In 2009, I interviewed Jack DeJohnette for the Percussive Notes and Modern Drummer. Jack and I met in the afternoon before a trio concert he was playing with Chick Corea and Bobby McFerrin. I arrived to find Jack’s black Sonor drums set up on stage, Jack strolled in carrying a box of Sabian prototypes and he asked me to help him put them on the stands. He asked me to play the cymbals as he walked around the hall… No problem! Jack came up on stage and said, “You’ve got a nice touch,” and he asked me to keep playing while he played piano. While we played together, he began to focus and dig in a little more at the piano, he was having fun. Wow! We played for a while, until I saw the doors to the venue open. Through the darkness I could see Chick Corea as he […]

December 2025 Issue