If a drummer (or a goalie) does something that's just a little off, people will shrug and say, well he or she is the drummer, and somehow that is considered an adequate explanation for everything from afternoon naps to seeing how high a television set will bounce when chucked from a fourteenth floor hotel room window. It's rare for a goalie, in soccer especially, to obtain the status or stardom of their team mates on the front lines; the glamour after all comes from scoring goals not in stopping them. The same holds true for drummers, and aside from the occasional solo that's tossed their way during a live gig, the majority toil away in relative anonymity while the lead singer and guitar players attract all the attention.
Of course there have been exceptions over the years both in sports and in music, as occasionally goalies - more often in hockey on this continent than soccer - and drummers will step out of the shadows and into the limelight. Those that do are either possessed of a talent so singular that's it impossible to ignore or through sheer force of personality forge an indelible impression on all who observe them. There are also those very rare individuals whose combination of talent and charisma ensure that they not only get their share of the spotlight, but they are also considered leading lights of their profession.
In the world of music they are usually the drummers who have been willing to serve their time playing in bands supporting others as a time of apprenticeship before they start carving out their own niche. Steve Reid began his professional career behind the drum kit at the age of nineteen when, as part of Quincy Jones' house band at The Apollo Theatre in Harlem New York, he appeared on his first recording, Martha & the Vandellas' 1964 hit "Dancing In The Streets" for Motown Records. At the time he was working his way through collage playing jazz gigs six days a week, and graduated in 1965 with a B.A.
After graduation, Steve followed in the footsteps of the man he refers to as his first inspiration, Art Blakey, and travelled to Africa. For three years he continued his apprenticeship in music, travelling around West Africa performing and learning from musicians in Ghana, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal, the Congo, and Egypt. The seventy-five dollars he paid as his passage aboard a tramp steamer carrying diesel engines across the Atlantic Ocean not only carried him back to what Blakey referred to as "the root" of their music, but into a world of new found freedoms for black people as many of the countries he visited were gaining their independence from former colonial masters.
Unfortunately for Steve, returning to the States saw him lose his freedom, as the FBI busted him for being a draft dodger and he was sentenced to four years in jail. Upon his release he chose self-imposed exile and moved to Europe where he now calls Lugano, Switzerland home. Needless to say, after having had his taken away from him for refusing to fight in a war he didn't believe in, freedom in all shapes and sizes has become central to his being.
Listening to his newest release, Daxaar, traditional name of the Senegalese capital Dakar, where the disc was recorded on the Domino label, it's hard not to notice how that commitment to freedom is expressed in the music. Steve and long time collaborator, electronic music whiz Kieran Hebden were accompanied by keyboardist Boris Netsvetaev on the trip to Africa. Once there, they joined forces with five African players; Khadim Badji percussion, Dembel Diop bass, Roger Ongolo trumpet, and Jimi Mbaye guitar.
By: Richard Marcus
