Kenneth ‘Skip’ or ‘Brinquito’ Burney was born in the Bronx in 1953. Skip has been a ritual musician for most of his life. He worked with Orlando ‘Puntilla’ Rios from the early 80s and regularly travelled to Miami from New York to play in tambores. In the late 80s Skip moved to Miami for a number of years in order to work for Juan ‘El Negro’ Raymat. Since, he has moved back and forth between the two cities with a short stint in Los Angeles.
He has toured, recorded or performed with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Sting, McCoy Tyner, Quincy Jones, Dianne Reeves and Phil Collins to name a few. He is a passionate man who has gone to unimaginable lengths to dedicate himself to the ritual oricha music tradition. Skip’s oral histories provide a rare insight into the tradition in the United States from a black American perspective. In his frankness he reveals not only its beauty but also it’s darker underbelly. Interview in 10 parts conducted by Vicky Jassey with David Pattman, Miami: 17th March 2017 |
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Part 5 - Skip talks about his time learning to play from Pepe Calabaza. He goes on to talk about his first trip to Miami and the drugs and money that he saw there. He tells how Orlando ‘Puntilla’ Rios told him to stay in Miami so he could teach Juan ‘El Negro’ Raymat’s drummers and how he became his secretary. He tells the story of fighting a Cuban man who was being disrespectful to him and how this earned him respect.
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Part 8 - Skip talks passionately about some of the ways he feels some people are abusing Regal de Ocha.
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Part 9 - Skip talks about the importance of the drum, Añá and being part of a man’s ‘club’. He goes on to talk about his relationship with the late Orlando ‘Puntilla’ Rios.
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Part 10 - Skip begins by talking about his experiences of being a black American working within a Cuban tradition and his need to be ‘Brinquito’, a harder more aggressive side of himself as a form of protection from the ‘street’ aspect of the tambor scene.
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