As I had nothing better to do last night, I had this great idea that I would construct a rhythm for the 24 hour challenge. This would be different: a 24 minute drum solo (I mean, who wouldn't love that?). I even had a perfect bass riff: the "Mother…

Stealin' Pumpkins off the vine... Such good fun I do it all the time. Single Gon Bops conga track miced for heavy bass. And 2 tracks of cow bell, of course. 4/4 200bpm

A Gon Bops conga improvisation with a cross-over rhythm. No tan lines. 4/4 200bpm.

My Gon-Bops congas getting to know my new space. 180bpm. Gated & Phased. As in phased-out.

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).

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…

As chance had it, I found myself in an acoustically great room, full of cajons! Well, they were unfinished cabinets actually, but they had lovely tones. Since this is the stuff dreams are made of, I had no choice but to seize the opportunity and…

Caveat emptor: I did absolutely none of the drumming in this piece. WORLD PREMIER! FIRST RECORDING OF THIS PATTERN - EVER! My friend Kokou "Alex" Yemey called me a few days ago with some urgency in his voice: "I must record this before…

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

Rumba Columbia is a traditional Cuban pattern in 6: the "go-to" pattern for 12/8 - if you have only heard one Afro-Cuban rhythm in 12/8, this is probably it. As an energetic Afro-Cuban dance, Rumba was often suppressed and restricted because it…

This is a 3/16 Bembe on tuned congas, played with mallets. I've arranged it (at the very kind suggestion of Vaisvil & ReefWalker) in a verse/chorus/bridge/capo fashion to get away from a straight pattern - I think this sort of arrangement…

If you have the fever and the only cure is more tambourine, here it is. MORE TAMBOURINE SOLOS!! (But you should probably wait until you have the house to yourself...)

While I'm certain there are those who may be growing weary of scratching, I couldn't resist posting this great mix by Alister Flint, who is truly a master mixologist extraordinaire - he didn't even have individual tracks to work with! Al was too…

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…

You're just kidding yourself if you thought I could resist the chance to add a bit of percussion to this wonderful song by Osckilo & Launched. I used Paiste Sound Discs to create a 3vs.4 polyrhythm against the delightful underlying 4/4 Spanish…

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…

CROSS-OVER POLYRHYTHMS This is actually a type of enharmonic polymeter, where 2 rhythms with **different meters** (i.e., a different numbers of beats/measure) are played at the **same tempo**: the measures do not line up each time. These rhythms…

Wanna go for a ride? Hop on in! (Many thanks to JQScutt for his excellent guitar work!) Lyrics: Charlie Ryan & W. S. Stevenson Guitar: jqscutt Percussion & Vocals: Norm Lyrics: Have you heard this story of the Hot Rod Race…

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…

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…