Meditative Drummers and Wacky Percussionists Refresh with Surprising Similarities

Imagine having a job where you listen to music at least 40 hours a week. For a break, what would you like to do on the weekend? Go to a concert? Well...perhaps not. It’s easy to fathom, why that's not always the best choice for “re-creating” yourself. That’s why I searched for music recreation with a bit of a twist this past week. Want to experience something a little different?

Open your mind to anything having to do with keyboards, and there’s truly a lot to choose from. They're used in countless genres of music, and when you consider the piano is inherently a percussion instrument, it widens the offerings even more. (I actually took this a step further at one point in my career, and studied African hand-drumming to improve my jazz playing.) Ah, another huge blessing, this leeway!

The sheer variety of performances we may be interested in hearing...or, in some cases, “experiencing...” So many fine musicians! These pianists, keyboardists, percussionists: solo classical recitalists, piano/vocalists, collaborative chamber music players, jazz quartet members, cocktail lounge pianists, percussion ensembles, and mute, bald, earless blue men. Blue? Mute and earless? Yup, you read that last one correctly!