I wanna thank Frank for wielding his uniquely brilliant compositional pen to make this tribute to klezmer drumming, and a feature for me. We both were deeply influenced by the late great Elaine Hoffman Watts and I was thinking of her drumming greatness when we recorded this. The arrangement gives a nod to the old timbaleros and Afro Cuban percussion duels, which makes me smile every time I hear it.
RICHIE:
This is in the spirit of James Brown’s “Give the drummer some!”, and is directly modeled on Tito Puente’s hit, “Para Los Rumberos”. Richie is a fabulous drummer who can play anything. We are constantly interested in how to keep the traditional klezmer rhythms and move beyond them. His drumming is the heart of this song, and of the band.