Cajon ..

[Djembe-nerd]

I see a lot of similarity between this and a djembe break, before and during a rhythm.

[Brian Lynch]

what dont understand is how they can be in so places at one time and still their timing, it just baffles me.

[Brian Lynch]

i ment keep their timing

[e2c]

djembe-nerd, I'd be willing to bet money that this comes more from marching drums (drum corps and other marching/concert band-type things) than from anything else.

People like to use licks that they hear, after all... and marching drummers often do the kinds of unison breaks that you hear at the beginning and elsewhere. Djembe (the real thing) has been around here long enough that there are some marching drummers who play both and there is a lot of cross-pollination going on. (Someone who recently posted an intro here had a link to vids of some folks who play marching and concert snare who are also excellent djembe and dun players.)

Edited to add: Composer/lead drummer Andrew Beall's web site - http://www.andrewbeall.com/