Cyro Baptista
Cyro Baptista ‘Beat the Donkey’ will be performing in Sines’ Castle on the 24th of July.
Since arriving in the U.S. in 1980 from his native country Brazil, Cyro Baptista has emerged as one of the premier percussionists in the country. Coinciding with the rise in the public’s interest of world music, Cyro has managed to record and tour with some of music’s most popular names. His mastery of Brazilian percussion and the many instruments he creates himself, have catapulted him into world renown. Cyro’s credits read like a “Who’s Who” of modern music. He toured extensively with Yo-Yo Ma’s Brazil Project, Trey Anastasio’s Band (of Phish), John Zorn’s Electric Masada, Herbie Hancock’s Grammy award winning “Gershwin’s World”, Sting and Paul Simon’s “Rhythm of the Saints”. With his own project, the percussion and dance ensemble known as ‘Beat the Donkey’ Cyro gives free rein to his imagination, mixing his tremendous musical skills, his natural humor and theatrical ways with instruments from Brazil, Middle East, Indonesia, Africa and US. The first Beat the Donkey album, (TZADIK) was picked by The New York Times as one of the ten best alternative albums of 2002. Readers of JAZZIZ and DRUM magazine voted it as “Best Brazilian CD of the Year” and named Cyro “Best Percussionist of 2002.” Downbeat Magazine’s 51st annual critics’ poll selected Cyro as “Rising Star” in percussion. He released his latest CD, “Banquet of the Spirits”, in 2008.
