I love drums. I love any kind of percussion instrument — the drum set, congas, djembes, talking drums, tympanies, bongos, taikos . . . my desk.
If I can tap it, I like it.
I have a few percussion instruments at home. I've got a set, a djembe and some bongos. I'm aiming for some congas and Japanese taikos, but those will have to wait; maybe after next year's tax returns.
Anyway, I recently received a CD that will send percussion fans into a frenzy: "A Coat of Many Colors" by the World Drummers Ensemble and released on Summerfold Records.
Not surprisingly, the record company is drummer Bill Bruford's record label. And for those who know classic progressive rock, Bruford was the original drummer for Yes, a one-time member of King Crimson and the current drummer for Earthworks.
This album, recorded live in Amsterdam and Brussels, features Bruford and his fellow percussionists — session extraordinaire Chad Wackerman, Latin jazz great Luis Conte and African griot (storyteller, percussionist) Doudou N'Diaye Rose.
The 10 tracks range from jazz-inspired festivities to world-music extravaganzas. You can put this one on and have a tribal celebration in your living room.
The mixes are balanced. The drumming is precise to the point of free, which brings in an element of surprise, unpredictability and kinteticism.
The eight tracks on the CD side of this DualDisc release, including other originals works written by Pierre Favre ("Prism") and Max Roach ("Self Portrait"), are repeated on the DVD side, which was recorded in Amsterdam and boasts a couple of additional tracks: a reworking of King Crimson's "B'Boom" and Conte's "Encuentro."
The DVD side is well-filmed and shows these percussion giants at their best and in the zone.
There's something mesmerizing about the constant rhythms. And while watching the DVD the viewer/listener will be swept away in the trance-inducing performances.
If you like drums, you will love this album. If you are a casual fan, you will appreciate the effort and joy of these four rhythm-makers as they use a form of musical telepathy during the works to shift beats and styles.
I wonder what would have happened if some professional taiko players had joined the throng.
E-mail: scott@desnews.com