Best Recording of Solo Tambourine

The Lemon Pipers had a hit called "Green Tambourine". Although I don't think there is a solo, it still can be heard quite distinctly.

I particularly like "Shik Shik Shikka Shikka" by uncredited. It's probably second only to "Shikka Shikka Shikka Shik Shik".
But personally, I prefer cowbell.

I guess I don't understand why someone would want the definititive tamborine recording. That's VERY unusual in case that's not obvious to you. You might want to take an extra ten seconds and explain why. It makes your post much more interesting to the reader.

Try some albums by "The Subdudes". They used a tambourine instead of drum kit for most of their recordings - quite a novel approach. Not the hollow ring type of tambourine, but a large one with a skin or head stretched over it, and often played with a mallet or drum stick.

Relax, it is a rather unusual request. I can understand why he thought it might be a joke.
I don't think it's a joke, though. If you really love tambourine, you might consider some middle eastern music. I can't think of any particular recording that features one off hand, but my eyes were opened to the possibilities fo this as a real instrument (as opposed to the thing Susan Dey banged on her thigh while singing Partridge Family songs)last summer when I heard someone playing one in person. She had a wide variety of techniques for striking and muting the frame and bangles to produce intricate rhyhtms. In Arabic music, the tambourine is called a Riq. If I come up with any particular recordings, I'll post.