Track 1: Samba Pa Ti (m4a)
As we planned a set list to construct the wedding of Ashley and Jeffery, we realized part of a wedding that is often overlooked but of critical importance is music to accompany the audience finding their seats and being ushered. Music here would have to build in energy slowly—creating a sense of excitement with a fair release for the actual ceremony to begin. More importantly, who knows how long this ‘finding seats’ process will take? So the song had to also be free form enough for us to alter its length on the fly. By now you should be thinking of long, slow beautiful Santana song; we did.
Mike and I playing Santana’s Samba Pa Ti (literally Samba For You) accompanied the audience as they sat down. Live in the church this was performed on two acoustic guitars amped by a single microphone PA system; though here, you’ll hear on the recording, Mike is on an electric. Half way through the song (both live and on this recording), I reached down and picked up a percussive egg to keep the beat. I cradled it in my right hand while it carefully strummed a different rhythm on the guitar strings to make some texture. This caused the readers seated on the church stage to continually look back at us while we played. I heard Jeff’s aunts keep asking each other “where’s the percussion coming from?” Mission accomplished I’d say.
