John Riley

Modern Drummer is rebooting its world-famous Drum Festival on September 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time with a live-streaming event honoring the late, great Rush drummer Neil Peart. Proceeds of ticket sales will benefit brain tumor research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The event, which will be produced and distributed …

LiveXLive to Produce and Distribute Live Pay Per View Show Featuring Incredible Lineup Reaching over 150 Million Social Media Fans — Taylor Hawkins, Chad Smith, Cindy Blackman-Santana, Thomas Lang, Alex Gonzalez A global platform for livestream and on-demand audio, video and podcast content in music, comedy, and pop culture, announced …

The June issue of Modern Drummer magazine features an interview with three-time Grammy Award–winning producer Russ Titelman who in his long career has worked with musical giants including Little Feat, Randy Newman, James Taylor, Brian Wilson, Cyndi Lauper, Graham Central Station, Rickie Lee Jones, George Harrison, Chaka Khan, the Bee …

This past November 11–14, the Percussive Arts Society held its annual international convention in San Antonio, Texas. This milestone event marked the fortieth anniversary of PASIC and the first year that live-streaming passes were offered. Within the convention, attendees had access to an expo hall filled with the latest gear …

Over the course of his forty-year career traveling the globe to teach, perform, and conduct clinics, Dom Famularo has interacted with some of the finest drummers and drum instructors in the world. The following list contains many of those names, organized by country/continent. If you’re looking for top-notch drum instruction, …

See what’s in the December 2015 issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Dom Famularo!

Vic’s Drum Shop in Chicago has been selected to receive the 2014 Outstanding Retailer Award from Vic Firth. The award was presented to drum shops across America that achieved double-digit sales growth last year with more than $25,000 in annual sell-through of Vic Firth products….

The tenth-anniversary Meinl Drum Festival will take place June 27, 2015, in Gutenstetten, Germany, and will feature a lineup of world-renowned drummers….

We asked the members of the Modern Drummer Education Team if they felt that it’s important for all drummers to study Latin music and other musical genres, even if they don’t intend to ever perform those styles. Here’s what they had to say….

The 19th KoSA International Percussion Workshop, Drum Camp, and Festival celebrated its annual week of intensive learning, living, and playing with internationally celebrated drum and percussion masters this past July in the serene mountains of Vermont. KoSA co-founders and directors Aldo Mazza and Dr. Jolán Kovács relayed a simple message …

The East Coast Drum Jam will take place on Sunday, September 21, 2014 at the DoubleTree Hotel Ballroom at US Hwy 1 South in Princeton, New Jersey….

Jojo Mayer has been confirmed for the 19th Annual KoSA International Percussion Workshop, Drum Camp, and Festival…

Hello, Modern Drummer readers. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Watching my older brother, Paris (Alvin) Potts, and cousin Al Jackson, Jr. inspired me to play drums and marching drums throughout school, where my major was in music.

Since its inception by camp director Petar Curic in 2007, this one-of-a-kind drum camp has featured such world-class instructors as Bill Bruford, Horacio “El Negro??? Hernandez, JoJo Mayer, John Riley, Gary Chaffee, Mike Mangini, Marco Minnemann, Benny Greb, Pete Riley, Pete Lockett, Gabor Dornyei, and Kim Plainfield. The weeklong camp …

Click here to check out part 1 of a Jazz Drummer’s Workshop series by Steve Fidyk focusing on ways to develop coordination on the drumset using Ted Reed’s classic book Syncopation.

The 2014 South Florida Percussion Workshop/KoSA Miami will take place…

Welcome to the Spotify Playlist for the May 2014 issue of Modern Drummer magazine….

See what’s in the May 2014 issue of Modern Drummer Magazine featuring drummer Jim Riley…

On Sunday, March 30th, some of the biggest names in drumming will come together for an afternoon you won’t forget. Russ Miller joins Ray Luzier, Mike Johnston, Greg Hutchinson and John Riley for the Drum Daze line-up.

Hello MD readers! It has been some time since we last visited here. I am still enjoying life in Nashville, juggling touring, recording, producing, writing, and teaching. I love this life we live as modern drummers!

We asked the members of the MD Education Team to share their thoughts on how they prefer to tune their drums. Here’s what they had to say….

What makes a great drum book? There’s no single answer, as different books have been written to address a wide variety of styles and techniques. But judging by a recent poll in which Modern Drummer readers were asked to name their favorite volumes, a few characteristics stand out….

Pinback has been traveling constantly this past year in support of the new album, Information Retrieved. We were planning the final leg of our US tour when the opportunity came up to play on Jimmy Fallon’s show in New York. The tour had been planned originally as a mostly southern …

We asked the members of the MD Education Team if they think it’s important for their students to study jazz. Here’s what they had to say….

