Scott Kettner
Sep. 06, 2007 | TAMA Drums
I'm very proud to announce that I have just received an endorsement from TAMA drums! I just got my first drum set that I think sounds better than any drums I've ever played. It's a Bubinga/Birch kit. I fell in love with this kit when I walked into Guitar Center and sat down behind it and hit the bass drum. The warm sound of the bubinga wood mixed with the birch is amazing. I was looking for something with a big warm sound that also has some control to bring into the studio for the next Nation Beat record. Thanks to Terry and Aaron over at TAMA they were able to hook me up with a great deal and an endorsement. I'm very happy to become a part of the TAMA family and look forward to playing these drums.
Jan. 22, 2007 | Off to Carnaval in Recife, Brazil!
It's 3:30am and I'm still unpacking from my California tour with Rob Curto.....I'm leaving for the airport in 1 hour!!! I'm so excited to return to Recife for Carnival. It's going to be very special this year for a few reasons.....after recording our debut CD the Nation Beat is finally going to return and get to see all of the friends we made in 2005 and now we get to perform the music "live". It's also very special because we have a lot of friends coming down to perform and hang with us. Clay Ross, my Jazz Ambassador partner in crime has joined the group for the Brazil tour and will hopefully be joining us on more shows and tours. Rafa is kicking ass on the lap steel and him and Clay really blend and play together well. The sound of ther band keeps growing. I'm also very excited to visit all of my friends in Recife. Maracatu and all the music from Pernambuco is getting hotter and hotter all over the world. Every year I go to Recife carnival it seems that carnival is 10x's bigger. It really feels like you're taking part of a musical revolution when you're in Recife.
OK....I need to pack. I hope to see you in Recife 1 day!!
Jan. 04, 2007 | Holiday Blues
Wow....I ate waaaaay toooo much over the holidays!!! It's always a drag trying to work off this hoiiday baggage. But that's ok because 2007 is going to be a GREAT year....even better than 2006!! There's a lot happening....Nation Beat has just been accepted to showcase at Porto Musical in Recife, Brazil on February 10th. It's going to be great to get back down to Brazil and re-connect with the music and culture....and to play with Estrela Brilhante. There's also a lot of other good news coming down the pikes with Nation Beat so stay tuned. I'm going to California with Rob Curto and his group Forro For All this week...I'm really looking forward to being out west and playing with Rob is always a great experience...he's an amazing accordion player.
....hey...who said the blues was always sad??!!!
Dec. 18, 2006 | NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR JAZZ AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
JAZZ ALUMNUS, FACULTY MEMBER SCOTT KETTNER, AMERICAN JAZZ AMBASSADOR
New School Jazz alumnus, faculty member, and percussionist Scott Kettner returned to the Balkans with his band as part of the American Jazz Ambassadors concert series, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. The concerts continued a tour that began earlier in Pristina, Kosovo, as part of The Rhythm Road—American Music Abroad program. Rhythm Road, formally the Jazz Ambassador program, presents American performers of jazz and urban music styles on concert tours in countries where there is limited exposure to live American culture. Under Jazz at Lincoln Center received a grant to administer the overseas tours as well as the application and audition process to select the touring groups.
Scott Kettner leads the New School Brazilian Percussion ensemble and his own eclectic world-groove music group, Nation Beat. Inspired by the Afro-Brazilian rhythms of maracatu, Chico Science & the Mangue Beat movement of Recife, Brazil, Nation Beat creates a fresh sound that gives a nod to New Orleans second-line, funk, and jazz. In 2005, through the sponsorship of the Brazilian Department of Culture, Nation Beat became the first U.S. group to collaborate and record in Brazil with the legendary Maracatu Naçao ("nation") Estrela Brilhante ("brilliant star"), led by Mestre Walter and rhythm master Jorge Martins. The resulting album, appropriately titled Maracatuniversal, captures the meeting Of Old World and New; 400-year-old traditions collide with 20th-century American sounds for a true cross-continental music.
Dec. 04, 2006 | Review from the Balkans-Macedonia
American Music Abroad “Jazzes up” Macedonian Youth - Nov. 26-30. With a four-day follow up visit to Macedonia, two American jazz musicians, guitarist Clay Ross and percussionist Scott Kettner, motivated music high school students during workshops throughout the country and attracted capacity crowds at evening concerts. By both playing and talking about jazz and its roots, the musicians delivered a message about positive contributions of cultural diversity. Ross and Kettner had live performances in three cities, and garnered positive news coverage by national Albanian speaking MTV2, local TV Telma, performing live radio, Channel 103 (approx. 10,000 listeners), leading Albanian daily, Fakti and Utrinski Vesnik (circ. 10,000). The concert in Tetovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian city, was recorded for future broadcasts. Results: The program reached young audiences of diverse ethnic backgrounds, as well as prominent professional musicians throughout the country. Master classes held at three music high schools were first-time-ever interactive sessions between professional jazz musicians from the U.S. and talented music students in Macedonia. Principals of all three music high schools extended invitations for further cooperation through the Embassy and are considering including jazz in their official curricula.
