Mel Lewis

Dead & Company, Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Santana, Jon Batiste, Jill Scott, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Kane Brown, H.E.R., Steve Miller Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gary Clark Jr., Leon Bridges, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Plus Hundreds More! To Appear at the 2023 New Orleans …

I’m a great example of “be careful what you wish for.” After spending the last seven years drumming for the iconic country band Alabama playing more than three hundred and fifty shows, it was time to focus on my own band Sixwire.

Hey there MD! Just touching base with a quick update on some fun stuff that’s been going on. Holy cow, does time ever fly! I’ll soon be going into my twentieth year playing with Glass Tiger, the Canadian rock band known for “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone).”

Steven Wolf is, without doubt, truly one of today’s modern day drummers. He has all the technique and chops, he can groove like a feel-good metronome, and his programmed drum parts make you think, are these real drums or not?

Brooklyn-based indie-rock band We Are Scientists’ fifth album, Helter Seltzer, released digitally this past April 22 and physically on June 3, is an advanced-level course in hook-ology.

Hey folks! My name is Jon Rotman and I have been a reader of Modern Drummer since 1977, when at age ten, my mom bought me my first copy with Chicago’s Danny Seraphine on the cover. That issue marked the beginning of an amazing journey!

Here the on-the-move drummer talks with MD Online about his new record and shares his wisdom on swing mastery….

World’s Fastest Drummer (WFD) producer Jack Propps and Church’s Chicken have joined to honor three living legends of drumming. This year’s recipients of the WFD/Church’s Chicken Legends Series Awards are D.J. Fontana (Elvis Presley), W.S. Holland (Johnny Cash), and Richie Albright (Waylon Jennings)….

Many of you have probably never heard of me before, and that’s okay. I’m a twenty-two-year-old musician based out of Houston, Texas, and I’m currently the drummer for a band called the Tontons….

Over the past few years, I’ve been playing on a lot of Broadway shows, including this current tour, but my career has actually been quite diverse.

Over the past few years, I’ve been playing on a lot of Broadway shows, including this current tour, but my career has actually been quite diverse.

October 2013 Issue of Modern Drummer featuring Mike Portnoy Contents

Modern Drummer columnist Mat Marucci will be appearing with his trio at Jazz Central, at 441 E. Washington Street, in Syracuse, New York, on Sunday, May 12. The concert will begin at 7 pm and will be recorded live by Cadence Jazz Records….

Modern Drummer contributor Drew Schultz and Motown musical legends recently collaborated on an album to raise funds for the Detroit Public Schools Foundation, via sales from Schultz’s debut album, Back to Class. Before the Four Tops’ performance at the Motor City Casino Soundboard Theater on Thursday, December 13, the musicians …

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 …

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

My name is Andrew Nauss, and I play drums for the Brooklyn-based band Thieving Irons. Our album Behold, This Dreamer is due on June 5. (continue reading)

Photo by Robert Lewis. He showed us new ways to think about jazz drumming. There will never be another like him. by Michael Parillo On a dark night at the Village Vanguard, the audience snakes slowly down the long staircase and settles in at tiny tables, squeezed together nice and …

The sun sets over El Paso, and over Juarez as well—which is apparently the murder capital of the world. So I regretfully agree to enter round two in my search for decent Mexican food in El Paso. 0 for 2 this year.

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…

Hello, Jeremy Taggart from Our Lady Peace here. We’re releasing album number 8, Curve, in the U.S. on April 17. It’s been a great experience, and I can’t wait to play the songs on this year’s touring cycle. I couldn’t be more amped about it…

For big band great Mel Lewis, the drums were his easy chair and the band his hearth. He was the fire.

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 …

Hello, MD! It is a great honor to tell you that I will be inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame. I am truly humbled. There are so many people to thank, especially my mother. That’s right, mom! When I saw Ringo on TV as a kid, I …

Exclusive Video Footage of Richard Christy Recording “Admire the Heroes,??? from Charred Walls of the Damned’s Cold Winds on Timeless Days.

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 …

For several years now I’ve been the session drummer for Grammy-winning and platinum-earning producer/mix engineer Ken Lewis (Kanye West, John Legend, Beastie Boys, many more). Through working with Ken I’ve played on many indie projects, one major label release so far (“Wild West??? by Novel on Rowdy/Capitol), and have come …

The bop era of the ’40s saw the arrival of several somewhat lesser-known drummers. One of the most important was Tiny Kahn. “Tiny and I were both advocates of the small group approach to big band playing,” said Mel Lewis. “He played basically the same with Stan Getz’s small group …

I grew up in Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C., took piano lessons from age five to eleven, switched to drums in the sixth grade…

Alan Dawson was an outstanding jazz drummer and a legendary teacher. Alan was known for his ingenious use of rudiments, his melodic approach to drumming, and an extremely advanced level of hand and foot coordination.

In celebration of the great, sometimes groundbreaking drumming performances of TV’s golden age, we present to you highlights along the illustrious Drumming On TV timeline…

I wanted to take a minute and tell you about Fitz & The Tantrums. I’m currently recording the upcoming release by Fitz, Songs For A Break Up Vol. 2, and having a total blast.

I wanted to take a minute and tell you about Fitz & The Tantrums. I’m currently recording the upcoming release by Fitz, Songs For A Break Up Vol. 2, and having a total blast.

Nash is all about the tradition of jazz–if by “tradition??? you mean making the most sublime rhythmic statements possible.

Jon Wysocki has been laying down his tasteful, well thought–out grooves with the chart-topping band Staind for thirteen years. The group, which hails from Springfield, Massachusetts, also includes lead singer/guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, and bassist/vocalist Johnny April. They’ve recorded six studio albums and four number-one singles, and …

2007 was an extremely busy year for me. I played eighty-four shows in the Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New Orleans, with several recording projects and a zillion songwriting sessions and rehearsals….

It can be a difficult task putting together a top-ten list, as most musicians have extraordinarily large record collections. But I feel that every musician has a top-ten list, and it can define who you are as a musician….

New York City drummer Rich Pagano is way more than just a member of the hippest Beatle cover band you’ll ever hear. He’s also an accomplished singer and producer. As we journey through Rich’s MD Online interview, we’ll learn that not only does he do a stellar job of providing …

Paving the way for some of the great studio musicians of our time, like Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, Jeff Porcaro, and John JR Robinson, were Earl Palmer and Hal Blaine. MD recently sat down with the jovial drummer to walk a bit down memory lane.

The first thing you notice when entering Robby Ameen’s Manhattan apartment is the rich aroma of Cuban cigars, stroking your nose hairs like a dark breeze from an illicit island. Ameen’s walls are covered with cigar-box covers from Habana’s finest: Cohiba, Montecristo, and Bolivar….

For more than fifty years, Tommy Perkins has devoted himself to performing as a full-time working drummer. At age fifteen he made his first recording as a Texas Playboy. That was the 1950 hit single “Faded Love” by Bob Wills.

The scene: a cold night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at North On Sixth, a multi-level hole in the wall jook joint where the bathroom graffiti is more political than obscene. Attracting a crowd of Manhattan intellectuals and Brooklyn deadheads, North On Sixth is tonight showcasing Ben Perowsky’s Moodswing Orchestra. A collection …

An impressive feature of Steve Fidyk’s drumming on the new CD A Perfect Match by The Taylor/Fidyk Big Band is the wide range of styles covered….

Drums are the heart of rock ‘n’ roll – even Huey Lewis will cop to that. So why were the first forty seconds of Interpol’s 2002 debut, Turn On The Bright Lights, missing drums?