More from David Schulman
A musicians' guide to warming up
(00:04:30)
From: David Schulman
What do you do to warm up? With Gillian Welch, Lang Lang, Cecilia Bartoli, Albert Kuvezin, Yo-Yo Ma ...
Voices at an Exhibition: Coke Covers the World
(00:03:23)
From: David Schulman
Visitors to the Smithsonian American Art Museum describe what they see in a a quilt created in 1992 by Otesia Harper … “Coke Covers the World.”
Voices at an Exhibition: George Washington by Gilbert Stuart
(00:01:54)
From: David Schulman
Museumgoers contemplate what was going through the mind of Gilbert Stuart as he painted one of the most familiar portraits in the American economy ...
Joseph Shabalala: the 2009 Grammy winner In his own words
(00:05:17)
From: David Schulman
Joseph Shabalala describes how the vision for Ladysmith Black Mambazo came to him in a dream -- in four-part harmony. Shabalala's voice takes on multiple characters as he ...
Cassandra Wilson: the 2009 Grammy winner in her own words
(00:04:45)
From: David Schulman
The 2009 Grammy winner talks about finding her voice, with a little help from Miles Davis and musical parents who figured "you're going to get the blues, anyway"
Bo Diddley: in his own words (in memory)
(00:07:36)
From: David Schulman
A late-career portrait of one of rock-and-roll's legendary creators.
For Valentine's Day ... Trudy Pitts and "Mr C," in their own words
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From: David Schulman
Partners in music, and in life, for somewhere around 50 years ...
Arturo Sandoval: In his own words
(00:04:34)
From: David Schulman
A bebop matador, a baroque court, a Cuban lullaby ...
Corey Harris: 2007 'Genius' of the blues, In his own words
(00:03:20)
From: David Schulman
The 2007 MacArthur Fellow talks about the life of the Blues
Piece Description
Beyond-Brazilian musician Cyro Baptista is fluent in the musical languages of samba, cabela, and yoyoma. Also, squirrel. He proves it in this piece, and demonstrates how he narrowly averted disaster during a recording session with the fearsome-to-some-people soprano Kathleen Battle. Cyro's secret weapon? A vacuum cleaner hose. Originally included in "Keepers of the Groove," a Musicians in their own words special distributed in 2007 by PRI.
Broadcast History
Originally included in "Keepers of the Groove," a Musicians in their own words special distributed in 2007 by PRI.
Timing and Cues
Cyro Baptista
He's really made a name for himself, though, by playing with musicians from OTHER styles -- jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. Lyric soprano Kathleen Battle. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Cyro Baptista invited our producer David Schulman to visit his house in the New Jersey suburbs. He picked him up at the bus station, and they went out back, to Cyro's workshop -- a garage crammed with all kinds of percussion.
Whatever he touched made some kind of musical sound ...
TAPE IN: "You can go crazy here. I don't know if you know this big shop, Cabella's? ...
TAPE OUT: ends over music. Last spoken words: "the waves of the ocean."
OUTRO:
The words and the sounds of Cyro Baptista.
We heard from him in his garage full of percussion, behind his house in New Jersey. He's got a workroom almost as big -- just to hold the CASES for all his instruments ...
Our piece was produced by David Schulman, and supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.




