The pandeiro is a Brazillian hand drum. It looks like a tambourine but is more complicated to play and can produce more sounds. The more I watched and read about the instrument the more I understood why Scott Feiner was lured back into music by it.He discovered the instrument when he moved to Brazil and he stayed to learn more. Using a pandeiro is like holding an entire drum kit in your hand. The fullness of percussion sound that it can produce was impressive. Feiner's become adept with the instrument and it is the driving force behind his new CD, Accents.
Joined by Freddie Bryant playing guitar, Joel Frahm on saxophone and Joe Martin handling bass duty, Feiner brings the pandeiro and jazz together, blending Brazillian rhythms with contemporary jazz in an informal and vibrant and beautiful fashion. I've never heard pandeiro before so I cannot personally judge whether or not Feiner is a premier player. But others can. And I read in more than one place that Feiner is one gringo who has truly taken to the instrument and plays it like it deserves.
