Billie Holiday
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.
Freddie Gruber
Right up until his passing on October 11, Freddie Gruber was a source of deep and important knowledge for many top drummers. This piece from the January 1996 issue of Modern Drummer, by one of his most accomplished students,…
Jimmy Cobb: Kind Of Blue And Beyond
Jimmy Cobb was one of the most popular drummers of the late 1950s. He began playing at an early age and found his influences among the bop pioneers. “Max Roach was the hippest music going,” remembers Cobb. “I also listened…
"Papa" Jo Jones: Drumming’s Fearsome Father Figure
It’s been said that modern drumming made its first step towards maturity when Jo Jones arrived in New York in 1936 with the Count Basie band. Within a few years, “Papa” Jo became the idol of hundreds of drummers across…