Nation Beat: "Archaic Humans" CD Release

When band leader Scott Kettner looks at a map, he sees a direct line that connects the rivers of northeastern Brazil to the parishes of New Orleans and the streets of NYC. It’s a connection that came to him in 1999 amid the swirling dancers, ecstatic musicians, and powerful percussionists parading in the streets during Carnival in Recife, Brazil. He was there at the urging of his mentor, NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart, to study maracatu, the region’s...