Jamie Papish World Percussionist

Frame Drum

A drum with a round frame and animal skin indigenous to many cultures of the Middle East and Asia. Played with fingers and held with the skin facing away from you. Produces a deep warm tone in the middle and sharper tones when played on the edges.

Doyre

From Central Asia is a frame drum with rings on the inside which jingle as you play it.

Moroccan Bongos

Creamic Bongos made in Morocco that produce a low and high pitch.

Ashiko

is a straight-sided drum; indigenous to the Yoruba people of Central Africa

Bendir

From Morocco. A frame drum with goat skin and 3 strings on the inside to produce a buzzing (snare) effect. Played with hands and fingers.

Daf

From Kurdistan. A large frame drum with rings on the inside. This drum has a deep powerful voice with the rings giving a reverb and swooshing effect. The rings can also be used to create grace notes and polyrhythms.

Udu

From Africa. A clay pot drum with sound holes on top and on the side. Played with hands and fingers. Striking the sound holes with the palm of the hand produces a bending sound.

Davul

From Turkey. A 2 headed drum typically played hanging on ones shoulders outdoors with a large mallet on one side and a thin stick on the other side. The mallet produces a loud deep resonant tone while the stick produces a loud high pitched sharp tone.

Dohola

From Turkey. A large dumbek with a metal body and plastic head. Produces a deeper tone than a dumbek. Has a sharp edge that can be snapped to produce a higher pitched sharp sound.

Riqq

A tambourine from the Middle East. Has 5 pairs of cymbals and a fish skin head. Produces many different sounds using your fingers on the cymbals in combination with the middle and edges of the skin. Played held up with the skin pointing outward.

Dumbek

(Darabuka, Tablah, Durbekke)

From the Middle East. A goblet drum with a cast metal body and a plastic head. Produces a crisp clear tone with a sharp attack. Played in your lap.

Tombak (Zarb)

From Iran. A goblet drum with a wood body and goat skin head. Has a deep rich tone. Played in your lap using light fingers and snaps.

Cajon

From Peru. A box with a light panel slightly separated from body in front and sound hole in back. Used extensively in Flamenco music and Black Peruvian music. Played while sitting on the top. The middle of drum produces a deeper sound while the edges produce a higher snappy sound.

(Roll the mouse over each drum to read a description of the instrument)

ABOUT JAMIE

In a relatively short period of time, Jamie has made a name for himself in the Los Angeles World Music Scene as a passionate percussionist of Middle Eastern styles. He maintains a hectic performance and recording schedule as a member of the critically acclaimed Yuval Ron Ensemble as well as with MESTO, The Stefani Valadez Ensemble, Extreme Klezmer Makeover, The Nashuva Band and Suzanne Teng’s Mystic Journey to name a few. Jamie has performed at such notable venues as the Ford Amphitheatre, the Skirball Cultural Center, the Getty Museum, the Hammer Museum, UCLA’s Fowler Museum, The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Cal Tech , Occidental College, Boston College, Brandeis University, Brandeis Bardin Institute, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Johns Hopkins University, The Islamic Center or Los Angeles and USC and has performed at international festivals in Poland, South Korea, Israel and Mexico. Jamie’s playing can be found on a Yuval Ron’s ‘Under the Olive Tree’ and ‘Tree of Life’; MESTO’s ‘The Crecent’; Extreme Klezmer Makeover’s ‘Under Construction’; Sequoia Groove’s ‘Holel Tara’, Movies: ‘How To Go Out on a Date in Queens’ and ‘West Bank Story’, and television show ‘Sleeper Cell’.