Hall of Fame

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…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Most percussionists recognize the name John S. Pratt as the author of the well-known book 14 Modern Contest Solos for Snare Drum. But did you know he taught high school English for a quarter of a century? Or that he was President of the Chaucer Guild, a New Jersey poets society?…

by Robyn Flans I could not have been more thrilled to hear that Ringo Starr is to be inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame. As longtime writer for Modern Drummer magazine, I cannot count the number of drummers who have told me that Ringo inspired their passion for drums when they first encountered the…

by Rick Mattingly “That was awesome,” DeJohnette says, recalling the night. “Ed was in great form. When you play with musicians, it’s always different than just listening to them. I felt very comfortable playing with Ed, and it was obvious why he’s hired and loved and respected by so many great musicians. His time is…

by Lisa Rogers He has been called many things in his life including the “Stradivarius of Steel,” “Father of the Modern Steel Drum Band,” “Master of the Steel Drum,” and Dr. Mannette. I prefer to call him the “Steel Rebel” because in his seventy-seven years of life, Ellie Mannette has continually rebelled against anyone or…

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…