This is the VIDEO portion of Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 7 (the second dedicated Melón book of the series), which focuses on Iván "Melón" Lewis -a central player in one of the most important bands of the entire timba era, the Issac Delgado Group of 1995-1998. Beyond Salsa Piano is an instructional (eBook + audio + video), play-along history and anthology of the role of the piano in the Cuban rhythm section –from its first appearance to the present. Melón's 43 video clips were filmed with two cameras, one from the side and one overhead. For every tumbao, we provide three separate videos: a widescreen version of each camera angle and a split screen version combining the two.
Special notes about Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 7:
** Video: Melón's 43 video clips were filmed with two cameras, one from the side and one overhead. For every tumbao, we provide three separate videos: a widescreen version of each camera angle and a split screen version combining the two. The video clips can be purchased on this page.
** Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 7 is the seventh in a series of instructional methods composed of an eBook with audio tracks. The eBook, audio tracks and video clips are sold separately.
The eBook is a personalized pdf download compatible with Adobe Acrobat (more eBook info here).
** Audio: All 47 audio tracks have stereo separation: the left channel has the left hand piano part and the right channel has the right hand piano part. The audio tracks and eBook for Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 7 are sold separately. Click here to visit the Beyond Salsa Piano Vol.7 audio / eBook page.
Iván "Melón" Lewis was a central player in one of the most important bands of the entire timba era, the Issac Delgado Group of 1995-1998. He and bassist Alain Pérez arguably took the art of tumbao playing to its highest level of creativity and sophistication to date. All of the timba piano innovations detailed in Volume 5 can be found in Melón's work and some of them originated with him.
Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of both Melón's and Alain's playing was their ability to improvise continuously within a dance music groove. The live concerts of Issac Delgado during this era were highlighed by about 20 extraordinary 10 to 20 minute arrangements which offered more variation and improvisation more from night to night than the performances of any other timba band with the possible exception of the Paulito FG of the same period. As such, each song becomes a course of study unto itself, beginning with the basic tumbaos and extending to variation, secondary tumbaos and all manner of gear-related variations, resulting in four complete volumes of the Beyond Salsa Piano series being devoted exclusively to Melón.
Beyond Salsa Piano is a history and anthology of the role of the piano in the Cuban rhythm section – from its first appearance to the present. In a broader sense, it’s a study of the tumbao – the art of creating music from layers of repeating rhythmic and melodic phrases. Whether these syncopated figures are called tumbaos, guajeos, montunos, riffs or vamps, this Afro-Cuban concept lies at the heart of nearly every popular music genre from salsa to rock , funk, R&B, hiphop and jazz.
While presented as a set of method books, the series doubles as a history course and record collecting guide for listeners, dancers, and players of instruments other than the piano.
Perhaps the most important goal of the series is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how tumbaos are constructed, their central role in the texture of Latin music of all eras, and the endless possibilities they provide for creative composing and arranging.
Click here for a pdf sample of the Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 7 eBook.
