2023

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Chris Brooks, Vice-President of percussion publishing company Row-Loff Productions, passed away unexpectedly in an accident at his beloved cabin in the Tennessee mountains on October 11, 2023 at the age of 66. Row-Loff Productions, founded in 1990 by Brooks and Chris Crockarell (RLP’s President), has hundreds of titles on prescribed music…

Drummer, educator, author, and motivational speaker Dom Famularo, known as “Drumming’s Global Ambassador,” died on Sept. 27, 2023. Born August 26, 1953, Dom studied from such legendary drummers as Joe Morello, Jim Chapin, Al Miller, Charlie Perry, Colin Bailey, Shelly Manne, Papa Jo Jones, and Ronnie Benedict. He was known for blending the techniques of…

Joseph “Joe” D. Calato, founder of the drumstick company Regal Tip, died on September 1, 2023, at age 102. Born in 1921 in Niagara Falls, New York (where he lived his whole life), Joe D. Calato followed in his father’s footsteps. “My father was a pit drummer in the days of vaudeville,” he said. “I…

Drummer, educator, and author Peter Magadini died on August 13, 2023. Magadini was widely known for his interest and expertise in polyrhythms as applied in western music and drumset. He published two major works on the subject: Polyrhythms for the Drumset and Polyrhythms: The Musicians Guide (first published in two volumes in 1967), which Modern…

Phil Faini, a staple at the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts for more than 40 years, died on June 7, 2023 at the age of 91.  Philip James Faini was born in Masontown, Penn., and by age 16, he played regularly with dance bands in the region. His work was featured on the…

By Lauren Vogel Weiss Ian Turnbull, winner of the first PAS Outstanding Chapter President’s award in 1991 for his leadership in Ontario, Canada, passed away on May 26, 2023 at the age of 92. As his obituary in the London Free Press stated, “Music was his life.” Turnbull was born in Worcester, England on November…

Deborah Maureen Loach, Treasurer of the Alabama PAS Chapter, died from cancer on May 25, 2023. She grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, and in high school, she participated in numerous music ensembles as a percussionist, including a Scottish pipe band, where they competed in Scotland. She also was a member of Roadshow, a Manhattan Transfer-style…

Drummer Ralph Humphrey, known for his playing with the Don Ellis Big Band and Frank Zappa, died on April 25, 2023.  Born in Berkeley, Cal. In 1944, Humphrey played clarinet in Dixieland bands in his early teens. He switched to drums at age 15 and studied percussion at the college of San Mateo and San…

Jazz drummer Butch Miles died on Feb. 2, 2023. He was best known as the drummer for the Count Basie Orchestra from 1975–79 and again from 1997–2007. He also performed with  Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dave Brubeck, Mel Torme, Lena Horne, Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, Clark Terry, Gerry Mulligan, Harry “Sweets” Edison,…