Gerhart-Tribute (2S)-P

Tribute - Dave Gerhart

Tribute, a three-movement work for any six drums for two players, was written as a "tribute" to three influences on my musical career. I wrote Tribadacious as a homage to one of my teachers, Brad Dutz, and his composition Ewe Day. The syncopated rhythms and different tone colors (rim, dead strokes, drum shell and open tones) are all inspired by the African drumming from the Ewe tribe (Ghana). Tribute is a homage to Steve Reich and the minimalist musical movement. The ostinato figures and additive processes are reminiscent of Reich's compositional style. The third movement, Djunute, is a homage to the Djembe music of the Ivory Coast. This fast, aggressive movement uses repeated rhythmic interlocking figures and soloistic phrases invoking the spirit of the music from Guinea and Mali.