Toward the end of my college years, in 1974, I joined a symphonic band. Between engagements, a master class was scheduled with Ian Bernard, during which he demonstrated the finesse that got him the job with the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada. Afterwards, I approached him for private lessons that I might apply to drumset playing. Bernard declined, suggesting instead that I contact Kevan McKenzie: Kevan was getting a lot of talk around that time. Even back then, it was not just that Kevan could cover a variety of gigs; any good show drummer could do that. It was the strength of his attack and the authenticity of his approach. If he played funk, you thought of Nile Rodgers; if he played rigid threes, you imagined green hats and lederhosen. The piano player on a recent Canadian film awards show remarked on how Kevan played the date: “It didn’t […]