Alex Acuña on Playing with Legends from Elvis to Weather Report

From Alex’s early days with Weather Report (appearing on albums Black Market and Heavy Weather) to his Acuňa-Hoff-Mathisen DVD, Alex continues to be one of the most respected drummer/percussionists in the world. The list of artists he has played with is too long to list, but some examples include Paul McCartney, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, The Temptations, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and many, many more. Please enjoy this Drum Channel exclusive interview!

How did you get started playing music?

In the very small town where I was born, Pativilca, Peru, which is on the outskirts of Lima, music was around my home 24/7. My father was a musician and a teacher. My five older brothers were musicians as well. We would play in many different bands on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We would get up at 5 am and start playing at 6 am with a marching band. We would play in the outskirts of Pativilca for the parties of the towns. We played all different music for
that. Marching, Peruvian music orchestrated for big band, and all kinds. By 11 am, we were playing in the park. Around 2 pm, we would play before the soccer match, and then we would play in the middle of the match for about 15 minutes. We would have dinner around 5:00, and then in the evening, around 9 pm, we would play in the club for dance parties.

Music, and really all kinds of music, is what revealed God to me. My parents didn’t play some of the music I was listening to. There was a shop owner who had a radio. I would hang out around there from noon to 2 pm, listening to national radio. They played music from everywhere – Cuban, Peruvian, ethnic music, jazz, classical, and everything. Music became one genre for me. It was just music. Brazilian, South American, European, American Jazz – everything was music for
me.

I discovered Tito Puente’s top percussionist from his first album, recorded in 1955. Someone was selling the record on the street. I didn’t even have a record player, but I saw the timbales and congas on the album cover and thought, ‘Wow, this has to be amazing.’ I bought the record and got a record player to listen to it. One of the first tunes where he’s playing with the timbales is amazing. He was playing the rumba clave, and I thought he was playing in 3 or 6, not in 4, because I was just listening. I developed licks around what I heard. I ended up playing those phrases on the Weather Report album on the drums. Vinnie Colaiuta called me when he heard the tune I played on Weather Report and said, ‘Alex, what are you playing there? It sounds amazing!’ I told him it was a phrase on 3 that I learned from listening to Tito Puente a long time ago when I heard his record. By listening and not knowing the metrics of the song, inspiration came, and it became phrases and music.

How did you make the leap to Las Vegas to play with Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, and The Temptations?

I moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1965 and lived there for nine years, immersing myself in all kinds of cultural music. During that time, I heard this drummer with Aretha Franklin. It was Bernard Purdie. I started following him – his time, his precision, his sound. He really became my teacher. This became preparation for me to come to Las Vegas to play with Diana Ross and The Detroit Sound.

With Elvis, I played percussion. Elvis never had a percussionist before, but his conductor said he had to use me, and Elvis said okay.

With The Temptations, I was playing drums for Olivia Newton-John, who had just come from Australia. I was the house drummer at The International in Las Vegas. When The Temptations came on, I switched to playing the congas. Don Elias was in the audience. He came to see The Temptations. In those days, The Temptations had a drummer, Norman Roberts, who played like Tony Williams but played the funk like Bernard Purdie. When Don Elias saw me playing with Oliva and then The Temptations, he thought to himself, ‘This guy was playing drums with Olivia, and now he’s playing congas with The Temptations.’ He only knew of two guys who did that. One was Walfredo Reyes Sr., but Walfredo was 7 feet tall, and the other was me. He waited to talk to me after the show. The history of my life changed after that. I started playing jazz with him after that, and then he recommended me for Weather Report.

How important is it to be able to play all kinds of genres?

Being able to play a lot of genres will give you a longer career. There might be some styles of music that you won’t be able to play anymore at 70 years old. You must have all kinds of avenues. I love to keep healthy physically, mentally, and especially spiritually. I practice every day. I never went to school to study music until I became a father at 22 years old. Before that, I just played out of the gift that God gave me. I didn’t have a proper education until I arrived in Puerto Rico and started studying in the conservatory and learning the rudiments. I had already been playing drums and recording for 12 years before that. I came to the United States and played the drums without knowing the rudiments. When I got into the conservatory, I loved studying. Every single bar and rudiment is precious to me. Even today, I feel like I am just discovering things. Music challenges me, which I love, and I embrace it. You have to embrace your gift by recognizing what will happen to you as you maintain and sustain your gift and entertain at the same time – entertaining yourself and the people you are working with and being thankful to the Creator of everything.

Any final thoughts on playing through inspiration?

I met Buddy Rich in 1964 in east LA. I asked him how he developed such impeccable playing, speed, and dexterity. He said, ‘It’s natural.’ That was huge for me to hear him say, ‘It’s natural.’ That’s how I started playing. I didn’t know the rudiments in those days. I just played.