So a couple of weeks ago I bought a new instrument, a Cajon! (I feel it always needs to have an exclamation point after it, but for the sake of your sanity, I will stop it now). Essentially it is a box. A wooden box. Now those of you with some inkling will realize that the word Cajon! (sorry) is Spanish. Now just to ensure that no offense is taken, Cajon means box or crate, and is not slang for male testicles. If you are looking for that other word, it is Cojones, a subtle but important difference.
The cajon originated in Peru as African slaves were forbidden to own musical instruments, thus they used empty crates to form the basis of their rhythm sections. Use of the Cajon quickly spread to many other parts of Latin America (notably Cuba), before becoming something of a focal point in jazz and Spanish influenced music in North American and Europe.
I noticed the trend towards the Cajon a couple of years ago when I caught a jazz trio using one in Ottawa. It was then that my desire to get one began. The reason for the recent purchase (and at 50 quid it was a steal) was that I needed something to provide a basic groove to my recordings, and not being a drummer, I needed something that wouldn't take too long to figure out. To master the cajon will take years of practice, but I've managed to get it to do what I want it to do, and it records beautifully.
Here's a picture. Long live the crate!
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