Photo by Tom Ranier   Shortly after receiving word that my name appeared at the top of a list in the Modern Drummer 2023 Reader Poll (for Jazz, a list that includes Brian Blade, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joe Farnsworth and Nasheet Waits), I smiled in gratitude as well as bemusement because I was busy playing a Broadway show two-beat feel (boom­-chick, boom-chick…) in a Marin County recording studio located in the mountains of Nicasio, California — otherwise known as Skywalker Ranch. Which was about as far away from jazz as it could be. Or was it? I should explain the setting and circumstances. Over the years, in addition to whatever jazz-focused work I engage in, I enjoy the good fortune of being the first-call drummer for Seth MacFarlane’s music performing and recording projects. Seth is best-known, perhaps, as being the creator of such hit shows as Family Guy. However, he […]

October 2023 Issue