News & Updates — give the drummer some

Happy birthday to Elvin Jones! The amazing polyrhythmic "heavy bop" drummer from Detroit was already a seasoned veteran of many years before he ever hooked up with John Coltrane. His intense drumming style largely changed the swing dynamic in jazz to a more African-inspired one, subsequently influencing a million drummers along the way, including rock legends Ginger Baker (whom he has played with) and Mitch Mitchell (Jimi: 'my Elvin Jones"). He came from Detroit, son of an auto worker and youngest brother to well-known pianist Hank and trumpeter Thad Jones (both of whom he'd collaborate with professionally). He played in...

The original Flying Luttenbacher, Hal Russell was a Chicago icon. A multi-instrumentalist, he played tenor sax, c-melody, soprano, drums, trumpet, vibes, marimba, musette, congas and keyboards. One of the most surreal jazz characters of the second half of the twentieth-century jazz scene, this guy brought humor, theater and playfulness into his artform. Harold Luttenbacher was born in Detroit, played drums in Dixieland and swing bands (Woody Herman, etc) before discovering bebop. Moving with his family to Chi-town as a teenager, he started playing trumpet as a second instrument in college. In 1950 he played drums with Miles Davis and did...

Happy birthday to the boisterous Clifford Jarvis, stylish drummer of post-bop and free jazz who also worked well with other percussionists. He was from Boston and came from a family of trumpeters. He started playing drums at 10 and studied with Alan Dawson. Early professional experience with Chet Baker and Randy Weston set him up for some gigs with heavy hitters of the '60s & '70s. Operating out of NYC and Chicago, he played or recorded with a host of amazing musicians: Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Grant Green, John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Big John Patton, Barry Harris, Yusef Lateef, Curtis Fuller, Elmo...

Drawing: Steve Kraków aka Plastic Crimewave. If anyone is going to give the late, great Ralph MacDonald a run for his money as "most recorded percussionist of all time" it could very well be "Master" Henry Gibson (or so he claims, anyway). A Chicago native, he honed his chops in the streets and studios of the Windy City. He cut hundreds of sessions, including some early jazz dates with the likes of Sonny Stitt and Ahmad Jamal. He joined Odell Brown & the Organ-izers, recording for the Chess subsidiary Cadet. He was the featured percussionist on Donny Hathaway's hit "The Ghetto"...

One of the great percussionists of the jazz-fusion era, Dom Um Romão was most notable as a member of Weather Report but was also a pioneering bossa nova musician. He started playing in Rio in the '40s and in the '50s formed the Copa Trio (with Dom Salvador) and helped launch the bossa explosion with Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. In the '60s he joined Sergio Mendes' band and started cutting his own albums. After a move to the US he replaced fellow Brazilian Airto in Weather Report in '71 and made several great records as a leader. He continued...