I've been thinking a lot about my ethnic drumming and one question keeps arising, "how important is it to stay 100% true to a particular style?"

In my duo, Algo de Novo, we routinely meld many styles together within one piece, Renaissance lute vs. Cuban mambo patterns for example. What John (the guitarist) is playing and what I'm playing are both authentic, they are not necessarily from the same musical tradition at the same time.

So perhaps a better quesiton would be, "should I blend multiple percussion styles on the same drum, at the same time?" The great virtuoso Glen Velez believes that one should draw from the total body of thythmic knowledge and create something musical, and that includes blending styles. So if it's good enough for Glen, it should be for me, right? It's a tough question, and worth asking, and at present my answer is: yes, blend away! My hope is that practicioners of each style will allow me to dip into their body of knowledge, and use the parts I deem appropriate. After all, what I AM using is authentic, but the combinations may not be. If you hear me play, I'd love to know what YOU think!