Good drumming, perhaps? According to Downtown Music Gallery: CYRO BAPTISTA - Beat the Donkey (Tzadik 7608) Featuring special guests Marc Ribot, John Zorn, Erik Friedlander, Jamie & Vanessa Saft, Peter Scherer, Romero Lubambo, Kevin Breit and Cyro's fabulous percussion ensemble - Beat the Donkey! Brazilian madman percussion wizard - Cyro Baptista, has played with just about everybody, a list would fill this page. Seeing and hearing Cyro in the Bar Kokhba Chamber Masada, Zorn improv sets and in the new Electric Masada, show how much of an incredible and completely unique percussionist he really is. His crazed percussion and chanting ensemble, Beat the Donkey, have been around for the past few years and their sets are always marvelous, intoxicating fun. This wonderful and wild release blends the band with all sorts of special guests and is a blast. "The Crab and the Shining Star" features Cyro's cool voice, some sick/heavy fuzz guitar from Viva De Concini and pounding percussion from Beat the Donkey. Cyro blows into bottles on "Sapo and the Prince" to create the sunny, funky, subtle rhythm backing Luciana Souza's enchanting voice and Romoero Lubambo's nylon string guitar. Marc Ribot provides the central groove and lovely solo on his nylon string guitar on "Cyrandeiro", another breezy Brazilian tune. One of the great and distinctive things about Cyro is the odd percussion instruments he uses - metal refrigerator drawers, ceramic pots, metaliphones, piramids, vacuum cleaner hoses and exotic things like surdo, pandeiro, hadgini, rayong and a tamborim machine. This allows Cyro and his other percussionists to create unique worlds of percussion based sounds. Four pieces feature just exotic percussion and each one is fascinating and completely different in textures and beats. "Sweet Cuica" has a hypnotic cuica or squeeze drum groove with jaw harp, tubes and metal percussion. Ribot whips out his trusty electric wah-wah guitar and wails on "O Canto Da Ema", but it is the wacky vocals by Tisza Coela and Cyro that really provide the strange magic. "Parar de Fumar" is another fun, Brazilian groove tune with cute vocals, nylon string guitar, clarinet and subtle percussion. Erik Friedlander on cello and Peter Scherer on synth add their dreamy sounds to "Anatacia", while Kevin Breit (steel or slide guitar), John Zorn (squealing sax) and Toninho Ferragutti (accordion) add their unique sounds to "Mr. Bugaloo". The final piece "Funk I/Live at La Plaza" is another intoxicating percussion fest by Beat the Donkey and also includes their performance on video as well. Go Cyro Baptista, Beat the Donkey and friends, your completely groovy magic has been captured! _________________________________________________________________ Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free! Try MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp