Focusing The Spotlight: A Little More About Ritmo Masacote

Our current Spotlight Artist, Ritmo Masacote, brings an interesting musical concept to their work that brings together music and movement. There’s a constant groove that rides throughout the album, pushed forward with massive montunos and intensive rhythm section work. The album’s rhythmic shifts seem a perfect fit for choreographed moves and complex dance routines. For every rhyme there is a reason, and Ritmo Masacote connects to dance in a very concrete way.

Bandleader Joel Massicot not only creates inventive music at the piano, he also serves as half of a dance team along with his wife Ana. The two dancers give performances and workshops, and they also lead the Masacote dance troupe. The dance company choreographs diverse musical selections, from Massicot’s original compositions to Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” and Tito Puente’s “Mambo Gallego.” Masacote Dance staff offers private classes, group lessons, and intensive workshops meant to improve the salsa dancing experience. Beyond his work on Fantagious, Massicot stays knee deep in the salsa dance world, an endeavor that translate directly to his musical career.

There’s a wealth of information about Massicot, Ritmo Masacote, and the Masacote Dance Company around the internet. You can get information about all these pursuits and more at the Masacote website. You can check out Ritmo Masacote’s first album, Masacote. Listen to some tracks and get more info about the group at the Ritmo Masacote MySpace. Don’t forget to check out the LJC review of Fantagious HERE.

Here’s some information on bandleader Joel Massicot and some performance videos of two songs from the Fantagious album. Enjoy!

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Joel, an accomplished jazz & reggae musician, has studied piano since the year 1986, trumpet since 1987, and saxophone and drums since 1991. Although this versatile musician has trained to play in different musical genres (jazz, reggae, funk, salsa, and Latin jazz), he decided to focus on his love for Latin jazz in 1997 and has since trained with some of the top musicians in the industry.

While living in St. Croix, Joel was the director of “Various Artists”, his own reggae, jazz, and funk band, and a part of the 666th Army National Guard Band. When Howard University’s School of Fine Arts Music Department in DC recruited him as a Jazz studies piano major in 1998, Joel ventured from St. Croix to Washington, DC to pursue his musical career.

Since then, he has had the honor of playing with such highly acclaimed bands as Orquesta La Romana (Washington,DC), voted best salsa orchestra by salsametro.com consecutively 2001-2005, the 257th Army National Guard Band (Washington, DC), Sound V.I. Zion Records Reggae Band (St. Croix, VI), and Edwin Pabon and Orchestra (Boston, MA). In early 2005, he was selected to tour with Sound V.I.Zion Records during its Spring 2005 East Coast Tour. He has also had the honor of performing on stage with such Grammy winning salsa bands and artists as “Mambo 911” (Chicago, IL), New Swing Sextet, Chino Nuñez, Bobby Allende, Ray De La Paz, Frankie Vazquez, and Roberto Roena, among others.

Joel’s recordings include Howard University’s 1998 Jazz Ensemble as well as compositions and arrangements with 3 major record labels (B’neath Da Underground Sounds, LLS Records, and Sound V.I. Zion Records). He has also co-produced a cd entitled “Jerome Austrie”, a vocalist and guitarist.

In 2003, Joel began preparing for the release of his own much anticipated, Latin jazz cd with his original, never heard before, musical compositions, some of which have been in the works as early as 1995. His focus lies specifically on the relation of notes to movement.

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Rumba Walk