Tickling the Ivories With an Elephant - Paul Barton

Some people like hip hop; others like jazz. And, as it turns out, the same variety of musical taste applies to elephants. Bangkok-based musician Paul Barton says that not all elephants enjoy music, but Peter the Elephant, who lives in Ayutthaya's Royal Elephant Kraal, enjoyed it so much that he welcomed himself to Barton's piano. Barton brought his piano out to the elephant sanctuary to play for the elephants and Peter immediately took an interest in his music. Barton says that Peter enjoys playing "upbeat music" like jazz or a 12-bar blues, with a heavy rhythm. Barton and Peter's partnership grew beyond piano playing and extended into experiments playing a recorder as well.