Just a note to tell you he was Jeff Beck’s drummer last night.

Rhonda Smith played bass with Prince, as well as Beyonce and Justin Timberlake.  And Jason Rebello has played keyboards with Sting and Chaka Khan.  And all three were incredible, but I want to focus on Mr. Walden.  Whom I remembered as being announced for this tour, but didn’t recognize on sight.

But you don’t have to recognize a player to realize he’s great.  Don’t confuse fame with talent.  We’ve been doing that for far too long.  The machine tells us to follow someone, we go to the gig and applaud, and ultimately we forget them.  They’re creatures of the media more than music.  Then there are others who never get the big push, but manage to eke out careers, sometimes quite successfully, and when you’re exposed to them, you’re wowed.

I could reel off some of Mr. Walden’s credits.  I could send you to his Wikipedia page.  But that’s not the point.  Watching him last night I was mesmerized not only by his power, but his fills, how he turned his kit into a musical instrument.  He just wasn’t banging, he just wasn’t performing, he was making music!  Tying down the bottom with Ms. Pierce.  And bottom doesn’t have to be plodding.  These guys were dancing all around down there.  Still, they provided a foundation.

Used to be we revered people for their musicianship.

Then we applauded them for their dancing.  And now it’s about the production, the show.  But it’s talent that ultimately survives.  And that requires dedication and practice. 10,000 hours alone in your room working it out on your instrument as opposed to playing the keyboard on your computer, spreading the word how great you are.

This guy was not the main attraction.  He was support, although he did more than that on stage, he was a vibrant member of the ensemble.  But I’m telling you about him because he was so damn good!  The way he held the cymbals and hit them, the way he rat-a-tatted on the drums in a way that energized me, made me pay attention, drew me in and kept me there.

This is the future of music.  Not a scrim between audience and performer, keeping each separate, but a transmission from player to listener, a bonding.  Which happens mostly live these days, since recordings are so manipulated.  And when you experience it you tell everyone you know, because you want to share the joy, you want to turn them on to something so great.  And you never forget it.  That’s what great music, great playing is…indelible.