Modern 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.

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Alexis Razon of Vinyl

To start, it is an honor to write for an outstanding magazine that caters to drummers and percussionists worldwide. MD is a great resource for the drumming community. My first introduction to drumming started at ten years old. The age…

Modern Drummer
Jan 21, 2010

Paiste Cymbals: Inside Paiste

(March 2010 Issue) Paiste has more than a thousand artists who endorse the company’s products, ranging from industry icons to up-and-coming players. Here, a cool dozen give props to their cymbal maker of choice. Ndugu Chancler (George Duke, Santana, Patrice…

Modern Drummer
Jan 20, 2010

Listen to Sound Files of Tama’s Starphonic Aluminum Snare Drum

Read the review in the March 2010 issue with Stanton Moore on the cover.    

Modern Drummer
Jan 20, 2010

Cole Marcus: Blog

  Hey, everyone, this is Cole Marcus. I recently turned eleven years old, and I’ve been playing drums professionally since the age of three. I actually started playing by myself when I was ten months old. Sounds weird, but it’s…

Modern Drummer
Jan 14, 2010

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…

Modern Drummer
Jan 7, 2010
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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…

Modern Drummer
Jan 6, 2010

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…

Modern Drummer
Dec 31, 2009

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…

Modern Drummer
Dec 21, 2009
Modern Drummer
Dec 21, 2009

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…

Modern Drummer
Dec 11, 2009

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…

Modern Drummer
Dec 10, 2009

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…

Modern Drummer
Dec 9, 2009
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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…

Modern Drummer
Dec 7, 2009

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…

Modern Drummer
Dec 3, 2009
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