Epi 88 Claudinho Santana

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Bio:
Claudio Santana is a percussionist from Pernambuco, Brazil, and enjoys mixing Brazilian influences with foreign influences obtained through his travels.  Santana started his career with the intent to form himself musically through local music scene, such as Maracatu, Coco, Ciranda, Afoxé, Baião, Cavalo Marinho, Candomblé. 

Claudinho has lived in and visited more than 12 European countries and has been influenced by musicians from African and Asia. These contacts created a desire to learn and better understand the roots of percussion and their cultures beginning with the introduction of the instruments like Talking Drum, Djembe, Udu etc. He enjoys incorporating hand percussion with drum kit and believes that Percussion is “an endless universe”. 

His experiences at home and abroad have added to Santana’s musical vocabulary; he played with the Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante for ten years  and he was introduced to the musicians Marcos Suzano and Jorginho do Pandeiro. His primary instrument is the pandeiro, but he also plays djembe, timbal, congas and peruvian Cajon. 

Claudinho has taught percussion for the last 21 years. He has taught courses and workshops for more than a decade in Brazil and several European countries. In the US he held Pandeiro and Maracatu workshops sponsored by Contemporânea. In Recife, he held body percussion workshops sponsored by TIM Música, Pandeiro workshops sponsored by the Culture Ministry, and many others. Santana was a student of Jorge Martins, his first teacher and founder of “Corpos Percussivos”, where he was also an instructor. He also has held workshops in other Brazilian states, like Aracaju, Maceió and Fortaleza. He was invited as the Brazilian representative to the International Festival of Pandeiro, or NAFDA in the US. 

Claudinho holds degrees  in music from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco and in journalism from Universidade Católica de Pernambuco. In 2008 he received a scholarship to study at West Virginia University, where he studied steel drums, electronic music, sound painting, and African drumming. 

Santana has played with international names such as the British singer Joss Stone, accordionist Rob Curto and guitar player Clay Ross, both from NY, and the Scottish groups like Bloco Vomit and MacUmba, from UK. In Brazil, Santana has recorded and played with Zeca Baleiro, Junio Barreto, Silvério Pessoa, Geraldo Azevedo, Davi Moraes, Luizinho Calixto, Zé Calixto, Xangai and Santana “O Cantador”. With the singer Badi Assad he performed at Jarasum Jazz Festival in South Korea and in Rio de Janeiro with Ney Matogrosso. 

In the last ten years, Claudinho has immersed himself into the São Paulo Carnaval Bloco scene. He had the chance to work along with Bangalafumenga and Kizomba from Rio, Ritaleena, Charanga do França, Besta É Tu and he is currently the musical director for Bloco Pagu. In São Paulo he has also taught pandeiro at the instituto Brincante.

Links:
Instagram:
claudinhosantana_perc

Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAdE2TOFu7lLon6i7FbzUg

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/claudiomaracatu