Duke Ellington
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.
Paul Motian: Embracing The Past, Forging the Future
by Burt Korall Following is an interview with post-bop master Paul Motian, which ran in the April 2005 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. Paul Motian’s place in jazz drumming history is secure. His classic performances in the 1960s with mainstream…
Bobby Rosengarden: The Stylish Rhythm Of TV’s Golden Age
Bobby Rosengarden was a well-traveled and well-recorded drummer whose career spanned the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s and included work with musical giants such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Tony Bennett, Stan Getz, Benny Goodman, and Astrud Gilberto. But Rosengarden…
Sonny Greer: Duke Ellington’s Crowd Pleaser
Sonny Greer was born in 1903 in Long Branch, New Jersey, and studied drums with vaudeville drummer J. Rosemond Johnson. His first professional job was as a youngster in a pit band in Red Bank, New Jersey. Within a few…
Chick Webb: The First True Drumming Idol
Chick was born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 10, 1907. He suffered from tuberculosis of the spine, which left him badly crippled. It wasn’t until he underwent a painful operation as a child that he was able to use his…
Louie Bellson A Lifetime Of Greatness
"Young drummers should learn the history of the instrument. You have to know where you came from in order to know where you're going." When one of the greatest drummers of all time turns eighty, the celebrations continue all over…