Regards,
Jeanne Clark
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
U.S. Embassy
Skopje, Macedonia
Nov. 24, 2006 | Balkans Tour/Nation Beat
I'm leaving for the airport in about 1 hour to go back to the Balkans with Clay Ross. We're going to Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey and will be on tour for about 3 weeks. I'm really excited to return and visit the friends I made when we were there this Febuary.
I also want to thank everyone who came to Joe's Pub to see The Nation Beat last Wednesday. We wold out the pub and you guys were an amazing audience. Thanks for you support.
......more to come from the Balkans!!
-Scott
Nov. 06, 2006 | Nation Beat putting the mark of the beat around town!
My teacher Billy Hart (Miles Davis, Stan Getz etc) always told me that if I have the persistence and the energy that it takes to be a successful musician I'll have no problems succeding. I never knew what he meant by this....and I still don't know exactly what succeeding is. But I can say one thing....I'm learning really fast what he meant by persistence and energy. The Nation Beat has been touring on and off all year as well as releasing our debut CD. Being on the road is a lot of fun...especially when you have a band with great people who you consider good friends. But keeping the energy up and being persistant is another task.
We recently played a prty for the Latin Grammy awards in NYC and immediately loaded the van and drove for 5 hours to Syracuse Universuty (arriving at 4am). I had to be at a local high school at 7:30am to give a workshop and then directly to a sound check after that and then a masterclasss with Nation Beat. (and that was only the beginning of that week!!) Somehow I find the energy to keep going strong and being excited about the music. I always remember Billy Hart's advice to do what you love and do it well. Now I know what he means about needing the energy to make it in this business!!
Scott
Oct. 21, 2006 | Latin Grammy Awards
This has been a really exciting year for me. Nation Beat just released their debut CD that has been getting a lot of very positive feedback.....producing this CD was a great experience for me. There have been many other great opportunities this year and juust this week a very unique opportunity came up. Maracatu NY and Nation Beat (my 2 babies) were just invited to perform at the Latin Grammy press party during Latin Grammy Award week in NYC on November 1st. If you're in town come on down....it's FREE!
Aug. 02, 2006 | Nation Beat's CD is now available for purchase online!!
Hello everyone,
It's taken a long time and a lot of HARD work to get this CD completed and out for you. Finally it's done! We (The Nation Beat) traveled to Recife, Brazil in September of last year to collaborate and record with the traditional maracatu group "Estrela Brilhante". The CD features many amazing Brazilian percussionists as well as NYC musicians: Frank London, Rob Curto, Jorge Continentino, Ron Caswell and many more.
Also....the CD features a 5 minute movie/CD-Rom of "The Making Of". Pop the CD into your computer and watch us recording with Estrela Brilhante in the recording studio in Brazil.
Thanks for all the support!!
Apr. 06, 2006 | Back from the Road.
Nation Beat just got back from our mini tour to South Carolina and North Carolina. We had some really great shows and met some wonderful people. We're getting ready to hit the midwest for the first time next week. It's about 3am right now and I can't sleep!!!
Mar. 10, 2006 | The Nation Beat CD
Ok....I've been working on the Nation Beat CD "MaracatUniversal" very hard. We recorded it in September 2005. Since then I've been mixing, preparing the artwork and just started working on other details. Phil Ballman, our manager is going to write some really nice linear notes for the disk. The CD should be ready in May and you can get your copy from our website: www.nationbeat.com. In the meantime we're touring the southeast and midwest with our grassroots marketing plan trying to get the word out.
Tu-Maraca!
SCOTT
Mar. 01, 2006 | Back from the Balkans!
Wow.....Agora Quartet returned to NYC last week after spending over 3 weeks touring the Balkans. We went to Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Kosovo. Everyone asks me what was my favorite place.....well honestly every place we were was my favorite place at that time. Every country and every city we visited was unique and the people treated us great everywhere we went. I met some very nice people who will be life time friends and I met many people who will hold a very special place in my life. I'm always surprised at how music can peacefully bring people of all walks of life together and put us on the same level and make us forget our differences. If only all politicians in the world were required to take music class in high school and college!!!!
Nov. 28, 2005 | Latin Jazz Ambassador Tour
I am very fortunate to have been elected a Latin Jazz Ambassador by the US State Department this year with the Agora Quartet. We just got notified that we will be travelling to Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Kosovo from Jan 26-Feb 17. I'm really looking forward to meeting new people and learning a new culture and music.
Nov. 28, 2005 | The Nation Beat goes on tour
We are putting the final touches on our new CD "MARACATUNIVERSAL" which is due to be released in March 2006. The CD was recorded in Recife, Brazil with one of the oldest traditional Maracatu groups in Brazil, Estrela Brilhante. We'll be doing a promotional tour starting in March all over the east coast. Keep checking in to see when we'll be in a town near you!
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