Alex Acuña (Drummer & percussionist)

Myth vs. Craft

The legendary drummer and percussionist Alex Acuña looks back on his career and shares fascinating stories and insights. He tells us about growing up in a tiny town north of Lima, Peru in a family full of musicians. He describes his life as a top studio musician in Lima while still a teenager and leaving it all behind to join Perez Prado’s band at eighteen years old. Alex recounts how he stood in a back alley in New York and listened to a 17-year old Tony Williams playing with Miles Davis. He tells us why he decided to study classical percussion in Puerto Rico and how he ended up living in Las Vegas and eventually joining Weather Report. He shares anecdotes about his friendship with Jaco Pastorius, how he switched from playing percussion to playing drums in Weather Report and eventually leaving the band to focus on being a studio musician. He goes into detail about his experience studying martial arts and the parallels he sees between martial arts, music and dance. Lastly, he describes why he thinks he’s had the success he’s had and tells us why he’s writing his autobiography.