Photos Of Special Events

Jeff Hamilton
@ Soul Drums.
November, 2006.

Soul Drums, Remo, RegalTip and Bosphorus Cymbals were pleased to host Jeff Hamilton for a special clinic.

Few jazz drummers have had careers as rewarding and successful as Jeff Hamilton’s. And with several new releases and projects in the works—and an MD Readers Poll win—2006 may be one of his finest years yet.

The Los Angeles Jazz Society recently named Jeff Hamilton and his musical partner, John Clayton, Musicians Of The Year for 2006. Jeff was also voted the number-one traditional jazz drummer in Modern Drummer’s 2006 readers poll.

» » Modern Drummer Interview April 2008 click here

John Riley
@ Soul Drums.
July, 2007.

Soul Drums and Sabian Cymbals were pleased to host John Riley for a special clinic.

He has performed with a wide spectrum of world class musicians including Stan Getz, Milt Jackson, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Scofield, Bob Mintzer, Gary Peacock, Mike Stern, Joe Lovano, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, John Patitucci, Bob Berg, and many others.

He has a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz education from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music in jazz studies from Manhattan School of Music. He is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and SUNY Purchase, and is an Artist in Residence at Amsterdam Conservatory, Holland. John is also the author of The Art of Bop Drumming, Beyond Bop Drumming, The Jazz Drummer's Workshop, and has taught master classes around the world.

» » www.johnriley.org

Bill Stewart
@ Soul Drums.
November 11, 2006.

Soul Drums, Gretsch Drums and Zildjian Cymbals were pleased to host Bill Stewart for a special clinic.

As a drummer, Bill Stewart's playing is distinguished by its melodic focus, and its polyrhythmic, or layered, character. To say his playing is "melodic" means there is a sense in which one can "hum along" to his solos, as there is a clear sense of melodic construction. His improvisations favor the development and layering of motivic ideas over the raw generation of excitement or display of technical prowess. Stewart has great touch, or dynamic precision, so that his ideas are articulated with a pleasing exactness and clarity. He has also achieved a very high degree of independence of his limbs, so that not only the ride and the snare/toms, but also the bass drum and hi-hat, are free to participate as melodic "first-class citizens." His drumming bears the influence of various melodic drummers who preceded him, including Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Al Foster.

As a composer, Bill Stewart is forward-looking, and seems not to want to repeat what others have already accomplished. In other words, his tunes have a bit of an avant-garde flavor. The melodies, harmonies, phrase lengths, and measure lengths are often altered so as not to conform too closely to traditional jazz language. Some of his tunes (such as "Mayberry") also feature a built-in "free blowing" section, surrounded by a composed "head" (in the case of "Mayberry", a parody of the theme song of the Andy Griffith Show.) The concept of "Mayberry" may have been borrowed from Stewart's long-time collaborator John Scofield, who has written many tunes of the same general shape.

» » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Stewart_(musician)

Gavin Harrison, Escola de Samba, Alan Hetherington and Anthony Michelli
@ Soul Drums.
November 13, 2006.

Soul Drums, Sonor Drums, Vic Firth Drum Sticks and Zildjian Cymbals were pleased to host Gavin Harrion and special guests Alan Hetherington, Escola de Samba and Anthony Michelli for a special clinic.

Gavin Harrison is a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, in which he plays drums and percussion. Harrison has authored two instructional drum books entitled Rhythmic Illusions and Rhythmic Perspectives. He also wrote and produced his own instructional DVDs, Rhythmic Visions and Rhythmic Horizons, at his home studio.

"For me, the essence of a great rhythm track is real drums, played live with feel and groove. They form the basis of a good rhythmic arrangement which builds and supports the song. I know many people would love to use real drums on their tunes, but finding a decent drummer is only the first step - you also need a large studio with a great sounding room, a good selection of mics and a sound engineer. Setting up and soundchecking every mic can take hours... quite a headache, and lot of expense. Given this, it's not surprising that many people rely on drum loops and drum machines."
~ Gavin Harrison

Okay, I'm impressed. When it comes to drumming, Gavin Harrison is a master, and then some. With his second DVD (the first is called Rhythmic Visions ) he gives a good insight to his progressive way of drumming, that he usually lets out in his band Porcupine Tree. He presents different concepts and how you can use them, while encouraging everyone to try and find their own style of playing. That ought to work, because if there is something that Rhythmic Horizons manages to do, it's to inspire.
~ Drummers Digest review of Rythmic Horizons

» » drumset.demon.co.uk

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