Author: John

by James A. Strain Founded in 1900, the Philadelphia Orchestra is just over 100 years old. For nearly half of the orchestra’s history, from 1953 until his death in 2002, Michael Bookspan provided inspirational sounds from the stage to the audience. Wolfgang Sawallisch, Musical Director of the orchestra, characterized Bookspan’s contribution by stating: “With nearly…

by Mark Andreas Giesecke Siegfried Fink was born 1928 in Zerbst/Anhalt (East Germany) and studied percussion and timpani as well as composition at the Music University “Franz Liszt” in Weimar. When people in the German Democratic Republic called his music, which was partly influenced by jazz, “decadent,” and when they wanted to force him to…

 by Lauren Vogel Weiss He’s the composer of “Three Dances for Solo Snare Drum,” performed on dozens of concerts this year alone. Gordon Stout dedicated his well-known “Mexican Dances” to him. And he is the author (and illustrator) of a clever book of limericks, “…And My Daddy Will Play The Drums.” But who exactly is…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Pop quiz: Who was the first President of PAS? If you said Gordon Peters, give yourself a rimshot for knowing your Percussive Arts Society history! Although Donald Canedy served as de facto president of PAS from its organization in 1961 until a constitution was adopted three years later, Peters was elected…

by Robyn Flans Between 1963 and 1992 Ed Shaughnessy was probably the most visible drummer in America. He came into millions of homes every night, playing with everyone’s favorite artists and swinging The Tonight Show band. It’s hard to believe that when Shaughnessy was asked to take over the drum seat for Johnny Carson’s Tonight…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss You’ve probably seen the name Sandy Feldstein on a snare drum book on your music stand. Or a keyboard book in your music library. Or the back of a DVD lying next to your TV. Whether it was published by Henry Adler, Alfred Publishing, Columbia Pictures Publications, Belwin Music, Warner Bros.,…

by Rick Mattingly While working as an editor at Modern Drummer magazine in the 1980s, I came up with what I thought would be an easy way to interview Steve Gadd. I would just make a list of tracks he had recorded with prominent artists and ask him to describe how he came up with…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss The influence of Leigh Howard Stevens extends beyond the marimba technique that is forever linked with his name. He is a performer, educator, composer, publisher, and inventor, as well as a successful entrepreneur. Despite his relative youth (53 years old), Stevens fulfills all the requirements of being in the PAS Hall…

by Rick Mattingly Call it love at first sound. In 1956, when Latin Percussion founder Martin Cohen was 17, he wandered into the legendary New York nightclub Birdland, where vibraphonist Cal Tjader was leading a Latin-jazz band. “The music was so infectious that I have never lost my love for it,” Cohen says. He subsequently…

by Mark Griffith Billy Cobham’s supremely influential career cannot be easily encapsulated. He has influenced drums, drumming, and drummers, not to mention music in general. His influence has crossed all genres and is as strong today as ever. In the world of drumming, Billy Cobham raised the bar, and for that we all owe him…