Hall of Fame

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.

by Lauren Vogel Weiss The first woman ever inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame, Keiko Abe was honored at the PASIC ’93 Awards Banquet in Columbus, Ohio. As the diminutive lady shyly approached the microphone to thank her peers, one could only contrast her manner with the confident way she approaches the marimba.  Abe…

by J. J. Rusch “It is the culmination of a lifetime”the highest award in ‘percussiondom’”I can finally die,” says William F. Ludwig II of his induction to the PAS Hall of Fame. Though the PAS membership is composed of players, educators, students and industry people, Ludwig is overwhelmed about his election because, “Most of the…

by Rick Mattingly “I was very honored,” Joe Morello says of his induction into the PAS Hall of Fame. “It was especially nice being there with Bill Ludwig, who I became associated with in 1954, and it was great seeing guys like Ed Soph and Peter Erskine again.” Soph, who presented Morello’s award on behalf…

by James A. Strain Hailed as the “first concert marimbist,” Vida Chenoweth, following in the steps of Clair Omar Musser, was one of the most influential artists ever to perform on the instrument. She pioneered compositional, performance and interpretive techniques commonly used on the instrument today, among these the performance of polyphonic music via independent…

by Rick Mattingly He says that being elected to the pas hall of Fame is “quite an honor” and cites previous inductees as “a pretty prestigious bunch of folks.” But Emil Richards says that the biggest thrill is in being given the same honor as his first major influence, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, who was elected…

by Dana Kimble and James A. Strain Sammy Herman was New York’s first-call xylophonist for radio, television, recordings and live performances for over forty years. As the xylophonist for the NBC studios in New York from 1928 to 1966, his career spanned the “golden age” for both the xylophone and radio, and ushered in the…