chinese traditional rhythmic singing/talking

[Pravit]

My father was watching an old Chinese singing movie the other day(he understands nothing but loves watching them anyway ) and I noticed an interesting part where the performer stopped singing and started rhythmically talking, using hand clackers to set the beat. It almost sounded like a kind of "rap" I also noticed this while listening to some other Chinese singers. What exactly is this called? Does anyone have a link to a site where I could hear more of it? Actually, it'd be nice if someone knew a site with a lot of Chinese music in general. I don't know if all the music in those old movies is classified as "traditional" or not, but I like that sort of music; alas, I'm not too big a fan of modern Chinese pop.

[skylee]

快板 (kuai4 ban3)

You can find some samples here -> http://www.youle.org/kuaiban/Article_Class.asp?ClassID=3

And this video is quite interesting ->

http://www.gzpf.gov.cn/tp/vedioList-2004-01.php

[confucius]

I performed kuai ban at the foreign student talent show in 1986 when I was at Peking University.

It is particularly popular in Shandong province, where I found several old practitioners in Jinan who were eager to pass on their knowledge to any interested party.

If you ever visit China then you should make a pilgrimage to Shandong, the cradle of kuai ban tradition.

[Pravit]

Thanks! About that site, I'm having trouble finding the sound files - it looks like a page with a lot of links to other pages. I can't really read Chinese yet, so I'm kind of walking around blind...could you point me to one of the sound files?

Is kuaiban improvised, or are there songs that are passed on from older singers?