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Pat Petrillo
(October 2005 Issue)
Smooth, Groovin'-And Proud Of It At a recent smooth jazz
festival in Philadelphia, drummer Pat
Petrillo was performing with
guitarist Ed Hamilton when an elderly, "old school-looking" gentleman
shuffled up to the
bandstand and started screaming, "This ain't no
@#!%# jazz! Where's the Coltrane and Miles? Play some real
jazz!"
Petrillo and bandmates looked around at the other nine hundred
ninety-nine people who were really digging the music
and realized that,
although the man may have had a valid point, the majority of the crowd
was there to hear the modern
sounds of today's smooth jazz.
"There's a real cult-like following of smooth jazz, which I
think is great,"
says Petrillo. "We're playing venues like The Blue
Note, small theaters, radio festivals, and the BET On Jazz TV show.
Our
live show combines the smooth sound of today along with an early fusion
vi`e. And while it's not straight-ahead jazz,
it sure beats playing the
small, straight-ahead clubs in New York for twenty-five bucks."
Petrillo, owner and drum
instructor of the Groove Academy of
Music in Edison, New Jersey, has a new instructional video in the
works. "The video," Pat
explains, "will consist of a series of short
hand exercises based on simple rudiments that I've developed to build
chops.
It will also feature drumset workouts and live playing
demonstrations."
On the new Ed Hamilton record, Hear In The
Now (Fahrenheit),
Petrillo performs a nice blend of R&B and jazz, which is
radio-friendly yet musician-friendly. Petrillo
also works with pop
artist Glen Burtnik (Palookaville) and has performed with Patti La
Belle and played with the national tour
of the Broadway show
Dreamgirls.
Currently Petrillo is working on his debut CD, Hittin', which
will feature
bassists Will Lee, Stanley Clarke, Charles Fambrough, and
the late saxophonist George Howard. "Raising a family is also
a
priority in my life, Pat adds. "But I'm having a lot of fun making
music and making a living doing what I
love."
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