In Central Park, near the Bandshell (at 72nd Street), African drummers meet regularly on weekend afternoons. I worked my way through the dense crowd around them to get to the front, where there were also dancers inspired by the drummers – the energy and spirit was amazing.

Percussion is a visceral experience, so to really appreciate it, you need to hear it live and close up for full immersion. If you visit Central Park, I highly recommend it. In the meantime, you can make do with the video. Like many things in NYC, one finds a concentration and distillation of authentic talent in this gathering of drummers…