The Congo Square Drum, Part II
Jazz was born in Congo Square. In New Orleans, slaves were allowed to bring their drums and other instruments to Congo Square, directly across the street from the French Quarter, on Sundays to congregate and make music. Creole musicians would often attend these sessions and offered their European pedagogy, and the combination resulted in very early examples of Jazz music.
This 5x14 custom handcrafted snare drum is a perfect example of New Orleans meeting Africa. It’s a combination of hard Wenge from, you guessed it, the Congo, and Louisiana Cypress found near the bayous of New Orleans. I built this one with extra staves of Cypress underneath the throw off and butt plate, to differentiate it from the original Congo Square Drum and to add a bit of cool asymmetry to the drum. I topped it off with a crystal clear, glossy, glassy, pricey, pretty, durable polyester clear coat. This custom snare drum has single 45 degree bearing edges, and:
a 0.64” thick stave shell
handmade brass lugs
brass diecast hoops and tension rods
Puresound Custom Pro brass 24 strand snare wires
DW gold finish Mag throw off and butt plate
Matching air vent grommet
Remo heads
***This drum was built for a customer, but I can recreate it for you or build it according to your own specs
Jazz was born in Congo Square. In New Orleans, slaves were allowed to bring their drums and other instruments to Congo Square, directly across the street from the French Quarter, on Sundays to congregate and make music. Creole musicians would often attend these sessions and offered their European pedagogy, and the combination resulted in very early examples of Jazz music.
This 5x14 custom handcrafted snare drum is a perfect example of New Orleans meeting Africa. It’s a combination of hard Wenge from, you guessed it, the Congo, and Louisiana Cypress found near the bayous of New Orleans. I built this one with extra staves of Cypress underneath the throw off and butt plate, to differentiate it from the original Congo Square Drum and to add a bit of cool asymmetry to the drum. I topped it off with a crystal clear, glossy, glassy, pricey, pretty, durable polyester clear coat. This custom snare drum has single 45 degree bearing edges, and:
a 0.64” thick stave shell
handmade brass lugs
brass diecast hoops and tension rods
Puresound Custom Pro brass 24 strand snare wires
DW gold finish Mag throw off and butt plate
Matching air vent grommet
Remo heads
***This drum was built for a customer, but I can recreate it for you or build it according to your own specs
Jazz was born in Congo Square. In New Orleans, slaves were allowed to bring their drums and other instruments to Congo Square, directly across the street from the French Quarter, on Sundays to congregate and make music. Creole musicians would often attend these sessions and offered their European pedagogy, and the combination resulted in very early examples of Jazz music.
This 5x14 custom handcrafted snare drum is a perfect example of New Orleans meeting Africa. It’s a combination of hard Wenge from, you guessed it, the Congo, and Louisiana Cypress found near the bayous of New Orleans. I built this one with extra staves of Cypress underneath the throw off and butt plate, to differentiate it from the original Congo Square Drum and to add a bit of cool asymmetry to the drum. I topped it off with a crystal clear, glossy, glassy, pricey, pretty, durable polyester clear coat. This custom snare drum has single 45 degree bearing edges, and:
a 0.64” thick stave shell
handmade brass lugs
brass diecast hoops and tension rods
Puresound Custom Pro brass 24 strand snare wires
DW gold finish Mag throw off and butt plate
Matching air vent grommet
Remo heads
***This drum was built for a customer, but I can recreate it for you or build it according to your own specs