PASSING CLOUDS- A PRIDE AND RIDE OVER LONDON'S HACKNEY CLUBS...

Hackney is buzzing. Why? Two words...

Passing Clouds...

I had heard about this small intimate venue for many years... but never ventured in. So on 13th October, three Saturdays ago I popped in to see two amazing acts.

First was the five man percussion- led by visiting Mali Djembe master-drummer Djembe Thunder  with Siemy Di (Congo) on Kit drums, Williams Cumberbache (Venezuela) on Congas, plus another Mali player and wizard musician...Abdullah Samfo, all on fire. 

Or should I say fire and water...for the sound was very balanced.

Idriss made the crowd crazy. He was energetic and the team played along with him. The best thing about this set was the way ... experienced and technically able quartet let one another play. No-one showed off or competed. A master class of dynamics. This made the rhythms audible, clear and easy to hear. Which made all of us in the audience enjoy being at Passing Clouds.

Next set was the host himself. Always positive in the way he presented other musicians and how he spoke to the warm and receptive audience. Planetman (shown on his new CD below) is an example of the entertainer, educator and artist musician all rolled into one.

MUSICIAN ALAN HAYMAN -Last Images

Seen here in his final days, Alan Hayman the late  South African musician who died on  Wednesday 5th September, 2012 in Xerem,  Rio De Janeiro....this is typical Alan- at his best, a dictionary of music theory and percussion,  a guy who loved humanity, adored working with young people and  mingling with folks of all kind, colour, age...

Born in South Africa in April 1949, having showed his distaste for the abhorring Apartheid system , he moved to the UK where he met Virginia, married and together had a son, Joshua in 1982. 

Josh Hayman is now  an upcoming  magician who can be seen everywhere in the UK.

After a huge contribution in the multi-cultural  world of the UK (including being one of the founding members of the London School of Samba in 1983) Alan Hayman emigrated to Brazil in the mid 1990's where he continued with his active and positive life. One of the main projects he was heavily involved with was working with ill provided communities such as orphans shown in these pictures. Thanks to Vera  Lucia Perreira da Silva his life long partner and confidant in his august years for providing us with these rich,  precious images.