February 22, 2021
The Northwest's hottest Samba group "Lions of Batucada" throw down in the lot during our week long grand opening event.
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February 15, 2021
JT Breaks down a great Latin/Funk Groove.
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February 08, 2021
Adam Deitch demonstrates "gogo" style percussion--Post James Brown and pre-hip hop
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February 01, 2021
The Maitre Djembe was a gift to us from the carvers we work with in Guinea, West Africa to commemorate 20 years of doing business in Africa, and is the largest hand-carved djembe we've ever seen or played. It is symbolic of the decades long relationship Rhythm Traders has had with key suppliers in West Africa ever since we imported our first drums back in 1992. The Maitre Djembe represents our mutual commitment to the cultures, music, and high quality instruments from the source.
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January 25, 2021
Obo Addy lived, performed and taught Portland for many years. Hundreds if not thousands of kids got to see him perform in assembly at their school. Thousands of others around the world were lucky enough to see him perform publicly. Obo was one of the first native African musicians to bring the fusion of traditional folk music and Western pop music known as worldbeat to Europe and then to the Pacific Northwest of the United States in the late 1970s.
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January 18, 2021
A little bit of Portland Drumming history at the "African Rhythm Traders"
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January 15, 2021
Check out this great video from our buddies at Gon Bops showing how their California Series Congas are made. This film shows the true art that goes into making these completely hand-crafted, state-of-the-art drums, detailing the steps from start to finish.
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January 11, 2021
Check out this awesome display of groove and technique by Jean the timbalero for the group "Klimax".
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January 04, 2021
Here's some thoughts on turning 30 and an introduction to our new blog series "Monday Memories". A look back through 30 years of Rhythm Traders history.
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October 27, 2020
The drum that Buddy and Ringo made famous
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October 20, 2020
Do you remember when Mapex started the groundbreaking Mydentity concept? The idea was that Mapex would allow you to design a custom drum kit online with your selection of drum sizes, wood type, finish, and even hardware color?
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October 13, 2020
If you want to see something really amazing, check out the International Cajon Festival in Peru (Festival Internacional del Cajon Peruano) on YouTube, Facebook, and the web. Founded in 2007 by Peruvian musician Rafael Santa Cruz, the International Cajon Festival is an annual event in Lima, Peru that celebrates the cajon with performances, masterclasses, video screenings, and conferences.
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