Efrain Toro

Efrain Toro is recognized as one of the finest and most complete all round percussionists in the world. Efrain began his musical career in his native Puerto Rico. Although he started on the drum kit, he very soon began to work with timbales, congas, and a wide variety of other instruments.

At the age of 21 Efrain moved to Boston to attend New England Conservatory. Here he studied drum set with much acclaimed drummer Alan Dawson. Efrain relocated to Los Angeles in 1979.

Working extensively in Spain from 1996, Efrain has recorded and performed with some of the top names in Spain: from Pop (Rosana, Pedro Guerra, Ismael Serrano, Ketama) and Jazz (Guillermo MacGill, Chano Domingues, Javier Colina, Tino Di Geraldo, Pedro Rui Blas) to Flamenco (Eva La Yerbabuena, El Pele, Juan Carlos Romero in La Bienal Del Flamenco in Seville).

A versatile performer, Efrain plays every style from rock & roll to classical. He has played on many film and television scores, commercial jingles, as well as performing and recording with such diverse artists as Stan Getz, George Benson, Los Lobos, Chicago, Kiss, Placido Domingo, John Klemmer and many others.

Efrain has taught at MI's Percussion Institute for over 16 years. Having worked for 6 years as a clinician, product specialist and designer for the Roland Corporation, Efrain is considered an expert in MIDI technology. He has also taught at the California Institute of the Arts and at UCLA Extension Department.

When recently participating in the Percussive Arts Society International Conference, for the eighth time, he promoted and explained his "RHYTHM" theory and his 16 books on the matter.

While living in Cape Town, South Africa (2000 to 2004), Efrain taught at Cape Town University as well as in his own school and also held numerous workshops. In addition to this he has recently completed a series of nine books for beginners, intermediate and advance players, on hand drumming, wood box and drum set technique. Currently in progress are books on theory of native music's of the world.

Recently Efrain taught a semester at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico while playing and recording with the top musicians, and he participated in Gilberto Santarosa's Grammy award wining CD in 2006 and his two new albums in 2007 and 2008. Now on Jose Lugo's GUASABARA latin big band CD and DVD.

His most recent project has been his internet Rhythm Line site at www.rhythmline.org.

Rhythm Line is a father-daughter project. With 40+ years of professional drumming and education having taken him to every corner of the world, Efrain Toro is excited to finally share what he has learned. So he enlisted the talents of his writer/designer daughter, Mimi to create a space where musicians and thinkers, alike can check out his work, talk rhythm and gain access to inventive and invaluable practice guides with the click of a button. Download the ebooks, check out the videos and join them in building Rhythm Line into the core spot for musical education.

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