Roderick Camelia

Roderick Camelia is the son of the late Juan Camelia, a very well known musician from the island of Curaçao, Dutch Antilles.

After he finished in Curaçao what would be best translated as “pre-university”, he chose to study Music Pedagogy at the “National Pedagogic University” in Bogota, Colombia, and obtained a “licentiate degree”.

After completing studies there he came to Boston to enroll at the prestigious Berklee College of Music and graduated in Professional Music.

While in Boston he discovered the study technology of L. Ron Hubbard, which teaches some simple techniques of how to solve the barriers of studying. (More at: LINK.)

He decided to incorporate these principles and techniques in a teaching program he created and is now able to teach music theory in an easy-to-understand format, which doesn’t violate the study laws and this way guarantee understanding and results in any student.

He has performed as a guitar and bass player many different styles of popular music, including: swing, rock, funk, pop, latin-jazz, bossa, samba, salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, bolero, ballads, soukous, west-african rhythms from Senegal and Mali, soca, calypso, reggae, jonkonu and the different rhythms from Curacao, like the tumba, sehu, salsa antiyana, etc.

An incomplete roster of groups he has performed with is: Fire, Smoke and Ashes (rock), La Nueva Era (merengue), Supercombo La fuente (cumbia), Souvenir (calypso), Jorge Arce and his group Humano (salsa), The Jazz Trio (swing), The Camelia Group (latin Jazz), Vox Pop (polyphonic poetry), Bala Tounkara (west-african music) and others.

He has recorded with Ramiro Mendez (cape verdian music), Grupo Chevere (merengue and bachata), Rumbafrica (soukous), Sali Oyugi (Kenyan music), Mondo Sweetie (Cuban and Spanish rumba flamenca) and The Three Kings (hip hop).

Currently he’s performing mostly with his own CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ DUO, TRIO, QUARTET, QUINTET and SEXTET.

He’s also writing two music theory books for popular music in English and Spanish.

Additionally, he has several compositions in a style he calls “tumba-jazz” which is a fusion of tumba (one of the rhythms of his native island) and jazz improvisation ready to be recorded. He will be doing these recordings after he completes his books.

And very recently he has included singing as a solo act among his activities, where he accompanies himself on the guitar with a repertoire of mostly romantic latin music.
 

Q:Tell us a little bit about your group or groups.
A: Currently my main focus is on my latin jazz groups: the CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ SEXTET, QUINTET, QUARTET, TRIO and DUO. We provide instrumental latin/caribbean music and can be as soft or as lively as needed. For soft music we perform mostly bossa novas, boleros, bachatas and cha-chas; and for more lively music we do salsa, merengue, cumbia, samba and calypso. I've posted on my website samples of live performances we recorded at private and public events. I purposely kept them "live recordings" (meaning: recordings done live without computerized corrections) with all the background chats, noises and imperfections, so you get to experience the group in its real setting! These live recording demos were done with a quartet of piano, lead guitar and 2 hand percussions; a trio of piano, lead guitar and 1 hand percussion or drumset; and a duo of piano and lead guitar and a drum machine. We mostly use now hand percussion instead of the drum kit, especially when space is limited. For concerts and festivals I usually expand the group to a sextet or quintet. My musicians vary, but are mostly professionals making a living off of music. Unfortunately there are less of them available who can play this style, since they have to know both jazz improvisation and the latin/caribbean rhythms. And consequently, this style becomes a little more expensive than straightahead jazz or straightahead latin music, at least for the local market.

Q:What have been some important gigs or venues you've played?
A: We've been performing mostly at private functions, held at for example: The Museum of Fine Arts, The Westin Hotel (The medal of Hope Award for mayor Thomas M. Menino), The Country Club, Tremont Hotel, The Omni Parker House; and also educational institutions, like: Harvard University, Boston College, Suffolk University, Tufts University, etc. More recently we've also done a public performance at the Connolly Branch Library in Jamaica Plain; and have been on a bilingual TV show called "Fernando's Hideaway / El Show De Fernandito". You can watch the full live TV shows, including the interviews, by going to the "blip.tv" links I have in the biography on my website.

Q:What are the names and release dates of your previous recordings?
A: As you will be able to read in the biography, I've recorded with many different groups in the past, but I have a future project pending where I'll be recording a cd of a style I call "tumbajazz", which is a mixture of "tumba" (a 6/8 rhythm from Curazao) and jazz improvisation, as soon as I finish writing the music theory books I'm currently working on. I have already about 10 compositions ready to be recorded in this style. I've done a demo recording in the past with 2 talented musicians from Curazao, namely Ygor Atalita and Pernel Saturnino who now live in New York, and have put a clip of it on my website.

Q:What are you working on now?
A: Currently I'm working on completing this music book I've been writing in english and spanish (one on "rhythm" and one on "harmony" in popular music). L. Ron Hubbard did some very interesting discoveries in the field of studying and education and I've decided to write a book which keeps these concepts in mind. It's title will probably be: "Music theory for popular (non-classical) music: a non-contradictory, non-confusing and non-complicated approach".

Q:What kind of people or opportunities are you hoping to find on Berkleemusic?
A: On Berkleemusic I hope to be able to expose my music and present my gigs to anyone who likes or is interested in this type of music or who wants to become more familiar with it, and be able to interact more with other musicians from Berklee. Berkleemusic.com also made it possible for me to be able to send prospective customers to a website, for which I'm very thankful.

TIME: 9:30 pm - 12:30 am.
PLACE: The Fireplace Restaurant.
ADDRESS: 1634 Beacon St.,Brookline, MA, 02446.
OCCASION: Public performance - come listen or dance to it.
ADMISSION: Free.
WEBSITE: LINK .
 
August 4, 2009
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE.
CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ sextet.

TIME: 6:30 pm - 7:15 pm.
PLACE: Franklin Park Zoo.
ADDRESS: One Franklin Park Road.,Boston, MA, 02121.
OCCASION: "National Night Out", organized by the Boston Police Foundation.
ADMISSION: Free.
 
July 25, 2009
PRIVATE PERFORMANCE.
CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ quartet.

TIME: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
PLACE: Double Tree Guest Suites. ADDRESS: 400 Soldiers Field Rd., Boston, MA.
OCCASION: Private Wedding.
 
May 30, 2009
PRIVATE PERFORMANCE.
CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ trio.

TIME: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm.
PLACE: Residential Home.
OCCASION: Private graduation celebration.
 
May 29, 2009
PRIVATE PERFORMANCE.
CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ trio.

TIME: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm.
PLACE: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Cambridge.
OCCASION: Corporate event.
 
May 18, 2009
PRIVATE PERFORMANCE.
CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ trio.

TIME: 1:30 am - 4:30 pm.
PLACE: Boston College.
OCCASION: Graduation commencement ceremonies.
 
May 15, 2009
PRIVATE PERFORMANCE.
CAMELIA LATIN JAZZ trio.

TIME: 7:00 am - 9:00 pm.
PLACE: Private Residence.
OCCASION: Private celebration.