It was a curious and wondrous thing. One night I was in my studio adding some percussion to the "Quiet Rituals" track by Barry van Oudtshoorn, when my 4 young children (with whom I was long over-due to be tucking into bed and reading a bed…

Ok, so I'm just a percussionist, and if your only tool is a hammer, the entire world looks like a nail. I get it. And I also get that our songs are our children, so we should be very careful about whom we let them play with. When I first heard…

Conga improvisation. It could really use some vintage surf-style guitar work... 4/8 180bpm.

Improvisation on congas and very fragile, clay Moroccan bongos (which my brother found for me from an African display at some zoo!). These bongos are basically clay pots with permanent, very thin goat skins stretched over the top - they can not…

For this Mother's Day week, a conga improvisation dedicated to Saint Monica and all the other mothers who surreptitiously provide for and incessantly pray for their children. Thanks Mom! ** this could really use a tasty melody to go with…

Abakua refers to a secret, Afro-Cuban, male society of percussionists - as I understand it, one had to be initiated into this society before they would be taught how to play percussion in their style. One of their hallmarks is to impose what I…

This is one stereo track of 6 conga drums tuned, by ear, to roughly a chromatic scale (I don't know which one - perhaps I've gone micro-tonal!) coupled with a single track of ad-lib quinto (the high drum) and a "shuffle" groove on trap-set…

So, what's "Fly"? This. Bass Cajon; tambourine; congas; cymbals. 4/4 180bpm.

Caveat emptor: I did absolutely none of the drumming in this piece. ANOTHER WORLD PREMIER! FIRST RECORDING OF THIS PATTERN - EVER! My friend Kokou "Alex" Yemey delighted me with another visit this evening. He played "Aju" - all 5 tracks…

This is the very last of the stink recorded in my old studio. A spontaneous improvisation on Congas and Bata drums (dressed ceremonially with bells).