, the dance and visual elements as important and are too often overlooked by the groups.
· The employment structure within the art form are basic to non-existent
· There are a number of established educational organisations that have grown out of the art form and understand it well.
· There is much anecdotal but little documentation on the health benefits of participation in regular percussion ensemble playing.
· There has been little research, but growing fear amongst sambistas of the possible detrimental effect of the art form. This might be due to the volume and repetitive strain of drumming.

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7.2 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

· Utilise the existing fabric of communication within the art form. This includes:-

Samba in Britain and Ireland website: www.sambistas.org.uk
UK sambistas mailing list: sambistas_list_uk@yahoogroups.com
International sambistas mailing list: sambistas@tardis.ed.ac.uk

· Sambistas should come together and set up an association of samba groups. Apart from lessons they can learn from each other, an association can be funded and can therefore support the networking infrastructure (e.g. mailing lists; website; meetings etc).

· The funding and development of the association, and the samba groups within it, could come from education and health sources, as well as arts funding.

· Samba groups should ensure their correct details are on the Britain and Ireland World of Samba Website, and that one member of the group is on the UK sambistas mailing list. This way they can truly network together.

· The Arts Council should:-

i. Recognise the importance of the art form (which it is doing by attending events and commissioning the writing of this report) ii. Encourage the forming of the association. iii. Fund the association when it is formed. iv. Help educate the Regional Arts Boards and ensure there is someone in each area that has carnival arts (including samba groups) in their remit.

· There should be greater focus on the development of dance and costume: if the artistic lessons of carnival inspiration from Brazil are to be followed then there needs to be more attention to the dance and visual elements of the performing groups. The musical side of most groups’ performances is polished: however they look dull. The groups who do not look dull have gone to considerable time and expense.

· The music education system needs to understand the benefits of the “joining-in” advantages that the musical form has over European Classical traditions. This is beginning to happen.

· Educators in the field need to understand the relationship between joining-in and how it can evolve through training into sustained musical progress. Some of the educators and organisations involved in percussion ensembles.

· Similarly within the dance and visual areas, stimulation to get large numbers of people to join-in could be the key to developing these aspects of the art form. Similarly whilst the music is inspired from Brazilian samba, groups are unafraid to evolve it: dance and visual aspects can embrace this concept.

· More research and education is needed into the potential dangers of the art form. The most obvious danger is the exposure to loud music by thousands of children and sambistas during rehearsal, performance and workshops. The association could do this research.

Participating actively in community carnival events is potentially a key to unlock many of the social problems that exist in today’s towns and cities across Britain. If the recommendations set out above come into fruition, there is no reason to doubt that a celebratory, participative, vibrant carnival tradition will continue to evolve in Britain.
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9.1 APPENDIX 1
Below is a list of samba groups currently listed on the Britain and Ireland section of the world of samba Website. For full details, please refer to the Website www.sambistas.org.uk

