jazz
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.
Drummer Blog: Matt Zebroski
Okay! So it’s about time to start promoting The Flail: Live At Smalls, our second live recording and third record overall. It’s been pretty hectic finishing/mixing/mastering as well as getting all of the artwork finished in time for the shows,…
Max Roach
by Ken Micallef Simply put, Max Roach brought jazz drumming into the modern age. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell revolutionized jazz with new melodies and concepts; Max matched these musical geniuses with startling rhythms and reactive, action-packed drumming…
Carl Allen: Embracing the Journey
story by Michael Dawson Soon after moving to the New York area in the early ’80s, Carl Allen landed a dream gig with post bop trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. That gig established the then nineteen-year-old drummer as a leading light among…
Evan Stone
For Evan Stone, his new jazz CD, Sticks & Stone, Vol. 1, is the culmination of a seventeen-year dream. “I didn’t feel ready until recently,” the drummer admits. “But in the last couple of years I’ve felt it was time…
Allison Miller
Allison Miller's playing career is all about balance these days. First, she's the drummer in alternative-pop diva Natalie Merchant's band. She's also the drummer of choice for jazz keyboardist Rachel Z, touring behind her trio's tribute to Wayne Shorter, On…
Billy Hart: Of Unsung Heroes and Jazz Giants
This article is an excerpt from the July 2005 issue of Modern Drummer Magazine. Check your newsstands today to read the full article. by Ken Micallef Billy Hart is one of the unsung giants of jazz. He's recorded over six…
Jack DeJohnette
"When I play, I go into an altered state, a different headspace. I plug into my higher self, into the cosmic library of ideas." "The sound of my music was changing as fast as I was changing musicians," jazz legend…
Eric Harland
When twenty-five-year-old Eric Harland was a teenager, he weighed an astonishing 380 pounds, making him a target of cruel children, mean-spirited teachers, and sometimes, his own family. "I would walk into a clothing store and the employees would just laugh,"…
Winard Harper
The Savant label has recently released Winard Harper's Come Into The Light. The CD was recorded live at Cecil's, a jazz nightclub owned by drummer/producer Cecil Brooks III in New Jersey. Not since Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers has…
Graham Hawthorne: Blending The Third World With The New
In the past fifteen years or so, a New York City music fan out for a night of high-quality rock, pop, jazz, world music, singer/songwriter folk, or alt-country might well have been moved by the superbly musical and confident drumming…
Billy Hart
Billy Hart is one of the unsung giants of jazz. He's recorded over six hundred albums, including seminal dates with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Joe Zawinul, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Hank Jones, Pat Martino,…
Gary Burton
In 1999, as Gary Burton was celebrating his fiftieth year as a vibraphonist, the vibraphone itself turned seventy-five years old. That same year, two legendary vibes players died: Milt ("Bags") Jackson and Red Norvo. Burton felt the time was right…
Billy Kilson
At a 1999 Birdland performance with The Dave Holland Quintet, Billy Kilson led band and audience in a rousing chorus of drum worship. Holland, one of jazz's most celebrated bassists and composers, has played with all the innovators, from Tony…
Skeebo Knight
Skeebo Knight loves drumming. Yet the pain he must endure simply to sit behind his kit and lay down a groove is staggering. Knight suffers from Scleroderma, which he describes as a connective tissue disorder that causes a variety of…
