“He’s good at what he does”

I’ve heard it a few times before, in the context of musical talent: “he’s good at what he does.” It’s applicable to other performative arts as well. It’s said when you want to admit someone is talented, but the subject in question isn’t talented in the manner in which you’d like them to be.

I contend that raw talent is translatable, but not without a little work to get there. Not quite a popular opinion, but Buddy Rich and Tomas Haake, both drummers at the top of their game, playing very different styles, could play each other’s genres. They would need maybe a few weeks—a month at the absolute tops—to practice and shift whatever is needed to shift in their muscles and heads to get there.

I find this El Estepario Siberiano fascinating. He’s obviously got a superhuman level of talent to begin with, but there’s a visible struggle to play the first part of Animals As Leaders’ “Monomyth,” a song in a genre that isn’t alien to him. The first time I saw it I clenched up a bit because I know how hard it is to get that coordination down until it’s a little more natural.

By the way, Animals As Leader’s drummer, Matt Garstka, is an absolute cyborg in his own right.