Titoro

Billy Taylor, one of the most important post-swing jazz musicians who shaped the development of Haitian music in the 1950s, wrote "Titoro" for Haitian drummer Ti Roro. The song's melody almost sounds like a certain famous bossa nova tune, but it predates the song by a few years. While not using the tanbou or anything like that, Ed Thigpen manages to make the drumset come alive like Ti Roro. It almost sounds like hand percussion with the shifting tonality of Ti Roro. Clearly, Max Roach was not the only jazz musician who was influenced by the legendary Haitian drummer. Tito Puente also recorded the song, if you want to hear another version.