drummer
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Mark Rhoades: Blog
Hey, everybody, this is Mark Rhoades from the Fold. So honored to be a part of MD! I’d like to take this opportunity to answer questions I get regarding the custom drumkit that I’ve built myself. At the time I…
Sonny Greer: Duke Ellington’s Crowd Pleaser
Sonny Greer was born in 1903 in Long Branch, New Jersey, and studied drums with vaudeville drummer J. Rosemond Johnson. His first professional job was as a youngster in a pit band in Red Bank, New Jersey. Within a few…
Chick Webb: The First True Drumming Idol
Chick was born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 10, 1907. He suffered from tuberculosis of the spine, which left him badly crippled. It wasn’t until he underwent a painful operation as a child that he was able to use his…
The Greats: Art Blakey
The origins of Blakey’s hard-swinging style can be traced back to his early years as the drummer in Fletcher Henderson’s big band, as well as his three-year tenure in the mid-’40s with Billy Eckstine’s experimental large bop band (featuring future…
What Do You Know About...Richie Hayward?
by Bob Girouard Classic Hayward A hallmark of Richie Hayward’s style is his feel. The New Orleans influence is all over his playing, especially in the way he approaches shuffles and second-line rhythms. Here are a few of the drummer’s…
Timothy B. Schmit’s Herman Matthews
Howdy, MD readers. It’s been a long time, and I think I may have to reintroduce myself. My name is Herman Matthews and I play drums. For the past seven years I’ve been laying down the foundation for the legendary…
Max Roach: Setting Standards And Raising Bars
If you were to ask any jazz historian to name who they feel is most responsible for setting the standards in bebop drumming, 99.9% of the time you’re going to get one name: Max Roach. Roach wasn’t the first drummer…
Elvin Jones: The Great Liberator
When Elvin Jones moved from his home town in Michigan to New York City in 1956, the jazz-listening world wasn’t quite ready for the drummer’s outer-space conception. His loping, circular sense of swing and abstract, barline-blurring breaks weren’t easy to…
Influencer: Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson was an outstanding jazz drummer and a legendary teacher. He was strongly influenced by Papa Jo Jones, and his first break came in the early ’50s with the Lionel Hampton band. By 1951 he was working with Sabby…
Yael: DrumAddict
Hello, modern drum addicts! First off, it’s an honor to be asked to do a piece for Modern Drummer online, and I hope to get to the point where I will finally have my mug in the mag next to…
Philly Joe Jones: One Of The Greatest Hard Boppers
Philly Joe Jones is one of the greatest of the hard boppers. His contributions to the art of jazz drumming are immeasurable. He was a virtuoso with a pair of brushes, and a genius at turning the rudiments into fluent…
Joshua Radin's Frederik Bokkenheuser
Hi, modern drummers! My name is Frederik Bokkenheuser. Greetings from Webster Hall in New York City. I am currently touring with Joshua Radin. We have been on the road for over two months now, in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and…
Yoko Ono Talks Drums With Modern Drummer
by Billy Amendola At the young age of seventy-six, there’s just no slowing down for artist, activist, and avant-garde queen Yoko Ono, widow of the late Beatle John Lennon. Her latest CD, Between My Head And The Sky, made with…
Robin Stone of the Amenta
Hey there, everyone in MD Interwebs land! My name is Robin Stone, and I play in the Amenta. I’ve got something different to talk about: extreme metal drumming. Whenever you turn on the radio or watch any pop/rock video, chances…
