Hall of Fame

Michael Colgrass’ first musical experiences were as a jazz drummer in the Chicago area (1944-49). In 1954 he graduated from the University of Illinois in music performance and composition, studying percussion with Paul Price and composition with Eugene Weigel, Darius Milhaud (Aspen) and Lukas Foss (Tanglewood). After 21 months as timpanist in the Seventh Army…

Born in 1943 and raised in Indiana, Gary Burton taught himself to play the vibraphone, developing a unique approach that set a new standard for four-mallet playing. At the age of 17, he made his recording debut in Nashville, Tennessee, with guitarists Hank Garland and Chet Atkins. Two years later, Burton left his studies at…

by Jim Dinella Jim Dinella: How did you start playing drums?  Henry Adler: I grew up during the Depression, so it was very tough to get an instrument or to pay a teacher. In those days, music stores would come to the school and give demonstrations. Then they’d give you something to take home to…

Elected to the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall of Fame in 1989 in the categories of drum set, industry, radio/television, and theater, Maurice Lishon is best known for his ownership of Frank’s Drum Shop in Chicago.

Bobby Christian had an illustrious career that included a wide variety of musical styles and experiences. He began drum lessons when he was six and before age ten he was also playing timpani and marimba. As a teen he played with the Louis Panico band and the Paul Riker band.   He spent some time in…

Jonathan David Samuel Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 7, 1911. He grew up in Alabama, and played trumpet, saxophone, piano, and vibes, also doing some singing and tap dancing in medicine shows, carnivals, and territory bands before switching to drums in the late 1920s. He worked with the band of trumpeter Lloyd…

Born on Sept. 23, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois, William Kraft grew up in San Diego and joined the United States Air Force for three years in the later part of World War II. He received his bachelor’s degree cum laude in 1951 and his master’s degree in 1954 from Columbia University, where he was awarded two…

by Dave Black The Percussive Arts Society mourns the loss of an old friend and Hall of Fame member, Murray Spivack. One of drumming’s most influential and highly respected teachers, Murray died on May 8, 1994, following a lengthy illness. He was 91. Spivack, born in New York City in 1903, had two distinctly different…

by Rick Mattingly Born on September 9, 1927, in Pontiac, Michigan, Elvin Ray Jones was the younger brother of jazz pianist Hank Jones and the late trumpet player and bandleader Thad Jones. After tenth grade, Jones began gigging around Pontiac, sometimes with his brothers, using borrowed drums. At age 18 he joined the Army and…

Elected to the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall of Fame in 1992 in the categories of band leader, keyboard percussion, and recording artist, Red Norvo is best known for his jazz xylophone and vibraphone performances as leader of his own bands.