Pablo Batista, a master percussionist who has toured and recorded internationally for 30 years, recently spoke with students and visitors during a Master Class held at Montco’s Mix Room in the Advanced Technology Center at Central Campus in Blue Bell.

Batista discussed his extensive career and emphasized that none of it would have been possible without his education.

“Education is something no one can take from you,” he said. “The people you meet and the experiences you have as a result of education are invaluable.”

While a student at Temple University, Batista had the opportunity to record a drum session that got passed along to saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. At that time, Washington was serving as producer for R&B star Jean Carne, and he invited Batista into the studio to work professionally as a percussionist. It wasn’t long before Batista was touring internationally and playing with some of the great musicians, like Alicia Keys and Patti LaBelle.

The Master Class was not Batista’s first time in the Mix Room. He previously visited in August 2018 to work with Sound Recording & Music Technology Director David Ivory in organizing a session with 33 musicians in the Advanced Technology Center. Musicians played live in the Mix Room while Batista played drums in the nearby television studio. He encouraged students to use these facilities for their own projects, too.

“The facility and staff rivals that of Berkeley [College of Music],” he said.

Following his discussion, Batista and his keyboardist Dennis Guevara gave the class a live sample of the Latin Jazz sound they are developing. He describes Latin Jazz as a mixture of traditional Latin rhythms with the implementation of jazz horns and chords. Batista said he drew inspiration from his interest in Afro-Cuban and Afro Caribbean folk music, incorporating folk rhythms and instruments to influence the sound. He also demonstrated various percussion instruments used in his music including the conga drum, güiro and shekere.

Batista’s stories and experience resonated with the students in the crowd. One student, Blessing Osazuwa, was inspired by how the class aligned with her own experience.

“Being a person of color, it was great to see this type of music representing a culture that [I] grew up with,” she said.

Evan Healey was grateful to have the chance to learn from a music professional.

“None of this would be possible without the efforts of the instructors to give us these opportunities,” Healey said.

Co-hosted by Montco’s Lively Arts Series and the Sound Recording & Music Technology Program, Master Classes provide students and the community with opportunities to meet with and learn from professionals in the music industry. The classes are free and open to all students and the community.