Herlin Riley
Drums Solo on
Cherokee

About

Herlin Riley contributes two choruses on drums, the second of 3 solos on the recording. Taken at a breakneck swing tempo of 328 BPM over the 64-bar AABA in B♭, the improvisation demands exceptional technical command and quick melodic thinking. Herlin Riley follows with two choruses of drums, his solo reflecting the New Orleans rhythmic sophistication that he brings to every performance, with polyrhythmic layering and dynamic control that maintain musical interest throughout. Recorded for the album Standards Only in 2001, the performance captures Herlin Riley at 43 to 44 years old. Ray Noble composed Cherokee in 1938 as the first movement of his Indian Suite, a five-movement orchestral work that also included Comanche War Dance, Iroquois, Seminole, and Sioux Sue.

Herlin Riley was 43 to 44 years old at the time.