Eddie Locke's Drum Solo on "Caravan," Alive! at the Village Gate
for Alexander Long
There's a point somewhere in the middle
of the desert of Locke's drum solo,
say four minutes in, when you realize
you've not only lost track of the melody
but could care less about melody, all song
for that matter, fuck it, that for a while
you have been inhabiting a lengthy sonic lecture
on history -- beginning with the original
Malian rhythms and sticking his way on up
past big band propulsion: looping back
in long loping lines, jump rope skips and large
playground swings through time -- Dali's warped clocks
and the suspended-water cat -- holding back
the All-Star band from its last round of solos,
moving way past decorum, playfully expanding
the repertoire of moves and touches as a way
to say I can play it all, baby, and watch me do it.
Found In Volume 38, No. 03
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