"Goza la Vida" Manny Oquendo Timbale Solo from The Language of the Masters Book by Michael Spiro.

Here is the Timbale solo from the song Goza la Vida from the Conjunto Libre record Increible as recorded by Manny Oquendo. The transcription is from the Sher Publications book The Language of the Masters by Michael Spiro. This is one of my favorite books when it comes to teaching Afro-Cuban percussion. The book features transcribed solos from many great percussion artists on timbales, congas and bongos. This rather long and spacious solo is one of the first solos I use for teaching phrasing and feel with my students. I play the transcription with the recording and then discuss some of the finer points of the solo. Manny Oquendo used a wide and lower tuning for his drums. Here they are roughly tuned to Bb and E The timbales I am using were made by JCR percussion and are 15" and 14" in diameter. The timbale sticks are the Vic Firth Alex Acuna "Conquistador" model.