As the old saying goes, "You have to go back before you can go forward." And that means you should learn the tradition of the instrument to gain greater knowledge and bring more depth to your playing.

German jazz fusion drummer and music director Paul Albrecht has become a phenomenon, seamlessly blending traditional jazz finesse with the contemporary cadence of hip-hop. But his story is more than ...

Welcome to the jazz drums studio at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music! Our curriculum focuses on preparing students to be well-versed rhythm section players and soloists. Our ...

It is not easy to play both jazz drum set and Afro-Caribbean percussion. Lots of drummers do it, but few have mastered it in a way that makes their sound in either style unmistakable from the first ...

Triangles and Circles, the new album from Dafnis Prieto, blends Afro-Cuban beats, blues feeling and spontaneous rhythmic variations. Critic Kevin Whitehead says that drums are at the album's heart.

If there’s one sound that defines classic jazz, it’s the feel of swing. At its core, swing comes from dividing the beat into ...

Louis Tebugo Moholo-Moholo was born in St Monica’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa on 10 March 1940. He’d not have appreciated that introduction, once chastising an interviewer: Ah, no! My name is ...

Did you know the Ravens were getting an accomplished musician when they signed cornerback/special teams player Justin Bethel? Bethel plays drums in a jazz band named "House of Bethel". It's a family ...

Louis Tebugo Moholo-Moholo was born in St Monica’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa on 10 March 1940. He’d not have appreciated that introduction, once chastising an interviewer: “Ah, no! My name is ...

This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli, in for Terry Gross. Drummer Dafnis Prieto moved to the U.S. from Cuba in 1999. Twelve years later, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Prieto leads a few ...