Music Delivery/Percussion is a solo album by legendary drummer and percussionist Andrew Cyrille. The 11 tracks were recorded on January 17 and 18, 2022, at Sound on Sound Recording, in Montclair, New Jersey, in the United States, and the album was released on January 20, 2023, by Intakt Records.

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Strangely enough, considering Andrew Cyrille’s massive discography, he had up until now released only two solo albums in his entire carrier:

• What About? (BYG Records) in 1969
• The Loop (ICTUS Records) in 1978

So, a new solo release by Andrew Cyrille is certainly quite an event!

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“I wanted to have a variety of percussion instruments in the compositions. So I was thinking of melodies that could be played with tambourines, bells, cymbals, crotales, gongs, and mallets.”
–Andrew Cyrille

As described above, Andrew Cyrille conceived an interesting framework; for each track, he focuses on a limited scope of the drums and percussions, as well as how he strikes them.

Precisely, the 11 tracks are:

1. “Thruway”: Trap drum set, and cymbals played with sticks.
2. “Bernard Albert Wilkinson”: Trap drum set, and cymbals played with sticks.
3. “La Ibkey (Don’t Cry)”: Trap drum set played with hands.
4. “Metallic Resonance”: Assorted cymbals and crotales improvised with knitting needles and various metallic percussion instruments.
5. “Jumping in the Sugar Bowl”: Trap drum set, and cymbals played with sticks.
6. “Water Water Water”: Trap drum set, and cowbell played with sticks.
7. “Cowbell Ecstasy”: Assorted cowbells played with sticks.
8. “Enter from the East”: Trap drum set played with mallets.
9. “Tambourine Cocktail”: Assorted tambourines played against each other.
10. “Threading A Needle”: Trap drum set played with brushes.
11. “For Girls Dancing”: Trap drum set played with sticks.

At first, it might sound restrictive, but once you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Imagine that you are among the best at playing your instrument. You have even defined it and broadened its horizons over the years. You have absolutely nothing to prove any longer. How would you attack a new solo recording? You would have to limit and challenge yourself to increase your focus and creativity.

Still, even the impossible rhythms in this impossible arrangement seem to come so easily to Cyrille.

The framework of the tracks and the incredible layers of rhythms played by Andrew Cyrille makes Music Delivery/Percussion a must-listen for all drum lovers, but he excels at playing each rhythm and makes the impossible look so simple that it is also must-listen for all music lovers in general.

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Music Delivery / Percussion – Info

Tracklist
1. Thruway (03:07); 2. Bernard Albert Wilkinson (04:56); 3. La Ibkey (Don’t Cry) (03:01); 4. Metallic Resonance (05:36); 5. Jumping In The Sugar Bowl (05:47); 6. Water Water Water (02:46); 7. Cowbell Ecstasy (03:32); 8. Enter From The East (02:58); 9. Tambourine Cocktail (03:08); 10. Threading A Needle (02:58); 11. For Girls Dancing (05:25)

Andrew Cyrille: drums, percussion

Music Delivery / Percussion was released on January 20, 2023 // Intakt Records CD 385.

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