Hall of Fame 2001

by B. Michael Williams I am the drum, you are the drum, and we are the drum. Because the whole world revolves in rhythm, and rhythm is the soul of life, for everything that we do in life is in rhythm. — Babatunde Olatunji Babatunde Olatunji has been hailed as the father of African drumming…

by Jim Payne 1923–2000 Tito Puente brought me into his garage last year. We were working together on a book/CD, Tito Puente’s Drumming With The Mambo King, and later we were going to a video shoot for the same project. We needed to load up his timbales because he was going straight to a gig afterward. The…

by James A. Strain Al Payson, retired Percussionist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was nearly at a loss for words when informed of his election into the PAS Hall of Fame. “I am stunned to learn of my selection and words fail me,” Payson said. “I feel really honored to be chosen and can’t quite…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Almost every drummer has a pair of nylon-tip sticks. The man who first decided to put nylon tips on wooden drumsticks was a very clever and innovative drummer named Joe Calato.  As a cabinetmaker and part-time musician raising a family in the early 1950s, Calato recalls what led him to one…

Story and Photo by Rick Mattingly 1929-1990 In an era when big band drummers were expected to be showmen who drove their ensembles with aggressive timekeeping and fast, furious fills, Mel Lewis defied the trend and served the music by supporting the band rather than by calling attention to his own playing. The warm sounds…