Hard Time, Soft Time

There had been a bad few days and suddenly there was a very good one.

My offer to help my drumming mentor, the great John Marshall, with his gear at a Soft Machine rehearsal meant that I ended up sitting in a studio with John playing drums to my left, and John Etheridge playing guitar and Theo Travis playing sax to my right. And straight across from me was the formidable bass of Roy Babbington.

I've seen the Softs live many times, but sitting in the midst of them, and particularly getting that bass right up in the mix and in my face was a rare treat. And the playing of all four musicians was particularly uplifting and bordering on the spiritual – for me, at least, because I had had two days of stress and misery (not worth going into the details here).

Music really does have the power to heal, particularly when played by masters of their craft at this high level. 

If you're going to the Softs' upcoming gigs in the UK, you are in for something very special.

John Marshall (top right) and Roy Babbington (bottom right)

Boxing Clever

Sunday 9 April 2017

I've long been fascinated by cajons – which seem to be little more than expensive wooden boxes. But I've never thought you could do that much with them in terms of rivalling a drum kit.

I had to think again after seeing percussionist Demi Garcia playing cajon with flamenco guitar whizz Ramon Ruiz at the excellent gipsy jazz venue Le Quecumbar in London.

Demi is simply a drumming genius and he not only played full on and in perfect unison with Ruiz's guitar improvisation and the footsteps of dancer Araceli Garcia but he also never played one unnecessary stroke.

On top of this he is totally modest – which makes him even more endearing. When Ruiz asked him to tell the audience something about himself, he said: 'My name is Demi – that's it.' His drumming told everything else.