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.
Mel Lewis
The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and the Village Vanguard just seem to go together. For one thing, they both represent longevity. The Vanguard is the oldest club in New York City; Mel’s band has one of the longest- running gigs…
Mark Brzezicki Big Country Beat
A lot has been written about Big Country’s guitar sound, almost to the exclusion of everything else about them. While it’s undeniable that the band’s guitar sounds have captured a lot of people’s attention, their drummer is not exactly out…
Mick Avory — Knowing The Job
The Kinks Konk Recording Studio sits on the edge of London in an area hardly recognizable to a city visitor. Located a good 40 minutes from Picadilly Circus by public transportation (i.e., underground and bus), the studio is on an…
Nigel Olsson — The Heart of Nigel Olson
Nigel Olsson speaks from the heart. In fact, there seems to be nothing he does that doesn’t revolve around his heart. As he plays and sings on stage with Elton John, he uses his entire body to complement the artist’s…
Bill Lombardo
Bill Lombardo has had an interesting career already, and he hasn’t hit 35 yet. Beginning in the early ’60s as a rock drummer, Bill participated in the San Francisco psychedelic scene. He went on to play funk, country, and top-40…
The Benefits Of Left-Hand Ride
What do Billy Cobham, Simon Phillips, Kenny Aronoff, Daniel Humair, and Lenny White have in common? They all play ride patterns with their left hand. Left-hand ride refers to the technique drummers use who play drumset in a normal, right-hand…
Shelly Manne - The Last Interview
It was 1957, I was 16years old, and I had no business being on the bandstand, but there I was sitting in with Russ Freeman on piano and some local jazz musicians at the B/ackhawk in San Francisco's Tenderloin District.…
Ollie Brown — Breakin’ Out
Every once in a while you stumble across someone who is articulate and personable, and who will talk about drums and drumming ’til the cows come home without becoming boring. Ollie Brown is such a person. Big in size, he…
Industry Happenings, Who's Playing What, and more
Jazz Drummer and Composer Matt Wilson Awarded Two 2018 Jazz Journalists Association Honors | Randy Pratt of Sweetwater Sound Passes | KoSA Celebrates Seventeenth Edition of Cuban Drum and Percussion Camp TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…
Nick Mason - Finding His Own Way
The name Pink Floyd conjures up all sorts of memories—some very distant and others not so long ago. Over a span of 17years, they have given us such classic records as A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968), The Dark Side Of…
Jimmy Bralower — Creating Illusion
Some people think of Jimmy Bralower as the enemy. Why? Because the man makes his living programming drum machines for records. This is the guy who’s putting drummers out of work. Or is he? Jeff Porcaro once remarked that he…
Memories Of Shelly
I first met Shelly Manne in the late ’50s in New York City, when he was performing at the Village Vanguard with his own group. I introduced myself on a break between sets, and Shelly instantly treated me as a…
Simulated Double Bass
Double bass drum techniques have increased the repertoire of drummers, both in playing beats and soloing. Here are some ideas which can give a player with a single bass drum setup the opportunity to effect double bass drum sounds. By…
Omar Hakim — Going For The Feeling
WEATHER Report reaches the part in “D Waltz” where they bring it down real low. The drummer is smoothly and effortlessly executing a feather-light roll pattern between the hi-hat and snare, catching all the synth and sax accents with his…
