“Hey George. Hope you and yours are doing well. I was prepared to approach drum magazines and other publications about this historic discovery that I found for my boss, Charlie Watts in which he gave me a portion of the items as my commission. I have decided to sell some of these pieces. But the same week I finished the website the entire world went straight into lockdown.. So I’ve been waiting until the time seems right, which seems like a month from now? Would you like to show this story on NSMD? Ideally I want to present this in all the appropriate magazines at the same time so the word gets out all at once and every collector has the opportunity to purchase. check it out!”
Read more“Tony Williams was also a big Buddy Rich fan. At the Grammy awards Steve Peck, Buddy’s tour manager said, Tony was beaming at Buddy from behind the stage. Miles Davis also claimed that Buddy was a ‘prince of a drummer’ and that “there isn’t a drummer alive who doesn’t have a Buddy Rich lick in them”.
Read moreAnother new chapter in our ongoing series of conversations, quotes, commentary, and updates with jazz/funk drumming legend Mike Clark… Mike’s keen observations provide numerous insights into ‘All Things Music’. -- Mike always just tells it like it is.
Read moreBy the time the Quintet had taken the stage, most of the crowd had left, not willing to endure the weather. I stood amongst a small group of die hards at the front of the stage. It was a torrential downpour at this point. Herbie Hancock had drops of water dripping from his sleeves and onto the piano. I seem to remember it was during Pinnochio when Tony started dropping bombs on the bass drum that the crackle through the PA became more pronounced with each bomb. Eventually the PA went completely out! The band kept on cooking as though nothing had happened. We were listening to them acoustically.
Read moreNormally I write articles on vintage drums or drum history as I have a love for that stuff. I felt this article would be a great chance to pay tribute to those individuals that have taught drums for many years.
Read more“One of my friends leans towards a 1950’s type of playing… I’m sort of the 1960’s. We were kind of going back and forth about this. He’s in the Jurassic Period, while I’m in the Cretaceous.”
Read moreRalph Peterson Jr., a drummer, bandleader, composer and educator whose lunging propulsion and volatile combustion were hallmarks of a jazz career spanning more than 40 years, died on Monday in North Dartmouth, Mass. The cause was complications from cancer, his manager, Laura Martinez, tells NPR Music; Peterson had been living with the disease for the last six years. He was 58.
Read moreDuffy Jackson, a drummer whose swinging exuberance propelled him from child stardom to a prolific career behind Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and many others, died on Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn. He was 67.
The cause was complications from hip surgery, Sandra Anton, his first cousin, tells WBGO.
Read moreThings affected him, and if he ever drew attention to himself, it was done peacefully and gently. Louie called this one "A Man and His Drums."
"I quietly, with Peace and Love, roar like the thunder in the sky and sound the heartbeat of life."
Read moreOn the day of the clinic I was looking out the front window of Creative watching as a Ford Econoline van pulled into the parking lot… Through the rear windows I could see Tony, his bass player, and a set of Canary Yellow Gretsch drums thrown in the back with No Cases !! OMG, I was star-struck - but it was kind of amusing because Tony’s drums were always bigger than life to me – And there they were just lying in the back of a van.
Read moreot So Modern Drummer continues to celebrate the life and music of legendary drummer Tony Williams in our new ongoing series. Chapter Eight presents the recollections of Adam Nussbaum.
Read morein October of 1996, Zildjian and DW sponsored Tony’s only clinic tour. Tony and I traveled throughout the US for two weeks and it was incredible to watch him from a few feet away every night.
Read moreSATURDAY, NOV 21
Steve Gadd (solo & w/ the Steve Gadd Band)
Virgil Donati
Peter Erskine w/ the Lounge Art Ensemble
Gary Husband
Brian Frasier-Moore
Toss Panos & Satnam Ramgotra
Clayton Cameron & Jason Sutter
Pedro Segundo
Kanade Sato
SUNDAY, NOV 22
Simon Phillips (solo & w/ Protocol)
Todd Sucherman
Aquiles Priester
Victor Indrizzio w/ BIL
Dave Elitch
Senri Kawaguchi
Steve Michaud
Butch Norton & Michael Jerome
Read moreIt’s been a distinct honor and privilege to write about the recent Drum Channel video series presented by my former teacher, Ed Soph. I studied with Ed for more than four years while he was teaching at The Creative Music Studios in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Read moreTony then asked me if I wanted to know how he got that cymbal - Of course I said yes, absolutely. He told me that Max Roach had taken him to the Gretsch Factory in Brooklyn to pick out a set of drums and cymbals… That's how he started with K- Zildjians.
Read moreDid you know Louie Bellson said that he began playing the double bass drums only after watching Viola do it?
Read moreWe explore the entire life of the legendary Gene Krupa! I speak with Brooks Tegler about Genes beginnings in the early 1920's through his false conviction in 1943, all the way up to his death in 1973. In addition to being being such a revolutionary musician, Gene was a true gentleman and had a very rich and interesting life. Gene is responsible for many innovations in drumming that took the drum set from the "trap drums" of the early 1900's to what we now consider the modern drum set. Brooks Tegler is an expert on the subject of Krupa and his equipment and I'm honored that he took the time to share his knowledge with me!
Read moreW.S. “Fluke” Holland, longtime drummer for Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins and the original drummer in Cash’s famed Tennessee Three backing band, died Wednesday at the age of 85.
Dubbed the “Father of the Drums” by Cash, Holland died at his home in Jackson, Tennessee, following a short illness
Read moreBack at Berklee College of Music in 1973, I had become friends with Steve Smith. Of course, we came to a common denominator – Tony. Steve and I talked about muscle cars. Steve was driving a 1968 Camaro back then. He asked me to meet him in front of the 150 Massachusetts Avenue building around 7:00 pm or so. I got into his car and immediately felt like I was at home - a muscle car, 12 pack of beer, and Tony playing on Steve’s car stereo!
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