In honour of Velvet Revolver’s latest album release Libertad, Drummers Republic would like give you an insight into the power behind the rock drummer powerhouse that is Matt Sorum.

Matt Sorum was born in Long Beach, California sometime in the 1960’s, to Joanne and David Sorum of English and Norwegian descent. Having been steeped in Viking lore from his father (David) and classical music and opera from his music-teacher mother (Joanne), Matt’s path led him to the drums after seeing Ringo Starr of THE BEATLES on the Ed Sullivan Show. Matt’s two older brothers (Mark and Mike) also turned him onto rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Cream and The Doors.

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Max Roach, a master percussionist whose rhythmic innovations and improvisations provided the dislocated beats that defined bebop jazz, has died after a long illness. He was 83.

The self-taught musical prodigy died Wednesday night at an undisclosed hospital in Manhattan, said Cem Kurosman, spokesman for Blue Note Records, one of Roach’s labels. No additional details were available, he said.

Roach received his first musical break at age 16, filling in for three nights in 1940 when Duke Ellington’s drummer fell ill.

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With names like Madonna, David Bowie and Sting under he’s belt its easy to see why Omar Hakim is such an in demand drummer. The legendary Omar Hakim takes advantage of every hot, new percussion option out there, from acoustic drums, to Roland’s electronic V-Drums—which he MIDIs into his Power Mac when he plays drums for and produces for the greats of pop and jazz fusion in modern music.

Not just a drummer, Omar Hakim is a well-recognized percussionist and producer in these two distinct worlds of music.
“I had a natural affinity for drums and rhythm very young,” says Hakim. “I started playing drums at about age five, when I got a toy drum as a Christmas gift from an uncle. They strapped that thing around my neck and I immediately started playing one of those marching cadence kind of beats.”

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Sometimes referred to as “The Wembley Whammer” by Mick Jagger. Rolling Stones Drummer, Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts was born 2nd June 1941 in London, England. As well as being the drummer for one of the biggest bands in the world Charlie Watts is a tireless jazz bandleader and also a commercial artist.

Charlie attended Tylers Croft Secondary Modern School and Harrow Art School. It was in 1960, while working with a local band that he met Alexis Korner, who convinced him to join his own band, as the drummer for Blues Incorporated. And later in that same year, the band picked up the vocal talents of one Mick Jagger, as well as guitarists Brian Jones and Keith Richards.

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Modern Drummer have come up with 25 of the most Legendary Talents who Changed Drumming as we know it. In a special collector’s edition publication, Modern Drummer magazine spotlights some of the all-time greats of drumming, from yesteryear right up to today. Jazz giants, rock legends, studio greats-they’re all here, like you’ve never seen them before. As well as biographical info, classic photos, style & analysis sections, tips, quotes, and even lessons from the artists themselves are included!

Drummers profiled include:

Buddy Rich (A Big Band Legend)
Gene Krupa (Drumming’s First Star)
Steve Gadd (The Recording Giant)
Tony Williams (Miles Davis)
Neil Peart (Rush)

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Where does one start with Steve Gadd?The man is modern day legend for all drummers, aspiring or professional. His body of work is phenomenal with a tally of over 600 albums to his name. A tireless drummer, teacher and entertainer the same Steve Gadd is synonymous with Drumming. Having worked with such names as Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Chick Corea, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton and James Taylor its easy to see why Steve Gadd has become recognised as one of most well known session drummer around.

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Neil Peart playing with the original Buddy Rich Big Band on the Burning for Buddy DVD of the same name.

Steve Smith was originally drawn to the drums by hearing marching bands in parades as a child in his native Massachusetts. At age nine, in 1963, Smith began studying the instrument in earnest with local teacher Bill Flanagan, who played in big bands in the swing era.

Smith performed in the usual school band program and garage bands while in his teens, but also began to broaden his performing experience by playing in a professional Brockton concert band and even the big band at the local college, Bridgewater State. After high school, Smith began studying music at the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1972. There he received valuable instruction from such renowned teachers as Gary Chaffee and Alan Dawson.

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Louie Bellson is without a doubt one of the greatest drummers of our time. One of the few whose name can be said in the same sentence with Buddy Rich, Louie has been captivating and entertaining audiences his entire life. Not only with his rare ability to continually hold one’s interest throughout a 15-minute solo but also as a prolific creator of music, both written and improvised, his compositions and arrangements (in the hundreds) embrace jazz, jazz/rock/fusion, romantic orchestral suites and symphonic works.

