Percussionist, composer and educator, Carlos “Go Go” Gomez, has performed and recorded with a list of the biggest recording artists of our time.  Throughout his career he has played along side such luminaries as Tito Puente, Pharaoh Sanders, Eartha Kitt, Arturo Sandoval, Gipsy Kings, Jose Feliciano and Grupo Afro-Cuba de Matanzas, as well as contemporary mega stars Mariah Carey and Sade.  Gomez’s virtuosity is heard in the sheer range of his rhythmic influences and musical styles that he plays.  From Afro-Cuban bata, jazz and rock and roll, to Persian pop, Nigerian high life and New Age electronica; Gomez’s hallmark is diversity and experimentation.  Currently, he juggles a busy schedule of live performances, recording sessions, film scoring, and running his imprint label, Kidlat Records.
Born and raised in the Bronx, to Puerto Rican and Cuban parents, Gomez’s early influences included not only the Cuban standards and tangos played by his parents, but also the sounds of his neighborhood in the 1970s; including funk, rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock, and Nuyorican salsa.  At the age of 16, he became a founding member of the groundbreaking Latin crossover group, Seguida.  Dubbed the “The Sons of Santana” by the Village Voice, the group joined the legendary Fania Records roster and successfully embarked on a heavy recording and touring schedule.  As a City College of New York student of ethnomusicology by day and full-blown professional musician by night, Carlos “Go Go” Gomez ended the decade having fulfilled his childhood dream.
A yeaning to deepen his spiritual studies brought Gomez to the West Coast in the late 1970s.  The next 20 years proved fast paced and full of creative opportunities.  The following highlights the breadth of his musical experiences.  He played jazz with Bobby Hutcherson, John Handy, Rodney Franklin, Babatunde Lea, Jules Broussard and Manhattan Transfer; salsa and Latin jazz with Pete and Coke Escovedo, Sheila E. and Conjunto Cespedes; and world music with O.J. Ekemode, Nigerian All-Stars and the Batucaje Brazilian Dance Troupe, to name but a few.  Gomez toured and recorded with Con Funk Shun for many years.  He served as Laura Branigan’s percussionist and musical director for eight years.  His recordings included albums for Narada Michael Walden, Grateful Dead drummer, Mickey Hart, and most notably, Arturo Sandoval’s Grammy award winning album titled, Danzon/Dance.  Gomez also ventured into different media.  He made numerous television appearances, as well as commercial and film performances.  His A-Go-Go-Gomez Band made a cameo appearance in the 1991 feature motion picture, Fires Within.  Several of the group’s songs were included on the film’s soundtrack.  During these years, Gomez balanced his fast paced life by traveling the world extensively, honing his martial arts skills and immersing himself in the study of traditional African and Eastern religions.
Gomez received advanced certifications in percussion from the prestigious University of Matanzas, Cuba and the Instituto Folklorico National De Cuba.  Intrigued by the connection between spirituality and music, Gomez’s life work is devoted to bridging cultures and seeking commonalities.  He brings this synergistic sensibility to the classroom, where for 30 years he has taught his students the art of drumming as a path to personal, artistic and spiritual development.  In 1979 he established the first Afro-Cuban studies in song, drum and dance at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California.  His most recent post was at Queens College of the City University of New York where he taught Afro-Cuban percussion and music.  He has lectured extensively, nationally and internationally, on topic including percussion, Afro-Cuban drumming, and Ifa and Santeria religions.
Gomez’s newest ventures continue his experimentation with new technologies.  After recording a series of dance remixes with Francois K of Wave Music, David Morales of Def Jam records and Jay Denes of Naked Music, Gomez launched his independent label, Kidlat Records.  In 2005 he released a solo album titled, Homenaje Al Asmatico, and has recently released a new solo album, New Paradigm Global Music which features Electronic and Acoustic World Trance Grooves.  He maintains a vigorous schedule of live performances throughout the tri-state area, private teaching, and studio work.


I grew up in the inner city streets of Boston where I was taught at an early age u cant show to much love and u can never trust a soul.
simple right? well it was a hard lesson for me to learn why simply because three months after I was born I was sent to the island because my mom couldn't afford to take care of me and I think that was the best thing she could of done for me because that's where I fell in love with music from reggae to rock to rnb and my favorite of them all hip hop the first time I heard rap was the first time I ever fell in love or even knew what love was. it lit a unburnable fire that will never go out and that's where ill let my music do the talking

Hey, I’m Sunny. I’m a blogger living in San Diego, California. I am a fan of travel, reading, and writing. I’m also interested in photography. You can visit my website.

Discover New England Style & Travel at Sunny Coastlines Website. Planning now a day about travel in New England. Google Sunny Coastlines dot com and explore detailed information about New England Style and Travel.

COMMUNITY DRUMMING IN THE NEW ENGLAND AREA SINCE 2009

Connecting People in Rhythm from RI, CT, MA, NH, ME & VT for Community based Drumming & Education

Destructo RA Records is now registered with BMI. 
Des here from Lum FM, SoundCloud and more. 
We make EDM, Trap and more… 
Get your mixing and mastering at DSR Records too…

With Famoudou Konaté and Mamady Keita. Home of the sounds of Africa Rhythms Sundays with many guest master artists from Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso.

Excellent instruction, for most levels of players. You should be able to play djembe for these workshops. 

As we go on, I will add rhythms we have learned in the past as well as 'clean recordings' usually made when we have completely learned the rhythm in play.

I hope this is helpful to all of you. Some people like to transcribe the rhythms including all the sections and the solo phrases. This will help you do that too.

Recording Quality: These recordings may not sound as good as ones you make with your own smartphones or dedicated audio recorders as I am recording with the 'limiter on' which allows us to hear better but can drop out on a sudden loud hit! Making your own recordings will help you even more.

To find out more about DrumConnection and African Rhythm Sundays, please visit http://www.drumconnection.com/

I am the sound of my own drum

konafilm@gmail.com

Followers of New England Drumming