(bio)

 

I have been very fortunate to study with so many great teachers and at so many great schools. I also have taught at some great Universities as well. Same goes for the many great players I have worked and recorded with. They include: Mike Richman, George Rabbai, Al Stauffer, Ron Thomas, John Swana, Bob Meashey, Jason Shattil, Tom Giacabetti, Ed Uribe, Don Glanden, Chris Farr, Dave Thomas, Steve Varner, Bob Thornton, Madison Rast, and many others……. I teach at a great school-The University of the Arts. At U of A I teach drumset lessons, the ECM jazz ensemble, the Drumset Composition ensemble, American Music History, and World Music. U of A has the best jazz faculty and students in Philadelphia and I am very dedicated to helping to make it a great musical environment. My background, in a nutshell, includes three music degrees- a bachelors' in music performance from Glassboro State College in 1983, a Masters' in jazz performance from New York University in 1990, and a Doctorate in jazz performance and composition also from NYU in 1996. Along the way, I have been so lucky to have studied with some of the best drummers and other world class musicians who are equally gifted teachers. A brief rundown is as follows:

MY DRUMSET TEACHERS

1.Adam Nussbaum One of the worlds' greatest and most swinging drummers. Adam was my first and most influential jazz drumset teacher. Adam taught me what being a jazz drummer was all about and that is to focus on making the music and other musicians sound the best you can make them sound.

2. Gary Chaffee Perhaps the best drumset teacher on the planet! Gary has taught Vinnie Colaiuta and Steve Smith among many others. I studied with him for five tough years of commuting from South Jersey to Boston for my lessons. Gary IS the modern mind for contemporary drumset concepts. His unique and very effective approach includes linear drumming, a great sticking system, advanced polyrhythm and metric studies, broken jazz time, ostinato time feels, ect…. Get his patterns book series and videos.

3. Ed Uribe I met Ed at Berklee when I attended in 1985 on a full one year scholarship. From Ed I learned much about Brazilian and Afro-Cuban styles of music. Ed teaches you to apply these styles in contemporary "American" playing situations. Get his two books on Brazilian and Afro-Cuban styles.

4. Bob Moses One of the most underrated master drummers on the planet! From only a handful of lessons with Bob, I experienced many of his innovative and creative concepts of how to "hear" music and how to practice organic music ideas. Get his book entitled "Drum Wisdom".

5. John Riley I feel that John is the most dedicated drumset teacher who also works consistently at the highest musical levels. Again from only a handful of lessons, John challenged and inspired me to continue to work hard on my jazz playing. Get his two books on Be-Bop and post Bop jazz drumming.

MY NON-DRUMSET TEACHERS

These following world-class musicians have and continue to help me to reach for higher musical levels. They showed me playing music, and not just the drums, should always be your primary goal.

1. Jim McNeely Jim is a great jazz piano player, composer, and arranger. I studied piano and composition with him at NYU and played in his ensemble for many semesters. Jim showed me what he expects and values from the great drummers he works with such as Adam Nussbaum and John Riley.

2. Mike Richmond Mike is one of the premiere jazz bassists on the planet! Again at NYU, I studied with Mike often playing trio or just duo. Like McNeely, Mike showed me what he loves about the great drummers he plays with such as Jack DeJohnette. Mike makes you play strong walking jazz time!

3. Joe Lovano Joe is the jazz saxophonist on the planet! The fact that for a brief period he taught lessons at NYU was amazing! Joe Lovano is also a great drummer! His highly developed sense of time, phrasing, and interaction is as good as it gets and playing with him showed me how high up the best jazz levels can get.

4. Kenny Werner I currently study with Kenny, who is a world class jazz piano player, composer, and teacher of many musical and extra-musical ideas. Lessons with Kenny are as needed and in a jazz trio setting, so playing with him is a great learning experience. But the real deal is his approach to removing the barriers to your creativity and playing from an open and detached "space." Get his book entitled "Effortless Mastery."

MY MUSICAL CONCEPTS

The genesis of my approach to playing music is an ever evolving process of assimilating the diverse concepts of all of the above mentioned teachers and my own playing and listening experiences. I feel that the keys to getting to a high level of musicianship are to become as solid as possible in both technique and stylistic musical issues. Good technique, not obsession with it, means your hands are relaxed, even in sound, capable of playing with good dynamics and accents, and of course fast. For me, technique also means full drumset technique, not just hands. Hand/foot coordination is essential to develop at high levels because we play drumset primarily, not snare drum or a practice pad. In today's musical world, a complete knowledge of musical styles is essential for all musicians. Jazz, rock, and funk musicians can benefit so much from the ability to play basic Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, African, New Orleans, and any and every world music style you can get your ears on. Approaching high levels of playing are almost always about getting way inside the music you are playing and how well you can free yourself up to create and interact with the other musicians. That is why I feel the concepts that Kenny Werner teaches are essential for every musician. Sometimes this means working in areas outside of the practice room such as personal self-esteem, learning to meditate, or becoming involved with eastern disciplines such as various martial arts. For more about my approach to drumset performance and study go the drum lesson part of this web site.