Primary Instrument: Drums
I was born and raised in Starkville, Mississippi, a small university town, and grew up in a musical family. My mother, an outstanding pianist and accompanist, taught piano lessons for years and also alternated between the piano or organ chair in various churches across the region. My father grew up listening to a lot of Rhythm and Blues and somehow held onto a lot of the records he acquired through the years. Between my mother’s musical endeavors and my father’s interest in (and participation in) various forms of music, I was exposed to a variety of sounds and styles.
Because I never had any siblings, one of my best friends while growing up was the music I listened to from my parents’ music collection (and my own music collection that I began harvesting during that time). Because of this, I literally spent the majority of my time as a youngster with headphones situated tightly around my head and countless LP records spinning on my parents’ turntable.
Somewhere around the time that I started grade school, I started taking violin lessons. I hardly recall much about that experience other than it couldn’t have lasted more than a couple of years. I certainly had very little appreciation for the instrument at that age, although I found that I had great skill in generating horrendous sounds from the instrument. I spent the next several years taking private piano lessons. Not unlike the violin experience, I was a horrible student and hardly ever practiced, learning early the stomach-pitting feeling of guilt going into a lesson and not being prepared. I’m really surprised that my teachers didn’t kill me.
As I became old enough to enroll in the grade school band program, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to play drums. Period. Clearly, I was not alone. Every other young student even remotely interested in joining the band program wanted to play drums. When I went in for the audition, the band director insisted that I try out every instrument. While this was standard protocol for the director, nothing could convince me to stray from my desire to play drums…not even the fact that the director harshly stated that he already had too many drummers and that I would have to choose something else. Needless to say, I would have none of this nonsense, and consequently, I left that audition signed up for a drum position with the 6th grade school band.
My parents went right out and bought a used drum. However, the best thing that happened at that point was that my parents also splurged and let me pick out a new drum set at that early age! (I don’t know how they put up with my banging all those years.) That only helped to firmly align me on my drumming path in life.
While it wasn’t until many years later that I had any kind of formal lessons for drum set drumming, I always had those drums around me. Whether at home or school, I was drumming. Over the years, the drum set stayed in my life. In some way or another, I never totally quit playing, in spite of other interests and directions explored in life early on.
As far as my interest and dedication to Jazz music is concerned, from early on I knew that Jazz music sounded “different.” I knew from the first time I ever heard the music that it was different from anything else. I was exposed to a lot of classical music growing up and listened to many other kinds of music because of my parents’ record collection. I listened to everything from Bartok to Willie Nelson and Charlie Daniels to Wes Montgomery….to groups like WAR and Boston….and a lot of other eclectic musics. I also listened to the radio late at night after my “bedtime” when in grade school. There was a Jazz radio program on the air certain nights very late. I often stayed up in the dark listening quietly to it and sometimes recording it onto cassette tapes. I liked what I heard, but I did not really understand the music at that time. However, I was heavily drawn to it…that rhythm and feel. One fateful night, I left the tape recording when I fell asleep and by chance recorded a tune that affected me VERY deeply. It was a rare track from a live Japanese recording by the Lionel Hampton big band. They were playing a very hip, swinging arrangement of the traditional Japanese folk song, Sakura. I wore that tape out listening to that one track again and again. This started the fire inside. That music was swinging to my ears at the time and it had this certain sound ” a harmonic and rhythmic character that affected me. I didn’t know why then….but, it moved me very deeply.
I wanted somehow to get to THAT sound. I think though, that when I witnessed Hampton live with his big band a few years later and was able to meet him after the show, that the seed was really planted at that time. You can’t witness a big sound like that, pumping from the stage, swinging hard and not dig it. Several years later as I began my college career, I became much more serious about this music and began buying every Jazz recording I could find. Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, Coltrane’s Blue Train, and a few other specific recordings kick-started my never-ending search….from then on, it was under my skin….no turning back.
Mentors:
In the early 1990’s while I was an undergrad in college, a series of events occurred which allowed me to meet master Jazz drummer, Alvin Fielder (one of the founding members of the AACM in Chicago in the 60’s). I had the rare opportunity to have private drum/music/history studies from Alvin, and in doing so experienced a massive change in life and conception of this music. My studies with Alvin allowed me to begin developing new ideas and approaches to drumming, not to mention I was able to take advantage of Alvin’s encyclopedic knowledge of Jazz history (something I still cherish to this day). To this day, I am honored to call Alvin Fielder one of my greatest mentors and friends.
Alvin Fielder also introduced me to the late, great master drummer, Vernel Fournier. I was only able to visit him a few times before he passed away, but the information and conversations we shared influenced my drumming and studies, as well as my viewpoints on many things. I used to watch old footage of Vernel playing with Ahmad Jamal (As well as listening to all those records), and was always amazed at his musical taste and brushwork. He always played what was necessary and did not waste energy or notes. To be able to spend some afternoons talking with Mr. Fournier before he passed on was a blessing I will never take for granted. He was a kind spirit and he taught me this most of all the last time I saw him. That was a lesson of undefined value.
In recent times, I have also studied with master drummer, Marvin ‘Bugalu’ Smith. Marvin worked with Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Mal Waldron and many, many other great musicians. His teachings have helped me in many ways well beyond the technical aspects of drumming. His understanding of all types of energy and how this relates to music and life, as well as the aspect of time, has allowed me to develop in a broader sense, both technically and musically…as well as personally. Marvin has been a strong mentor and friend and I have greatly appreciated his time and efforts in teaching me a different portion of the music and of life.
The list of teachers and mentors is too long to place here; however, I should also mention other great musicians and artists who have guided me and continue to do so. Cooper-Moore, Sir Edward ‘Kidd’ Jordan, Joel Futterman, Henry P. Warner, Rudy Walker, London Branch and so many other great spirits…too many to list out. My deepest thanks to these masters and everyone who has pushed me to new levels.
Over the last several years, I have had the distinct pleasure of performing formally and/or informally, in various settings, with musicians such as: Herman Green, Henry P. Warner, Hugh Masakela, Alvin Fielder, Joel Futterman, Kidd Jordan, London Branch, Toby Tenhet, Mark Applebaum, Alphonso Sanders, Ron Myers, Ferdi Serim, Calvin Newborn, John Birdsong, Darryl Reeves, Rahsaan and Roland Barber, Bruce Dudley, Miles Griffith, Michael J. Stevens, and many more.
I am currently a proud endorser of Istanbul Agop Cymbals™ | Handmade in Turkey.
