Batuquê Trio
Batuquê Trio
blends a myriad of Latin jazz styles, from the folkloric roots of Cuban and Brazilian
music to contemporary trends in Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and Caribbean jazz. The
term batuquê refers to Afro-Brazilian polyrhythmic drumming and dance. Batuquê
Trio has performed and given clinics around the Carolinas, Midwest, and Texas,
as well as at PASIC, the Jazz Education Network Conference. Most recently, they
were guests for the Indiana University David N. Baker Lecture Series. Released in 2015, their debut, album
Transparency, showcases the members’ exciting original compositions and rhythmically
infectious standards.
Personnel
Jamaal
Baptiste piano
Natalie
Boeyink bass (UNCW faculty)
Andy Smith
drums
with Justin
Hoke guitar (UNCW faculty)
Artist Biographies
Jamaal
Baptiste grew up on the island of Aruba, a nexus for the music of the Americas
and Europe. His instinctive feel and musicianship delights listeners and
dancers alike. Baptiste is comfortable performing in a wide range of musical
settings, with experience in jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, Latin, Brazilian,
and Caribbean music. His island roots are infused into the trio’s unique sound,
and his versatility glues the band together. In addition to the trio, Baptiste
is an original member of Ritmos Unidos, the latest collaboration from
seven-time Grammy nominee and percussionist, Michael Spiro. In 2016, Baptiste
graduated with a master’s in jazz at the Indiana University Jacobs School of
Music, where he is now pursing a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, and leading the IU
Soul Revue rhythm section.
Natalie
Boeyink is an accomplished bassist, violinist, pianist, composer and educator
who has worked primarily in jazz and Latin idioms. Equally influenced by
bassists Ray Brown and Cachao, Boeyink’s upright bass has traveled literally
and figuratively through Brazil and Cuba, assimilating samba, son and rumba
just as easily as she steadily walks through American jazz. In 2014 she was
awarded a Tinker Foundation grant to study the performance and pedagogy of
popular bass styles in Brazil, traveling to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Natal,
Brasilia, and Campinas, Brazil. Boeyink is a respected adjudicator and clinician,
and performs regularly throughout the Midwest. She is on the UNCW jazz faculty,
and holds a DME from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and
master’s and bachelor’s degrees in jazz performance.
Andy Smith,
musician, educator, and composer, is recognized internationally, having enjoyed
a diverse career for more than two decades. Smith’s dynamic drumming style has
been honed in Ghana, West Africa, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and in nearly
every state in the continental United States.
He recently completed a Doctor of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs
School of Music. His career has taken him from the recording studios of
Nashville, TN to Tanglewood, Ravinia and the Hollywood Bowl. He has traveled to
Ghana West Africa and the Caribbean to be immersed in African diasporic rhythm.
In 2012, Smith was awarded a Tinker Foundation grant to study contemporary
Brazilian Jazz drumming in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2016, he
was appointed visiting assistant professor and director of Percussion Studies
at the University of Texas El Paso.
Justin Hoke
is an active soloist, chamber musician, and educator based in Wilmington. He
has been featured as a soloist on classical and electric guitar with the Panama
City Orchestra, Florida State University Orchestra, and the Appalachian State
University Guitar Orchestra. In addition, Hoke has performed solo and with
ensembles across the East Coast in a variety of musical styles. He currently
performs throughout the region as a member of the North Carolina Guitar
Quartet. In 2013, Hoke joined the UNCW music faculty where he teaches classical
and jazz guitar, and music theory. He graduated summa cum laude from UNCW in
2007 with a Bachelor of Music in classical and jazz guitar performance. He
received his Master of Music from Appalachian State University and his
Doctorate of Musical Arts in classical guitar performance from Florida State
University.