Hi Mark,
I'm fine, basically. Getting older. I have been doing some pretty static, vertical stuff recently, like restoring another Slingerland drum set, getting nice bags and cases for some of my drums, and re-designing my web site at
www.jazzpercussion.de . With all these different browser formats, like smartphones etc, web design has definitely reached a point of being impossible for non-professionals. Took me like 4 weeks to get it done.
No I'm not on facebook. I have never been one to immediately embrace anything new that is thrown at me. There are certain things about fb that I find disgusting. But I sense the consequences; I feel there is some exchange of information going on that escapes me. There was a workshop of Kiko Freitas that I went to see, and I was the only one there because everybody else had been informed via facebook that the location was changed. Well, I got my phone, I got e-mail, and I have my web page, and after all I have a physical mailbox at my door; so that should be enough for anyone who
really wants to get in touch with me.
I would love to come to New York again, and when I come, I will definitely let you know. However, I haven't planned anything yet. The thing is, although I am a European at heart, in an artistic sense I feel more at home in America. I virtually spent my whole life with and for (Afro-)American music, northern as southern (Latin). But it's also the dedication, the artistic seriosity and responsibility of the individual that I am missing here. Some people have it, but that's a minority.
I knew the photo of Zildjian, Jo Jones and Al Mercury, but I never heard any recording of the latter. I don't know with whom he played.
It's true, I love vintage instruments, but I don't want this to become too central. It might also become an expensive affair. And in Germany, Vergaras or Requenas just don't show up. I would say, they don't exist (here). I have my 70's Gon Bops that I have been playing exclusively in the last two years, and that's as far as I can look. But I still remember the finest conga drum - to me - that I ever put my hands on, was in a Cuban set that traveled with the Conjunto Rumbavana in 1981 in Scandinavia. I will never forget the touch and the sound of that drum. It may have been a plain SONOC.
Thanks for sharing the photos -
Thomas
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 4:50 am