Rufus Harley is the real pied piper of jazz. He is the first American Jazz musician to adopt the Scottish Highland bagpipe  as his primary instrument.  He has said the bagpipes are a spiritual instrument as the drone uses the ancient vibrations of the universe. Rufus adopted idioms of jazz, blues and funk into his playing. His technique was quite unorthodox, but yet still incorporated all facets of the bagpipes' sounds. To some Rufus seemed like an oddity and gimmicky, wearing a traditional Scottish kilt and Viking-style helmet. To others, Rufus was redefining the sound of '60s jazz.