Bill Crow sent an alert to a clip of the amazing musician Damian Draghici. Tricked by memory, I could have sworn that I had posted the video a few months ago, but the staff’s thorough search of the Rifftides archive turned up no trace of it. Draghici is a 
Romanian Gypsy as celebrated in his country for activism in behalf of the Roma people as for his mastery of the pan flute, an instrument rarely encountered in your average jam session. He studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, worked in Los Angeles and London and has toured extensively.
This performance is from a televised concert late last year in Bucharest. With Draghici are Eddie Daniels, clarinet; Randy Porter, piano; Scott Steed, bass; and Reggie Jackson, drums. Over the years, Charlie Parker’s (or possibly Miles Davis’s) “Donna Lee†has picked up velocity as musicians have mastered its linear complexity. This opening chorus probably sets a new land speed record.
For biographical information about Damian Draghici, go here.