Tresillo Rhythm Archives

“Fire on the Bayou” might just be my favorite song out of New Orleans. There is a grit and attitude about it that can only be found in New Orleans. The lyrics paint a picture of the New Orleans that I remember seeing on my periphery as a little boy growing up there – observing my uncles and other older...

The tresillo is derived from the fundamental Latin music groove called “habenera”. It can also be thought of as a variation on the Afro-Cuban son clave. Ragtime pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton famously called the tresillo that “Spanish tinge” that is a necessary ingredient for New Orleans jazz. The prominence of the tresillo in African-American music traditions and, particularly...