Acorda Povo Dance Theatre Afro Bloc Alto Som Arco Iris Argyll Samba Project B Bandemonium Bang On - Bishops Castle School of Samba Barking Bateria Barulho Basura Bat2k Batala Batida Batida-do-mar XP Bay Batucada BayBeat Beach Bateria Beat That Beatroots Bateria Bêbado Allstars Bedford Bateria Berry Hill High School Samba Band Blam Bloco do Sul Bloco Vomit! Blyth ValleySamba School Boca de Leao Boom or Bust Bournemouth School of Samba Braziliant Brew-Ha-Ha! Brinca Bristol School of Samba Butta Batu! Cabasa !Caramba! Carnival Collective Carrumba Celebration Samba Celtic Samba Skerries Community College Ceol Batucada Charles Burrell Samba Cheshire Community School of Samba Chidambaram Chocante Commotion Coventry School of Samba Crooked Tempo Derg Samba Dezibel Diablos de Samba Drogheda Samba School DRUMATIC DRUMBA Drumdin Drum Runners Dynamica! Ecton Brook Middle School Samba Band The Edinburgh Samba School (TESS) Ellesbelles Energia Escola de Samba E.S.P. (Escola de Samba Paradiso) guarda sol central Guernsey School of Samba Gwent and Ebbw Vale School of Samba Hand2Hand - Bath School of Samba Halton School of Samba Happy City Samba Band Hereford School of Samba IMPACT Inner Sense Jam Samba John Richards Samba Drumming Workshop Karamba! The Chester School of Samba Kendal King's Lynn Community Samba Band L4TN Leeds Woodhouse School of Samba Liverpool Samba School Lochwinoch Peoples Carnival Orchestra London School of Samba MacUmba Maracatu Estrela do Norte masamba Samba School Manchester School of Samba Misdabeat Musicport Samba Band Norwich Samba Not From Ipanema Novo Balanço Oi Sambistas! Oldham School of Samba Oxiris Pandemonium (Rochdale Samba School) Paraíso School of Samba (G.R.E.S. Paraíso) Penzamba - Penzance Samba School Percussion Discussion Percussion Posse Perth School of Samba Peterborough Community Samba Band PocoLoco Portrush Samba Band POSITIVITY Powys School of Samba Questao de gosto samba de raiz Quilombo School of Samba/Quilombo do Samba Quivvy School of Samba RAW Samba Rebelado Repercussion RePercussioN Street Band Rhythmbridge Foundation Rhythms of the City Rhythms of Resistance Ritmo Unido, Escola de Samba, (Barnsley Samba Band) Robinswood Samba Band Rugby School of Samba Ruídogrande Safe Samba Samba Agogo Samba Bandits Samba Bangor Samba Blox Samba de Roselando Samba Dinbych Samba Galês Samba Zona Sul SambAfriq Sambal Sambalanco Sambalanda Sambalicious Sambalistic! Sambaloco The Sambandits sambando Sambangra Sambanistas Sambassadors of Groove Samba Kernow Samba Promotions Samba Sol SambaSonic Samba Sulis Samba Tawe Samba Ya Bamba Sambossa! Sambuka Sawdid Stilts scat samba scout samba Seriously Samba SheBoom Sheffield Samba Band Sirius B Skibbamba Soft Touch Sol Samba (Oxford Samba Group) Sombrasil Band Someone at the door Sonhuando South Lakes South West Samba Street Heat Stretch Samba Stroud School of Samba Suffolk School of Samba Sunsamba SWICN Youth Samba Tem Cachorro (aka High Peak Samba) The Allergaiters The Barracudas The Ear Drummers Time SpannersSamba Band Uncle Samba Weird Attractors White Noise Xango Yes!!!Brazil Zaboomba Zabumba Zambura

