Woody Herman Archives - Modern Drummer Magazine

Woody Herman

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.

The Drummers Of Woody Herman

For 50 years—with relatively brief interruptions—Woody Herman has led one of the greatest of all big bands. And not surprisingly, he's had some of the greatest drummers driving his band. TO READ THE FULL STORY: LOG IN Digital Access $4.99…

by Chip Deffaa
Feb 5, 2019

Ben Riley – Making History

  FAME? Ben Riley doesn’t ever recall having had the feeling of being “famous.” It’s a word he avoids. Although he says a friend once called him “jazz’s best-kept secret,” the jazz drummers’ community holds his authoritative playing in the…

by Jeff Potter
Nov 8, 2018

Jeff Hamilton — No Compromises

Jeff Hamilton knows that he’s lucky. Either as a band member or a sub, he’s worked in such coveted situations as the Woody Herman big band, the Monty Alexander trio, the Count Basie Orchestra (in November, 1984, after Basie’s death),…

by Robyn Flans
Nov 1, 2018

Johnny Blowers

His students know he’s experienced, but it’s doubtful that many realize just how experienced drummer Johnny Blowers is. In a career that spans six decades, Blowers has recorded with jazz greats such as Sidney Bechet, Bobby Hackett, Eddie Condon, Red…

by Chip Deffaa
Sep 11, 2018

John Von Ohlen

Since World War II, music lovers have been asking if big bands will ever come back. But big bands never really went away. Their ranks just thinned out—survival of the fittest. There was a time when the big band drummer…

by Scott K. Fish
Aug 22, 2018

Joe LaBarbera — Goal Achiever

Sometimes, jazz just seems to run in the family. There are the Joneses (Hank, Thad and Elvin), Chuck and Gap Mangione, Tootie, Percy and Jimmy Heath, the Brecker Brothers, the Brubecks (Dave, Darius, Chris and Danny), and the LaBarberas—saxophonist Pat,…

by Katherine Alleyne & Judith Sullivan McIntosh
Jan 18, 2018

Ed Soph

"When I was four or five", remembers 30 year-old drummer Ed Soph, "I started taking piano, but I was also fooling around with the drums. I was lucky to have a supportive family; my father would put on his Dixieland…

Feb 23, 2017

Talking Drums With Joe Cocuzzo

Having worked professionally since the age of 19, Joe Cocuzzo has an abundance of musical knowledge. His respect for and understanding of the drummer's position within the music has prepared him for affiliations with Buddy DeFranco, Gary McFarland, Don Ellis,…

Feb 23, 2017

January 1987 - Volume 11 • Number 1

Gregg Bissonette, Gary Husband, Woody Herman, Rod Morgenstein, Walter Keiser, Pedro Haldemann, Bryan Holmes, Anton Fig, Vinny Appice, Gina Schock TO READ THE FULL STORY: LOG IN Digital Access $4.99 /month or $49.99 /year SAVE 15% Digital Monthly Magazine 47…

Jan 1, 1987