Considered one of the first American drummers to study and master the percussive music of other cultures, Hamid Drake presents two different sets at the Pierre Boulez Saal showcasing his artistic range. For the concert’s first half, he is joined by Brooklyn-born jazz and rock guitarist Ava Mendoza in a wild and intoxicating, polyrhythmic fantasy that blurs the boundaries between the possible and the impossible. In the second set, entitled Ancient to the Future, Drake’s drums blend with the traditional music of the Gnawa people from Morocco, played on the bass lute guembri by his long-time collaborator Majid Bekkas, and the saxophone and flute of Xhosa Cole to create a kaleidoscope of sound.