Cyro Baptista


Cyro Baptista is a Brazilian-born percussionist in jazz and world music. He creates many of the percussion instruments he plays.
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Career

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Baptista arrived in the U.S. in 1980 with a scholarship to Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York.
During the 1980s, he worked on films with John Zorn and appeared on Zorn's albums in the 1990s. Also in the '90s, he appeared on albums by Marisa Monte, Holly Cole, and Cassandra Wilson. In 1997 he released his first solo album, Vira Loucos, with cover versions of music by Heitor Villa-Lobos. The album was recorded with Marc Ribot and Nana Vasconcelos and released by Avant, a label owned by Zorn. He was a member of Zorn's band Dreamers.
He recorded with pianist Herbie Hancock on his album Possibilities. He recorded and performed worldwide with Hancock's Grammy award-winning Gershwin's World. He toured with Yo-Yo Ma's Brazil Project and appeared on the Obrigado Brazil, which won two Grammy awards. He collaborated with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for a Brazilian Carnival modern jazz concert. For over two years, he toured with Paul Simon and appeared on his Concert in Central Park album. He has toured worldwide with Sting.
Baptista has also worked with Paul Simon, Trey Anastasio, Laurie Anderson, Badi Assad, Derek Bailey, Gato Barbieri, Daniel Barenboim, Kathleen Battle, David Byrne, Dr. John, Brian Eno, Melissa Etheridge, Stephen Kent, Ivan Lins, Bobby McFerrin, Medeski Martin & Wood, Milton Nascimento, Robert Palmer, Carlos Santana, Tim Sparks, Spyro Gyra, James Taylor, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Caetano Veloso
Baptista formed Beat the Donkey, a percussion and dance ensemble. The name comes from a Portuguese expression for "let's do it" or "let's go". The band's personnel and genre are in flux. Sometimes it includes Ribot and Zorn. The music can be rock, funk, Brazilian, or Balkan.

Other work

Baptista appeared in Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel's 1990 documentary film Step Across the Border about Fred Frith, He composed music for programs for the children's television network Nickelodeon.
Baptista conducts educational rhythm workshops in a variety of formats. He has provided presentations for elementary school children and professional musicians. He has conducted workshops and master classes at Berklee College of Music, The New School. Mannes College of Music, New World Symphony Orchestra and Rimon School of Music.

Awards and honors

The album Beat the Donkey was picked by Jon Pareles of The New York Times as one of the ten best alternative albums of 2002. Readers of JAZZIZ magazine and DRUM magazine voted it Best Brazilian CD of the Year and named Baptista Best Percussionist of 2002. Down Beat magazine's 51st annual Critics' Poll selected Baptista as 'Rising Star' in percussion. A documentary about Beat the Donkey that was a recorded WGBH-TV in Boston program won three New England EMMY Awards in 2002.
Baptista has performed on five Grammy award-winning albums: Yo-Yo Ma's Obrigado Brazil, Cassandra Wilson's Blue Light 'Til Dawn, The Chieftains' Santiago, Ivan Lins' A Love Affair, and Herbie Hancock's Gershwin's World.
In 2009 Baptista won a Fellow Award in Music from United States Artists.

Instruments

Baptista plays alfaia, agogo bells, apito, bandora, bass drum, bell tree, berimbau, bongos, bottles, Chinese bells, cabasa, caja, caxixi, clay drum, conga, cowbell, cuica, cymbals, drums, finger cymbals, gong, kalimba, maracas, mark tree, pandeiro, rototom, repinique, shaker, shekere, snare drum, surdo, triangle, tabla, talking drum, tamborim, tambourine, temple block, timbales, tom-toms, udu, washboard, water gong, waterphone, whistle, and wood block.

Discography

As leader

Vira Loucos Beat the Donkey Love the Donkey Banquet of the Spirits Infinito Sunshine Seas Caym: Book of Angels Volume 17
  • ''Bluefly''

As guest

With Trey AnastasioAlive Again Plasma Shine Bar 17
With Gabrielle RothTongues Zone Unknown Tribe
With Cassandra WilsonBlue Light 'Til Dawn New Moon Daughter Belly of the Sun
With John ZornThe Big Gundown Filmworks III: 1990–1995 Filmworks 1986–1990 Filmworks II: Music for an Untitled Film by Walter Hill Filmworks V: Tears of Ecstasy Filmworks VI: 1996 Filmworks IV: S&M + More Filmworks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour The Circle Maker Taboo & Exile Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d The Gift Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren Filmworks XII: Three Documentaries Cobra: John Zorn's Game Pieces Volume 2 The Satyr's Play / Cerberus A Vision in Blakelight Mount Analogue Pellucidar: A Dreamers Fantabula
With others