Samm Bennett

Samm Bennett (Korg WaveDrum, vibrators and contact mics, Korg ER-1, Alesis AirSynth, Casio VL-Tone, CD player, Bias, bumble ball, can, gong, beepers, effectors and crank-toy with portable karaoke mic). Percussionist Samm Bennett was active on the New York improvised music scene in the '80s and '90s. Later he moved to Tokyo, where he's been involved in multidirectional projects including SKIST (his duo with Haruna Ito) and R.U.B. (his trio with Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Ned Rothenberg). From early on, Bennett has explored the fusion of acoustic and electronic. At the same time, he's employed a variety of materials -- electronic drums like the Korg WaveDrum (his main instrument), household products, toys and so on -- in the creation of a highly original, richly colored sound that subtly combines humor and seriousness. While the playful title suggests that anyone, regardless of talent or experience, can enjoy making music with familiar objects, what this album of 19 tracks (almost all live recordings) makes abundantly clear are Bennett's fine musicianship and excellent taste. Bennett has released quite a few leader and co-leader recordings, but this is only his second solo album to date -- his first since 1984. It's worth the 20-year wait.