A bunch of my friends play congas and other percussion instruments (claves, cowbell, etc.), and every once in a while we get together and just sit around and throw back a few beers and jam. Well, Saturday night we all got together, so there were 4 sets of congas, and me on my bass. They like to experiment with some weird beats amongst themselves, so it makes it interesting for me to fit in. But we always have a great time.

Anyone else have any experiences like this?

Yes. A few years ago I had a project with a drummer friend based on Afro-Cuban rhythms, especially rumba [usually 3-2 rumba clave & 'guaguanco' conga pattern]. We jammed with some great percussion players, including a member of one of the famous folkloric Cuban rhumba groups, as well as former Aquarium Rescue Unit [think Oteil Burbridge] percussionist Count M'Butu. It was a blast.

Sounds like great fun. I used to sit and jam with some guys who played in Capoeira with their strange instruments and chanting. It was quite rhythmic and loads of fun! :)

Back when I was a junior in HS the band was waiting at the HS for the Memorial Day parade to start. and a few of us picked up random instruments and just started jamming in a corner. 'twas mightily fun.

In college, we started an afro-cuban ensemble. Learning to groove with no drumset was the most difficult but rewarding thing I have ever done. Especially when playing a Tumbao and never playing on the one.

We switch instruments once in a while (nobody ever wants to play my bass :hmm: ), and my preference is the claves or cowbell when I'm not on the bass. One of the guys was explaining a particular beat and where I should hit it, when all the sudden it came to him and he said "just hit the beat like you're playing claves". We rolled into a 15-20 minute jam after that that was totally awesome. Sometimes we'll record our jam session, if for no other reason than to try to recreate something like it later. I kinda wish we recorder going for this one :hyper: