Drummer Duane Trucks took to Facebook to offer up his memories of Col. Bruce Hampton, who tragically passed away shortly after his 70th birthday celebration at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Trucks said that Col. Bruce “shaped my entire being I feel so lucky to have been around him since I was too young to remember.”

Trucks recounted early days with Col. Bruce. “After high school I moved to Atlanta from Jacksonville with the hopes of one day playing with him. Just through listening to old tapes my brothers had of ARU as a teenager, I felt like he’d already taught me some ancient secret knowledge.”

He continued, “Later, I would find out first hand that that was exactly what he taught me—he taught me about transcendence. Transcending your instrument, transcending the music, transcending art itself, reaching for life. He always said, ‘We’re not here to play music, we’re here to put the Devil in the room.’”

Read Trucks’ full note below.