Since I’ve been hanging with my good buddy and stellar guitarist Griff Hamlin so much recently, I’ve really been digging Joe Bonamassa and his band. And one of my favorite shows from Joe has been Live at the Beason Theater. It isn’t just because of how cool Joe is, but more importantly who he chose […]…
One of the premier gigs for drummers, and for any musician for that matter, is the Late Night Show. David Letterman has one of the longest running shows on the air, and Anton Fig was chosen to be the house drummer for the last 20+ years. I figured it would be fun to check out […]…
One of the more popular current jazz drummers is Bill Stewart. Bill has quite an extensive list of appearances in the jazz and funk world including Jim Hall, John Scofield, Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and even Maceo Parker and James Brown. Bill is often referred to as a melodic drummer, focusing more one grace and […]…
Throughout the last few decades of music, there have been a few standout drummers that are just as comfortable with the mic. In fact a few of the drummers I’m going to share with you today typically sang lead in their groups while sitting behind the drums. Singing while playing the drums calls for an […]…
One of the greatest entertainers in the big band era was Lionel Hampton. Known predominantly for his wonderful vibes playing, Lionel also excelled on the drums, as a front man, singer and even a piano player. I collected a taste of all these attributes in the great Lionel Hampton with videos from throughout his career. […]…
So much of the music to come out of New Orleans has one thing in common: it always grooves. And the New Orleans drummer Terence Higgins, groove is first and foremost in anything he seems to touch. Higgins is known mostly as the drummer of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band but has played with many […]…
As I look into many of the great early drummers, there seems to be a common thread as to who was the originator of popular drumming. Well now I’ve heard the same thing said by drummers like Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and Louie Bellson… “Listen to Papa Jo Jones.” Jones was the regular drummer for […]…
In the swinging ’40s and ’50s, there were a lot of really great drummers that helped bring the drums to the forefront on the bandstand. Players like Jo Jones, Chick Webb, Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa were among some of these names. Another name that highlighted the drums as a solo instrument was Louie Bellson. […]…
I wanted to take a trip back in time to feature some of the great on screen entertainers in show biz. One of the popular forms of entertainment, and a personal favorite, was the drum and tap dance duos. That was back when the actors had a variety of talents on screen. I found two […]…
Buddy Miles’ resume was filled with powerful players. Buddy played with Jimi Hendrix and the Band of Gypsys, he played with heavy cats like Carlos Santana, and even recorded several of his own albums. One of the many things that impresses me most about Buddy Miles is that he didn’t just play the drums. He […]…