Download December 2020 Issue
Dani Markham lives in perpetual motion. The New York City–based, Louisville, Kentucky–born percussionist/mallet player spent the last six years touring the world and recording with hip-hop artist Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover), lo-fi worldbeat group Tune-Yards, and others. In between tours, she scored Off Broadway dance performances and traveled back to Kentucky to teach kids in the Louisville Leopard percussion ensemble, the group where she started playing xylophone, marimba, congas, bongos, and drumkit at age seven. “I was immediately connected to rhythm the moment I picked up mallets and learned a simple melody,” she says. “Patterns made sense to me, and it was easy for me to learn and process.”
While earning her degree in classical percussion at the University of Miami, Markham looked beyond an orchestral career and immersed herself in the city’s diverse sounds. “Classical percussion taught me a lot of discipline and developed my skills, but jazz and Latin music were opening up this world of creative expression and communication amongst musicians that was exciting to me,” she says. It was through the university that she met Chris Hartz, who became the drummer for Childish Gambino and brought her into the band in 2016. Since then, Markham has shared stages with them at arenas and festivals, as well as Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the 2018 Grammy Awards.
Then COVID-19 hit, bringing live gigs to a dead-stop. With her boundless collaborative spirit and sense of musical adventure, though, Markham kept working. Her Brooklyn, New York, apartment was right above the studio she shared with Arcade Fire violinist Sarah Neufeld, and the two seized the opportunity to make music. “We began creating together, something we’d never done in the past,” says Markham, “although we’ve been friends since 2014, when Tune-Yards was opening for her band.” Dani also used the time to work with Teddy Abrams, music director of the Louisville Orchestra, as well as fellow hometown luminaries such as Will Oldham and Jim James; together they co-wrote and recorded the song “Lift Up Louisville” to help bolster their community and raise funds for pandemic response.
Articles in December 2020
Drum City Guitarland
Wheat Ridge, Colorado A former professional drummer who once played drums for Frank Sinatra, Ronny Kae lived and breathed drums. In 1964, with only $50 in his pocket, Kae moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Colorado, where he bought a…
The Classic Recordings of Ginger Baker, Part 3: The Solo Albums
Following a prolific period when Ginger Baker made his name with Cream, Blind Faith, and Ginger Baker’s Air Force, and collaborated with Fela Kuti, the mid ’70s found the drummer setting up a recording studio in Africa, playing polo, trying…
Gene Krupa
The Swing Era’s Brightest Star For this series, we’d be very remiss if we didn’t discuss the great swing drummer Gene Krupa. Gene was one of the most prominent people to bring drums to the forefront in an ensemble. Prior…
Get on the Good Foot!
Hi-Hat Comping Riffs in 3/4 Welcome to the second part of this three-part series on hi-hat comping. In this lesson we’ll explore repetitive hi-hat motifs in 3/4. The phrases included here are intended to help develop dynamic balance between the…
The D.I.Y. Guide to Drums by Lisa Schonberg
While it was always a quirky addition to pedagogic literature, this hugely expanded 2020 volume retains the handmade charms of the original ’zine and leverages the author’s years of teaching experience to deliver an approachable, delightful roadmap for beginners and…
Critique
RECORDINGS Louisiana’s LeRoux One of Those Days The latest from this funky southern-rock institution shows the group still has get-up-and-go. LeRoux, sometimes known as Lousiana’s LeRoux, enjoyed some major-label success with their 1978 Capitol debut and have remained regionally active.…
Marla Leigh
Having “good time” can mean many things to a musician. For this veteran frame drummer, waiting for the right moment to execute a plan, even if that means years, can turn out to be the best decision. For twenty years,…
Wood or Nylon Tip?
Nylon! Lasts much longer than wood (so you save cash!), and you never have to worry about a chipped stick tip on a ride cymbal. I also play darker cymbals, so the nylon tips add some extra clarity rather than…
Cajon You Dig It?
The owner of this month’s KOTM took the now-ubiquitous percussion instrument to its next logical step. The kit that Luke Ross uses with his all-acoustic band Company of Crows is composed entirely of cajons built by the Croaker Percussion company,…
Khari Parker (1974–2020)
Drummer Khari Parker passed away on June 27. He was forty-six. Widely respected for his diverse musical skills and top-flight professionalism, Parker was a first-call player for many of the top bandleaders and producers in Chicago and throughout the country.…
Gretsch, Latin Percussion, Steinberg, Peavey and more
Gretsch Brooklyn Series Drumkits Two new Nitron finishes have been added to the Brooklyn series: Blue Burst Pearl and White Marine Pearl. Constructed from 6-ply North American maple and poplar, Brooklyn series drums are finished with 3 mm double-flanged 302…
Bill Bruford - Part 1: One of a Kind
Trailblazing West Coast swing drummer Shelly Manne once mused that a true jazz musician never plays it the same way once. Throughout his stellar career, the iconic progressive rock and jazz drummer Bill Bruford had adopted Manne’s paradoxical mantra as…
Dafnis Prieto
Whether it’s through his recordings, performances, videos, or multiple forms of instruction, the drummer actively seeks to knock down barriers of thought and expression. How can you expand your drumming palette for only seven dollars and in only thirty minutes?…
Terry Bozzio
I knew I had to make my own statement or go on for the rest of my life depending on someone else to be the creative genius. I didn’t want to live with myself that way. It’s funny, in the…
Playing to Type
People like to put other people in psychological boxes, and boxes within those boxes: Being an artist takes a certain kind of personality. And among artists, your average actor is said to be like this, while a musician is like…
Vic Firth Re-Mix Brushes
A quartet of interchangeable implements for varying degrees of attack, tone, and volume. Vic Firth recently expanded its catalog with four pairs of uniquely designed Re-Mix brushes/rods made from different types of organic material, ranging from soft and subtle broomcorn…
What Now?
The Four E’s As I write this, we are smack dab in the middle of the COVID crisis. This pandemic has affected us all now for many months. I mention this because it’s had a massive impact on musicians working…
Jonas Brothers’ Jack Lawless
New Jersey native Jack Lawless started out as the drummer of Joe Jonas’s chart-topping alternative-pop group DNCE. When the Jonas Brothers got back together, Lawless got the call for that tour as well. We were able catch up with him…
Remembering Neil Peart
Part 4: “YYZ” This transcription is from the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert where Neil Peart played a big band version of the legendary Rush instrumental track “YYZ.” The introduction was conducted and written in 5/4. The main melody is in…