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John “Mitch” Mitchell was born on July 9 1947 in Ealing, Middlesex. A drummer, most famous for his involvement with The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Mitchell was one of the most influential drummers of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the few years before joining The Experience he was known locally as an outstanding session drummer and had hosted a children’s program on TV. Pre-Experience bands included The Riot Squad and Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

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Edwin Thomas “Ed” Shaughnessy was born January 29, 1929 in Jersey City, New Jersey and grew up in the New York City area. Ed is a big band and jazz drummer best known for his long association with Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.A self-taught drummer, Ed Shaughnessy came to prominence, mainly in the New York area in the late 40s working with George Shearing, Jack Teagarden, Georgie Auld and especially Charlie Ventura. In the 50s he became more widely known owing to engagements with bands led by Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey working also with Johnny Richards. In the 60s he was with Count Basie and also worked extensively in New York studios, securing a long-term engagement with The Tonight Show band.

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Gene Krupa was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 15, 1909 and was the the youngest of Bartley and Ann Krupa’s nine children. His father died when Gene was very young and his mother worked as a milliner to support the family. All of the children had to start working while young, Gene at age eleven. His brother Pete worked at “Brown Music Company”, and got Gene a job as chore boy. Gene started out playing sax in grade school but took up drums at age 11 since they were the cheapest item in the music store where he and his brother worked. “I used to look in their wholesale catalogue for a musical instrument - piano, trombone, cornet - I didn’t care what it was as long as it was an instrument. The cheapest item was the drums, 16 beans, I think, for a set of Japanese drums; a great high, wide bass drum, with a brass cymbal on it, a wood block and a snare drum.”

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A clip of a Joe Morello Drum Solo with the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1964, soloing on ‘Sounds of the Loop’. Check out the precision and groove. Joe makes it look too easy.

Joe Morello was born on July 17, 1929, in Springfield, Mass. Having impaired vision since birth, he devoted himself to indoor activities. At the age of six, his family’s encouragement led him to study violin. Three years later, he was featured with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as soloist in the Mendelsohn Violin Concerto. At the age of twelve, he made a second solo appearance with the orchestra. But upon meeting and hearing his idol, the great Jascha Heifetz, Joe felt he could never achieve “that sound”. So, at the age of fifteen, Joe changed the course of his musical endeavours and began to study drums.

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Without a doubt Bernard “Buddy” Rich was and still is arguably the greatest jazz drummer of our time, Buddy Rich exhibited his love for music and entertainment through the dedication of his life to the art. With a career that would span seven decades, beginning when Rich was just 18 months old and continuing until the time of his death in 1987. A gifted genius, Buddy Rich could play with incredible speed and dexterity despite the fact that he never received a formal drum lesson and refused to practice outside of his own performances.

Birth of a Legend - Buddy Rich Biography.

Born Bernard Rich to vaudevillians Robert and Bess Rich on September 30, 1917 Buddy was introduced to audiences at a very young age. By 1921, he was a seasoned solo performer with his vaudeville act, “Traps the Drum Wonder.” With a natural sense of rhythm, Rich was performing regularly on Broadway at the age of four. At the peak of Rich’s early career, he was the second-highest paid child entertainer in the world.

In 1937, Rich’s jazz career began when he started playing with Joe Marsala at New York’s Hickory House. By 1939, he had joined Tommy Dorsey’s band, and he later went on to play with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Ventura, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. Rich was regularly featured in Jazz at the Philharmonic during the late 1940s. He also appeared in such Hollywood films as Symphony of Swing (1939), Ship Ahoy (1942) and How’s About It (1943).

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rich toured with his own bands and opened two nightclubs, Buddy’s Place and Buddy’s Place II. Both clubs were regularly filled to capacity by fans of the great master drummer. After opening Buddy’s Place II, Rich introduced new tunes with elements of rock into his repertoire, demonstrating his ability to adapt to his audience’s changing tastes and establishing himself as a great rock drummer as well as a jazz master.

Rich was a favourite on several television talk shows including the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Jerry Lewis, the Mike Douglas Show, the Dick Cavett Show and the Merv Griffin Show. During these appearances, audiences were entertained by Rich’s constant sparring with the hosts and his slights of various pop singers.

This famed musician received outstanding recognition throughout his career. The Downbeat Magazine Hall of Fame Award, the Modern Drummer Magazine Hall of Fame Award and the Jazz Unlimited Immortals of Jazz Award are just a few of his numerous honours. Rich gained international attention for such master compositions as his 10-minute West Side Story medley. During his lengthy career, Rich toured around the globe, performing for millions of fans and several world leaders including the King of Thailand, King Hussein of Jordan the Queen of England, and U.S. presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

The passing of Buddy Rich.

On April 2, 1987, Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumour. Long-time friend, Frank Sinatra, spoke a touching eulogy at Rich’s funeral. Today, Buddy Rich is remembered as one of history’s greatest musicians. According to jazz legend Gene Krupa, Rich was “The greatest drummer ever to have drawn breath.”

Buddy Rich Legacy.

Since Rich’s death, a number of memorial concerts have been held. In 1994, the Rich tribute album Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich was released. Produced by Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, the album features performances of Rich live staples by a number of famous rock and jazz drummers, such as Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, and Steve Gadd, with all being accompanied by the Buddy Rich Big Band. A second volume was issued in 1997.