Welcome to Kotz ToneCajon. I've been building custom cajon drums & marimbulas since 1997.
Cajones are wooden box drums that originated in Peru and Cuba when African slaves forbidden to play their native drums improvised rhythms on fruit packing boxes, cod shipping crates, dresser drawers and whatever else was available.
From the beginning, my goal has been to develop an instrument with a broad range of tones, hence the name "ToneCajon".
It's surprising to hear how drum like they sound; particularly as they don't have skin heads like traditional drums. One of the most rewarding aspects of designing and building custom instruments is to hear the incredible music that different players create with them.
What began as a hobby has grown into an opportunity to work with some of the world's finest musicians. A sampling of the percussionists I've been fortunate to work with include:
Rafael Padilla & Ebenezer DaSilva - played cajones on the Grammy's with Alejandro Sanz & Destiny's Child.
Leon Mobley - tours the world with Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals and amazes fans with his cajon solo on their classic, "Steal My Kisses."
Taku Hirano & Mick Fleetwood - used them on the Fleetwood Mac tour where the cajones were featured at the front of the stage with both of them playing them during "Red Rover." Taku also played a Kotz Wedge cajon with Slap Pads on the recent Lindsey Buckingham tour. An amazing player, Taku used the cajon & assorted percussion to cover both the drum set and percussion parts. If you missed the tour, check out the PBS Soundstage Lindsey Buckingham DVD.
Lenny Castro used one on the "Goddess in the Doorway" session with Mick Jagger.
Chris Johnson played one on the Anastacia World Tour during an "unplugged" section. Mike Bennett recorded sample tracks for Roland on a ToneCajon. Michael Longoria used one on a session for a Del Taco commercial!
I've built cajons for: Alberto Salas (Santana Supernatural), David Leach (Ben Harper), Tico Torres (Bon Jovi), Debra Dobkin (Bonnie Raitt), Jenna Elfman, Los Lobos, Tom Waits, and Poncho Sanchez.
Walfredo Reyes Jr. played a Kotz Wedge Cajon with Slap Pads on the recent Lindsey Buckingham tour.
Marimbulas are essentially bass versions of kalimbas or mbiras (thumb pianos). They're often referred to as the Caribbean Bass or Rumba Box in Jamaica. They were used in place of the upright bass in Cuban and Puerto Rican music. In Puerto Rico they're called Marimbolas.
Wil-Dog of Ozomatli has one with an internally mounted pickup that he played on "Embrace the Chaos" as well as on Los Super Seven's CD "Canto" and the soundtrack for "The Price of Glory". Lately he's been incorportating it on Hip Hop tracks as well.
Michael Kotzen
www.ToneCajon.com
[email protected]
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