Experimental Percussionist Blends Afro-Cuban Rhythms in Captivating Solo Album

In the past two years, experimental percussionist Joe Westerlund has been on a creative journey, releasing a series of captivating solo albums that showcase his evolving sound. Back in 2020, Westerlund released his debut solo effort, "Reveries in the Rift," which featured meditative polyrhythms and a focus on bells and gongs. This was followed by "Elegies for the Drift" in 2023, which shaped his improvisations into more complete compositions, drawing inspiration from Westerlund's study of the thumb piano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Now, Westerlund's latest release, "Curiosities From the Shift," builds upon this strong foundation, continuing a trajectory in which each album has been distinct from and better than the last. At the heart of this new work is Westerlund's embrace of the clave, the syncopated rhythm pattern that gives Afro-Cuban styles like salsa and rumba their globally recognized feel. While Westerlund may not have innovated on the clave, he soulfully inhabits it as a pure shape, using its strict grammar to create an illusion of thrilling unsettledness that he then expands upon with his patient, detailed sound.