Boomer guests on another CD !

Just picked up yet another CD with Boomer on drums. It's by Chaouki Smahi and is entitled La Rose du Sable - thinking of you

It was recorded in Germany in Jan. of 2009 so you can see sometimes how long it takes for things to get put out, for various reasons. the CD also features the late Charlie Mariano on alto sax, Chaouki on Oud and violin, Heiri Kanzig on contra Bass, Mike Herting on keys, Bobby Stern on tenor sax, Paul Shigihara on electric guitar and Yahis Smahi on Darabouka and percussion.

I have to say I enjoyed it upon first listen . There is an interesting mesh of musical styles here with an underlying arabic flavor to the pieces with Chaouki and his brother both being Algerians . there are 10 compostions on the album with one being from Billy, a solo entitled Percussion Sketch.

One thing that stood out to me was Boomer's snare sound on this album - very dry , almost like he had a towel on the head though not quite that dampened. I feel that was consciously done in order to blend with the other percussion on the record, which it did very well. Just another example of how Billy can fit his artistry into any situation that presents itself, yet still retain his identity. I wonder if he used a special snare for this occasion, so Boomer if you're reading this, please let us know !

I purchased the album from Chouki's website, and it seems to be a private pressing though it says GEMA on the CD, but there are no catalog numbers with it. He also included a handwritten note which read "with best regards from Chaouki " which I felt was a nice touch !

So thank you Boomer for once again adding to your diversity of styles and surprising me yet again with something totally unexpected. To me, you are just about the only one who can call himself a "World Artist" because you truly do play world music, breaking down barriers and merging all styles to fit with your own.




Peace, TED

Thanks Ted!
Billy talked about this cd in "jazz inside", i'll order it on Chaouki's site as you did it,thanks for sharing,peace,Stef

How long is the Track
which Bill Cobham is playing on?

___________________________

Outtasight
Colin.

Colin he plays on the whole album. It's a bit over an hour.





Peace, TED

Ted:
The snare drum is one that you can see and hear in the short video that shows me with the band at a percussion festival in France. It has 3 snare throw-offs. For this recording I used the gut and wire snare combination on this recording because the shell is a heavy exotic wood shell akin to Mesquite. The studio was a highly dampened room and closely anechoic in nature. It seemed to absorb everything. I felt as if I were playing on a Steely Dan record, kind of, where the drums are very dry in personality. Then, it was all about find a meeting point in which to work with the percussionist so that the character of his instrument could reflect his thought stream without impediment: a learning experience.

Coolness, Boomer!

I have to get this one, too!

Good to see you.


Regards,

Thanks for the reply and information Boomer ! So you were kind of in a situation where the drum sound you normally use was changed because of the room itself ? I did feel that you were sounding that way in order to blend with the percussion on the tunes , and you pulled it off .

How difficult, or is it difficult, to compromise your sound in order to get the project accomplished ? I realize you're being hired to do the gig but when an artist of your stature is hired the contractor is also expecting to get what you bring to the table - your musical expertise along with your sound and personality. I think there's a great lesson here on how sometimes we have to adapt what we do to fit the situation, and that doesn't change, even for an artist on your level.


I've always liked it when you play with a percussionist or percussion ensembles. And you've played with many from Airto to Mongo , Ray Barretto, Nippy Noya, Sa Davis, Okuta, Odwalla , Asere to Junior Gill, and others. They seem to bring out dimensions in your performance that further enhance what you create. Just another reason why I like this CD.


Can't wait to see where you'll end up next ! LOL !


Peace, TED

Ted:
I play the hand that's dealt me. By that I mean that I perform in the way that I hear the music coming through the speakers. Then I leave and the 'producer (hopefully there is only one producer as two or more tend to dilute the concept of the production) and engineer' to interpret what I have done in the way they see fit and deem to be musically effective for the overall production. If it's my record I ask for more air around the drum sound. It wasn't my record....................... When I perform with another percussionist I automatically try to marry-up and function as a team player. This means accepting what I get from my musical partner and responding with information in kind. That is what playing musically in a band is all about, in my opinion.
Boomer

thanks Boomer !




Peace, TED