By Alyssa Roby
Most people stop banging on pots and pans when they are small children, but world-renowned percussionist Cyro Baptista turned this childhood pasttime into a broad, vibrant career.
Along with his revolutionary eight-piece music and dance ensemble called Beat the Donkey, Baptista manages to make music with tap shoes, washboards, cans and even a refrigerator. He has become known for turning ordinary objects into extraordinary instruments that produce a spectacle similar to the performances of “Stomp” and “The Blue Man Group.”
It may sound odd at first, but Baptista’s innovative style has gained him global recognition and the opportunity to perform with such world-famous musicians as Yo-Yo-Ma, Spyro Gyra and Sting.
Baptista first came to the United States from his native country of Brazil in 1980. Since that time, he has produced two CDs with Beat the Donkey and performed on the Grammy award-winning albums of various artists like Trey Anastasio of Phish and John Zorn.
He has toured the globe with such celebrated artists as Sting, Paul Simon and Herbie Hancock, and was even named Best Percussionist of 2002.
Recently, a documentary covering the story of Beat the Donkey won three New England Emmy awards and continues to play on PBS. Baptista has clearly contributed to modern music with his distinctive approach to percussion.
As the leader of Beat the Donkey, Baptista has taken things up a notch, adding a matchless visual spectacle to his already amazing musical performance. This fact is reflected in the group’s name, which is a literal translation of the Brazilian expression meaning “Let’s take it up a notch” or “Let’s go.”
Their show consists of ground-breaking dance, sword handling, acrobatics, vocals and over-the-top costumes that give Baptista’s music a whole new dimension. Their sound is a blend of influences from around the world, which is no surprise given that members of the group are from the U.S., Israel, various parts of Europe and Asia and Brazil.
Their most recent CD entitled “Love the Donkey,” has been hailed as a wonderful mixture of other-worldly sounds, and features a unique rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.”
Louisvillians will soon get the opportunity to experience the diverse sounds and sights presented by Beat the Donkey when they perform in Louisville for the first time this month.
The performance will take place at 8 p.m., April 19 at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.
For those interested, tickets are available for $25 at http://www.kentuckycenter.org or by calling 502-584-7777.
Audiences are in for a performance that the New York Times calls, “An assemblage of musicians and dancers in outrageous costumes, banging on drums for all they’re worth. “It makes a ruckus, and it’s wild, vivid entertainment.”
