Bill Bruford’s Earthworks - Tramontana (Teatro Opera, Buenos Aires, 28th Sept 2002)

Here we have Steve Hamilton on piano, Mark Hodgson on bass, Tim Garland on soprano and myself on drums, in a sweaty version of the Hamilton / Clahar piece ‘Tramontana’. The Tramontana is a sudden and sometimes violent wind that blows up on the Mediterranean sea. The musical material here is well known to all of us, so personally I don’t have to do anything much to get this to roll along, other than possibly stay out of the way. On a good night, like this one, the feeling from the drum stool is that the heavy work has already been done when you begin the performance. All you have to do is perform. All the off-instrument stuff: baggage, personnel, travel, practicing, rehearsals, business, soundchecks, “When’s dinner“ and “Is this being filmed?” – all the stuff you do off-stage, is done and dusted. All that’s left is the on-instrument concert performance, the thing you showed up for, the thing that made you want to be a musician in the first place. After a good gig you can pinch yourself a