There’s a long story here and in large part it’s the story of rhythm in the 20th Century. And being as yoouldn’t be miles off the mark if you saw those years as the Rhythm Century, that’s the story of the century. So bear with us – it’s worth the effort.

Unlikely as it may seem, our tale begins in the late ‘90s with photographer, film-maker and writer Brian Cross, more commonly known as B+. Irish-born, B+ had moved to LA in 1990 to get a Masters from CalArts and to feed his love affair with hip-hop. The results of his love affair were as diverse as his classic written overview of LA hip hop, “It’s Not About A Salary” and the promo video for DJ Shadow “Midnight In A Perfect World”.

But B+ was also fascinated with where the raw material of hip-hop – the break – and where it came from. He conceived a project where he would bring together and photograph four Los Angeles residents who had contributed to the history of music through their work behind the drum kit. The four men were Roy Porter, Earl Palmer, Paul Humphrey and James Gadson. Between them they spanned the history of post-War music, having played with everyone from Charlie Parker to James Brown, John Coltrane to Marvin Gaye, Frank Zappa to David Axelrod, Frank Sinatra to Beck.