Michael Kotzen — "Leon is really a wonderful person as well as a great player. And besides being an extraordinary player, he also teaches hand percussion (primarily djembe) both in clinics and privately, as well as teaching African Dance. He's a highly respected dance choreographer and is quite busy flying between Houston & LA for 2 overlapping Holiday dance productions.

Cajon he used on tour with Ben in Asia & Europe is a double cajon mounted on legs. He had my paint it in his favorite theme, the colors of the Ethiopian flag. It also has a star in the middle of the head (top playing surface) with the tips of the star painted red, yellow & green. The star is surrounded by the Ben "target". It's built from Genuine Mahogany harvested in Peru. The legs are eastern hard maple, and the Slap Pads are ebonized baltic birch.

I've know Charles Chase since I was a kid. It was at his store and museum in Claremont that I first became interested in world percussion (long before that was a term). His wife Dorothy introduced me to the cajon many years later.

The one that Charles is playing in the photo is the very same drum before I repainted it for Leon.

Interview by Emmanuel Rivet / www.swer.net - December 2001

From tonecajon.com : "The cajon is believed to have originated in Peru. Africans displaced from their homeland substituted cod shipping crates for their native drums. In Cuba, small dresser drawers were used for the same purpose. The instrument was refined and became an important part of Cuban and Peruvian music.
Three quarter inch pine or other white wood was generally used for five sides of the box. A thin sheet of plywood was nailed on as the sixth side and acted as the head or striking surface.
The top edges were often left unattached and could be slapped against the box. A sound hole was cut in the side opposing the head. The player sat on the box striking the head between his legs.
Today, the cajón is heard extensively in Andean, Cuban, and Flamenco music. It1s steadily gaining popularity in all types of contemporary music and has become a favorite for unplugged sessions."

Michael Kotzen : "The marimbula (mah-REAM-boo-lah) or Bass Kalimba is related to the cajon in origin as well as construction. In Cuba, the instrument provided the bass line in a style of music called son (rhymes with tone). I built Ben Harper one with a spruce back that serves as a double cajon."