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Kurt Rasmussen (front row/left) and his Escola de Samba, named Mocidade Rebelde (Young Rebels)
Kurt Rasmussen must be doing something right. The LP artist’s career is steadily ascending with no peak in sight. And the most curious aspect is that, even at such lofty heights, he’s surrounded by water for the foreseeable future. Lots of water—about one and a half million gallons at last count.
The story plays out as follows. Apart from Rasmussen’s track record as a session percussionist in L.A. studios, where he’s backed a host of Latin and pop artists and played on the soundtrack to the IMAX film Everest, Kurt has been spending a lot of time in Las Vegas, a city not ordinarily associated with water, given its location in the middle of the desert. But Vegas is the home of the Cirque du Soleil’s production, simply entitled O. And that’s where the water comes in.
To refresh your memory, the Cirque du Soleil is a Quebec, Canada circus troupe that years ago had ambitions to transport audiences far beyond the confines of tents and sideshows. Part of that involved hiring the crème de la crème of live musicians, in this instance a crack ten-piece band performing original music by Benoit Jutras. The other part involved some of the most precise choreography ever witnessed unfolds against stunning backdrops that challenge the senses.
To bring O to life, remembering that “O” is a pun on the French word “eau”, meaning water, eighty-one artists perform death-defying (to invoke a little traditional circus lingo!) acts above, on, and below water. And the water is no wading pool; it is a mammoth specially constructed tank measuring 150x100 feet and holding 1.5 million gallons.
From left to right: Kurt Rasmussen- Percussion ( w/ my
favorite set of LP congas ),Toumany Kouyate - Kora, King Ibu Ba - Bass, Malang Diebate - Kora
 From left to right:
Kurt Rasmussen- Percussion ( w/ my favorite set of LP congas ),
Toumany Kouyate - Kora, King Ibu Ba - Bass, Malang Diebate - Kora
As anyone who has witnessed a Cirque du Soleil production will verify, music is a driving force. As in a traditional circus, drumset and percussion provide the momentum and punctuation, but, given the expanded horizons in Cirque du Soleil productions, are also called upon to deliver sonic textures to enhance the visuals. That’s where Kurt Rasmussen comes in. The acclaimed LP artist has the chops, precision, and sensitivity to work within a large musical team; in addition he can contribute individualized sounds that complement the production.
Kurt uses a variety of LP instruments, from indigenous percussion to the more exotic and eccentric devices lurking within the pages of the LP catalog. Of course, it’s one thing to amass the instruments, another to know when to use them. Says Kurt, “It is important to complement the motions of the acrobats and generate a range of emotions, from anxious expectation to the thrill that follows the movement of human bodies through space. In the meantime, there is the requirement to keep tight with a complex musical score. In addition to using congas and timbales,
I have incorporated some of the esoteric percussion
instruments and 'toys' into the parts I play.”
He’s been with the Cirque du Soleil for over five years and Rasmussen finds it affords a perfect balance. First, there’s the creative side. Kurt explains, “It is an honor to be part of such a wonderful production and work alongside people who take their craft very seriously.” And next there’s the fact that he’s but a short plane ride away from Los Angeles, to which he commutes for recording projects. And if that weren’t enough, Kurt has been performing with Kora player Toumany Kouyate, a native of Senegal; he’s just completed his first year teaching percussion at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he’s been named Artist in Residence; and he’s started a samba school at the university called Mocidade Rebelde (Young Rebels), something that flows from Kurt’s musical experiences in Brazil. There he enjoys the distinction of being the only North American accepted into the prestigious Escola de Samba, in which appears on the front line.
“I’m on a mission,” enthuses Rasmussen, “to bring to Las Vegas the world of cultural drumming. Next year, I hope to expand from samba to Afro-Cuban, West African styles—and beyond.”
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