About

What makes Nation Beat so special is that it offers no simple answers. When band leader Scott Kettner looks at a map, he sees a direct line that connects the rivers of northeastern Brazil to the parishes of New Orleans and the streets of NYC. A master percussionist, composer and educator, Kettner is the guiding force behind Nation Beat and has been tracing the similarities between the music and culture of northeastern Brazil and the American South for two decades, through recordings and performances as well as educational and community outreach programs. More recently, Kettner has been conceptualizing a new sound for Nation Beat that blends the roots styles of New Orleans and Brazil with his background in jazz and hybrid drumming. In 2018 he began composing and collaborating with tenor saxophonist and arranger Paul Carlon. Together, they shaped the ensemble’s sound for their new phase in cross-cultural explorations, and furthering Nation Beat’s history of being rhythm gatherers, harvesting the fruit of 500 years of cultural crossbreeding resulting in a 21st century mash-up of the thunderous grooves of northeastern Brazil with the strolling swagger of New Orleans via NYC. Nation Beat is a NYC-Brazilian collision that parades with an infectious, audacious energy, seamlessly bridging folkloric Brazilian rhythms with classic American roots music in an altogether creative and original manner.

Scott Kettner describes the impetus behind Nation Beat: “In the globalized music industry, Nation Beat aims to reach into roots-based traditions and bring those voices to the surface by creating new music that impacts the people around us, recognizing and assuring that our similarities are stronger than our differences.”

But all of this does not mean Nation Beat is simply an intellectual exercise or a musical history trip. Indeed they are far from it! As only could happen in today’s shrinking world, Nation Beat singularly conjures up this elemental musical mojo, drawing on the wellsprings of rhythm that lit up jazz and got maracatu thundering. Nation Beat takes off with be-bop-via-Brazil drumming; propelled by percussive bursts of New Orleans-flavored brass. But forget the musical history; this is music to move you, music to make you dance.

Nation Beat has released four full length albums - including their most recent The Royal Chase, which garnered positive notice from from all quarters, from Modern Drummer to the Arkansas Gazette to Jazziz to Sound and Colour, and charted on both World and Jazz radio charts, spending over a year on the Roots Report chart, peaking at #1 - one EP and have appeared on numerous compilations. They have collaborated with world renowned artists and have been touring the world since 2002. The National Endowment for The Arts awarded Nation Beat a touring grant in 2013 for their project with Maracatu Nação Estrela Brillante (“Maracatu Bright Star Nation”), titled A Tale of Two Nations, which earned raves from the likes of The New York Times and The Village Voice. The latter stated that Nation Beat is “globe-spinning, dangerously funky...”. Upon experiencing the group, Willie Nelson exclaimed, “Just a fantastic group! I was overwhelmed!” The collective also counts NPR’s Banning Eyre as a fan, who decided they are “the most original and alluring fusion group I have heard in years.”

Nation Beat’s live shows have taken on an almost mythological aura for their ability to lift the souls, and the feet, of their growing cross-cultural audience. Band leader, drummer/percussionist Scott Kettner has long been at the forefront of merging different musical elements together, from the earliest days of Nation Beat's Brazil meets North American music.   

In 2017, Scott connected with arranger Paul Carlon (tenor sax) and the band  entered a new phase in their cross-cultural explorations where brass band and percussion explode in a jazz-infused, funkified New Orleans-meets-Brazil carnival sound. 

“Past albums have leaned heavily on Brazilian music,” Kettner says. "While that is ever present in Nation Beat's sound, our latest groove is jazz-tinged. This is a beat that moves your feet!"

Nation Beat is

Scott Kettner: Drums/Bandleader/percussion

Paul Carlon: Tenor Sax/Arrangements

Mark Collins: Trumpet 

Tom McHugh: Trombone 

Heather Ewer: Sousaphone

Fernando Saci: Percussion

The spirit of jazz.  The bounce of Mardi Gras. The energy of Carnival. Music that uplifts the soul and connects the past with the future. One Nation under many beats. We are Nation Beat.  Dance with us.   Get the Beat! Join our Grooveletter so we can stay in touch about upcoming tours, collaborations, behind the scenes perks and more.