Clay Ross

“Carnaval in the Appalachian Mountains”
 
     Originally from South Carolina, guitarist Clay Ross has spent the last four years submerged in the sounds of Brazilian music as a member of Cyro Baptista's world renowned percussion ensemble "Beat the Donkey."  Following his passion for this music to its source, he spent months playing and studying in the culturally rich Northeastern region of Pernambuco.  Most recently, his group completed a hugely successful 6 week residency in Recife, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Brazil, with performances at major Festivals and Concert Halls throughout the region. 
     During this residency, the band was praised by audiences and critics alike for their dynamic and amimated performances.  One prominent journalist stated “Clay Ross demonstrated that not all Americans with the will to be Brazilian are boring.  His sound mixes the Old West and the Brazlian Desert in a stylized way, but it’s all so much fun that it doesn’t sound artificial.”
     About his groups sound, Ross states, "The music of Northeastern Brazil has much in common with the rural music of the American south.  It's amazing how natural it feels to move from a Bluegrass fiddle hoe-down into a Brazilian Baiao rhythm; from a New Orleans second-line , to a Brazilian Maracatu rhythm.  It was inspiring to have discovered a seemingly exotic folk tradition that made me feel so much closer to my own.”
    “I wanted to draw from my own roots in the American south and to realize these ideas through my limitelessly talented peers on the NYC jazz scene,” says Ross.  “ These are truly accomplished and open minded musicians who can seemlessly integrate influences from around the world.  Together we are creating a pan-american folk sound.  A music with stories, memorable melodies, and infectiously danceable rhythms.  These rhythms have not been popularized in America.  This is not the overplayed sound of ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ bossa nova.  I like to call it Brazilian Bluegrass.  This music is gritty, organic, twangy, and danceable.  People will recognize this sound, but like nothing they've ever heard before."