In addition to the cover story on big band star Buddy Rich, the December 2012 issue of Modern Drummer magazine features a fascinating conversation between the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra’s John Riley and VJO drum sub Paul Wells. The article contains lots of useful real-world advice from Riley; here Wells asks …

Click here to read ways to maximize your practicing.

We asked the members of the MD Education Team if they think that reading skills are crucial. Here’s what they had to say….

The sixth annual Croatia Drum Camp will be held this August 5-12 at the Jeunesses Musicales International World Meeting Centre in Groznjan, Croatia. The picturesque backdrop of this 14th-century Mediterranean hilltop village overlooks sprawling vineyards surrounding the Adriatic Sea, making the camp one of the most unusual and geographically attractive …

We asked the MD Education Team if feel could be taught. See what they had to say….

The MD Education Team chimes in on the pros and cons of practicing with a metronome….

My name is Jose Rosa, and I’d like to tell you about my latest book, The Art of Latin Drumming, and share information about the Contemporary Drums & Percussion Camp.

I’m Tim Walsh of the Stepkids, and I’m excited to be on here and hope to add to the wealth of knowledge that is MD’s awesome thirty-five-year history…

Alex Acuna will be part of the 2012 edition of the University of Central Florida’s Contemporary Drums and Percussion Camp, along with his nephew Hector “Pocho” Neciosup, Jose Rosa, John Riley, Tony Cintron, Ekendra Das and Larry Washington. When: July 12 – 14, 2012 Where: University of Central Florida in …

[MDEdTop]George Marsh is a San Francisco-based jazz drummer/composer currently playing with the David Grisman Sextet. He’s recorded with John Abercrombie, Terry Riley, David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Pauline Oliveros, Denny Zeitlin, Maria Muldaur, and others. Marsh teaches at the University of California, Santa Cruz and at Sonoma State University. He also …

Ben Riley commands respect from the moment he hits the bandstand. While he is best known (and beloved) for his years spent in Thelonious Monk’s quartet at the peak of that master’s powers, Riley has also recorded and performed with many other jazz greats.This article orginally ran in the February …

Billy Higgins, who would come to play on more than five hundred albums, including three of the biggest jazz crossover hits of the 1960s (Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man,??? Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder,??? and Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance???), was born in 1936 and grew up in Los Angeles. He began …

Hey, all, it is a pleasure and honor to be writing a blog for Modern Drummer. I grew up in the church tradition, playing gospel. Around age eleven I got really into break-dancing and I kind of got away from the drums for a few years. But when I was …

Hey, everyone, hope all is well. This is my first time writing a blog for Modern Drummer, and I’m truly excited. As usual, L.A. Guns is out on the road. We’ve been touring the world and putting out a consistent, hard-rocking experience…

Welcome once again to the MD Readers Poll, where the greatest drummers on the planet are honored by the most educated drum fans around. Let’s get right to it: the envelope, please….

Watch the video preview of John Riley at the Modern Drummer Festival 2011.

“Throughout his storied career, Joe Morello displayed a rare combination of drumming talents. He revealed an exceptional sense of swing and finesse combined with astounding technical ability. Along with witty and inventive solo work, Morello was extremely adept at negotiating odd time signatures. Thousands of aspiring drummers have been both …

John Riley, one of the most respected drummer/educators of the past thirty years, was born in 1954, and began playing drums at the age of eight. At twelve Riley began playing in rock bands and was first exposed to jazz via the soundtrack to The Gene Krupa Story and Max …

I'm a jazz drummer living in New York City. I've just released my first CD as a leader, The Tarrier.

Hudson Music has recently released Steve Smith’s DVD Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants, which Smith describes as “a detailed look at the drumming of some of the jazz giants who have helped create the vocabulary and concepts of drumming in general.???

Mitch Mitchell was not alone in blending jazz and rock drumming styles, but he may have pushed the combo further than anyone who came before him. Here a number of noted drummers provide further insight into Mitch’s influence….

Simply put, Max Roach brought jazz drumming into the modern age. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell revolutionized jazz with new melodies and concepts; Max matched these musical geniuses with startling rhythms and reactive, action-packed drumming that still influences drummers on a profound level today….

As the forty-year-old son of Ringo Starr, most would think that Zak Starkey had been handed stardom on a silver platter. He plays drums with two of the most popular bands in the world, names the late, great Keith Moon as one of his best childhood friends, and is so …

The Dave Brubeck Quartet was the most popular jazz group of that time. “Take Five,” featuring a drum solo by Joe Morello, was a million-seller. This group toured the world playing concerts instead of location club gigs. I can’t think of one jazz group today that approaches the level of …

Steve Jordan has accomplished more in his drumming career than he ever could have imagined. Of the big names he played with, a short list would include Ashford & Simpson, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, The Pretenders, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, David Sanborn, Tom Scott, …