London London Manchester Cambridge Oban Shropshire/Mid-Wales? Shropshire/Powys border Barking/London Brighton Belfast Portsmouth Portsmouth Leeds Swindon Morecambe Morecambe Shoreham by Sea Stirling Reading Glasgow Bedford Stoke-on-Trent Leeds/Bradford/Manchester Dorking Edinburgh South East Northumberland Edinburgh Manchester Bournemouth Oldham Sandwich, Kent Brighton Bristol Newark, Notts Mossley, Greater Manchester Hereford Brighton Carrbridge, Invernessshire Worthing, West Sussex Skerries, Dublin Drogheda, County Louth Thetford, Norfolk Cheshire Belfast Leeds/Bradford Edinburgh Coventry Ermington, Devon Castlederg, Northern Ireland Aberdeen Gloucester and surrounding area Drogheda, Co. Louth Lochwinnoch, near Glasgow St Blazey North Tyneside Basingstoke Nottingham Northampton Edinburgh Dundee Holsworthy, North Devon Chorley Birmingham Manchester St. Peter Port Gwent/Ebbw Vale Bath Widnes/Runcorn Dublin Hereford Edinburgh Manchester Plymouth Birmingham Chester Kendal, Cumbria King's Lynn, Norfolk Lincoln Leeds Liverpool Lochwinoch London Glasgow London Dublin Manchester Scunthorpe Whitby, North Yorkshire Norwich, Norfolk Wirksworth, Derbyshire Liverpool Devizes Wiltshire Oldham, Lancashire Wirral Rochdale London Penzance, Cornwall Jersey Wallsend, Tyneside Perth Peterborough Blackpool, Lancashire Portrush Co.Antrim Crewe Builth Wells, Powys London London Belturbet, County Cavan Isle of Wight Bristol Glasgow Wales and Shropshire Hebden Bridge London London Barnsley Gloucester Rugby Glossop, Derbyshire Stoke-on-Trent Aberystwyth Northampton Bangor, Gwynedd Crewe Truro Denbigh, Clwyd Cardiff South Greenwich Chorley, Lancashire London Hastings Truro Longford Primary School, Cannock, Staffs West Lothian Totnes Wigton, Cumbria Leicestershire Leicester City Manchester Luton Leamington Spa, Warwickshire St. Ives, Cornwall Bideford Bideford Kerry Bath Swansea Glasgow Brighton Hemel Hempstead Bristol Taunton Carndonagh, Inishowen, Co. Donegal Porthleven, Cornwall Glasgow Sheffield Bath Skibbereen, West Cork Leicester Oxford Uxbridge, London Bromsgrove Bradford South Cumbria Castle Douglas, Galloway Exeter Belfast Stroud, Gloucestershire Ipswich Sunderland Dublin Buxton, Derbyshire Wigton, Cumbria Barrow-in-Furness Stockport Newbury, Berkshire Newquay Edinburgh Truro Birmingham London? Nottingham Sandbach Bury

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9.2 APPENDIX 2
Below is a list of tutors and practitioners who currently make a significant proportion of their income from samba activities:- (Ask webmaster for contact information)

Name	Group	Art
Danny Henry	Manchester SS	Dance
Henrique da Silva	Paraiso	Dance
Kate Adams	Carnival Collective	Dance
Romero	Independent	Dance
Bosco De Oliveira	Independent	Music
Colin Sedden		Music
Conal Whyte	Carnival Collective	Music
Dave Hassel	RNCM/Apitos	Music
Dave Willetts	Paraiso	Music
Dudu Tuci		Music
Eddie Sherwood	Inner Sense	Music
Esteves Da Silva	Paraiso	Music
Iain Mellor	Big Drum	Music
Ian Holmes-Lewis	Sambangra	Music
Jo Hanson	Paraiso	Music
Jon Hardeman	Bristol SS	Music
Laurence Auffret	Candomble Project	Music
Leon Patel	Big Drum	Music
Matt Clements	Edinburgh SS	Music
Mestre Mags	London S.S.	Music
Pat Power	Carnival Collective	Music
Paul Brown	Catalyst Evenst	Music
Ravin Jayasuriya	One Voice Music	Music
Ruth Essex	Carnival Collective	Music
Sam Alexander	Independent	Music
Sam Oliver	Carnival Collective	Music
Simon Preston	Samba Galez	Music
Steve Claire	Catalyst Events	Music
Tamlin Wiltshire	Carnival Collective	Music
Tony Watt	Manchester SS	Music
Ze Lima	Independent	Music
Barak Schmool	Rhythms of the City	Music
Gavin Lombos	Beatroots	Music
Geraldo Rodrigues	Quilombo	Music
Charles Beauchamp & Julieta Rubio	Independent	Visual
Ali Pretty	Kinetika	Visual
Jane Fox & Maria Tribe	Armadilloh! Arts	Visual
Daniel Bernstein	Carnival Collective	Organiser
Giselle Winston	T D Sounds	Organiser
Graeme Surtes	Trad. Arts Projects	Organiser
Lorna Anderson	Inner Sense	Organiser

The following organisations are also mentioned in the report:-Sound SenseSambawambaSoundhouseCatalyst Events