Percussive performance

What does Brazilian jazz percussionist Mayuto Correa have to do with

California sea lions? For starters Correa has always had an interest in

protecting wildlife, but more importantly the rhythm sessionist will be

performing at the Huntington Beach Library Theatre on Dec. 9 to raise

funds for a documentary on the California sea lion. He also happens to be

scoring the film.

“California Sea Lions an Unforgettable Encounter” will be the first

documentary to focus solely on the local sea inhabitants. Independent

filmmaker Alan De Herrera has turned his passion for wildlife photography

into an obsession, and hopes the film will convey his feelings.

“I chose Mayuto to do the music, because his music is high energy and

very excitable,” De Herrera said. “I don’t want this to be one of those

boring documentaries that only focuses on information. I want it to be

exciting.”

Correa was an active performer in the Brazilian Samba scene in the

1950s’s and 60s’s, and came to the United States in 1968. Since then he

has played with such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and

Carlos Santana. In addition to playing percussion in the film, he will

also play guitar, keyboard, sax and arrange all the music.

“I was always a big fan of Mayuto since I am a percussion player

myself,” De Herrera said. “I saw him play last year at the Los Angeles

Jazz Festival and I approached him about the film and he was into it.”

The ideal budget for the film is $62,000 and De Herrera hopes the

Huntington Beach concert will raise a significant amount of money. Thus

far 170 of the 320 total tickets have been sold.

De Herrera’s interest in making a documentary on sea lions stems from

a rather unlikely muse. While shooting some footage on a fishing boat in

San Pedro for an independent narrative film he wrote, he ended up talking

to some fisherman about the animals and the plight they endure. Sea lions

often are the victims of fisherman by either getting caught up in their

nets or by overfishing.

“Once my interest was piqued and I got the idea to do the film, I

started writing to all these organizations in hopes of getting grants,”

De Herrera said.

The film has been endorsed by Marine Mammal Center/Sausalito, Friends

of The Sea Lion MMC, Aquarium of the Pacific, American Oceans Campaign,

Sierra Club/Angeles Chapter, Surfrider Foundation and Seaworld/San Diego.

The shooting is going to take about eight months and cover territory from

San Francisco to Baja California.

“We’re going to take our time with this shoot so that we can really

get a feel for the sea lions,” De Herrera said. “I want to catch them as

naturally candid as possible.”

De Herrera is going to shoot the film on a Cannon digital video

camera. He also plans on editing during the shooting process, which will

allow Correa more time to work on his musical compositions.

After the film is complete the goal is to go to film festivals. There

is already a distributor that has shown some interest.

“It would be great to get the chance to see this film on the Discovery

Channel or something like that,” De Herrera said. “Hopefully events like

the concert will help us raise enough money to make this an easy going

experience.”

Shooting is supposed to begin in February. After this film De Herrera

is planning a documentary on the tropical rain forest.

FYI

WHAT: Mayuto & Samba Pack

WHEN: 5 p.m., Dec. 9

WHERE: Huntington Beach Library Theatre 7111 Talbert Ave.

COST: $25, $20 for children, students and seniors; $30 at the door

INFORMATION: (714) 401-8610* PAUL SAITOWITZ is a news editor. He can

be reached at (949) 574-4295 or by e-mail at paul.saitowitz@latimes.com.