Mat Marucci

Mat Marucci is an active performer, author, educator, and clinician listed in Who's Who In America, International Who's Who In Music (Cambridge, England) and the Institute of Jazz Studies (Rutgers University). His performing credits include jazz greats Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell, James Moody, Eddie Harris, Buddy De Franco, Les McCann, Pharaoh Sanders, and John Tchicai among others. He has eight critically acclaimed recordings to his credit as a leader and others as a sideman, including those with John Tchicai and Jimmy Smith and is also the author of several books on drumming for both Lewis Music and Mel Bay Publications. Many of his books and recordings have garnered four and five stars in various trade magazines including Jazz Times, Jazziz, Modern Drummer and Downbeat.

Additionally, Mat has been an Adjunct Professor for American River College (Sacramento, CA), a faculty member of The Jazzschool (Berkeley, CA) and is an endorser for Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks and Remo drumheads. He has written numerous articles on drumming for Modern Drummer and Downbeat magazines along with those for the Percussive Arts Society's Percussive Notes and Percussion News.

Awards

Artscapes 2003 Grant Recipient - Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Recording Grant - Samuel C. Allen Foundation (2003) Nomination For Intruction Book Of The Year - Drum! Magazine (2007)

Gear

Zildjian cymbals Remo drumheads Vic Firth drumsticks

Going Forward... Or Is It Backward?

by Mat Marucci
March 27, 2016

This title came from a saying I heard long ago, and many times since, but can't think of where I originally heard it. The saying is “To go forward, you have to go back" and the meaning of this saying will be very obvious by the end of this article. To begin, I will relate a short story: Years ago a young guitarist who I was working with in a rock band was sitting in the living room ...

Drum Addiction

The Groove

by Mat Marucci
March 21, 2016

The groove, feel, pulse, beat, pocket--whatever it is called--is the essence of the feeling of the music being played. Musical genre has its own concept and texture--almost a personality. (In classical music the composer is the main force in the music's texture and interpretation. Very specific instructions for the feeling of a piece and dynamic markings are included by the composer to guide the performer's interpretation of the music. Percussion is used mainly as a coloring for the ...

Drum Addiction

Getting The Hi-Hat Sound

by Mat Marucci
November 8, 2015

The hi-hat sound is possibly the most used and abused part of the drum set. While other parts of the instrument are generally played with the hands or the feet, the hi-hat is played with both--the hands for a “ride" effect, the feet for the “chick" sound and with both for “barks." The focus of this article is achieving the “chick" sound. Many drummers play the hi-hat with a heel-down rocking motion, using the foot much in the ...

Drum Addiction

The Jazz Instrument

by Mat Marucci
October 7, 2015

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. Let's start at the beginning. Bear in mind that the drum set is the only instrument that was specifically created to play jazz. Originally, the various components of the jazz drum set were used in various ways in marching, concert, and symphonic bands. ...

Drum Addiction

Less Is More? Really?

by Mat Marucci
August 11, 2015

There have been popular views by certain so-called experts that seem to have been accepted as dogma, the term “less is more" being one of them. However, as in any subject from sports to politics to science to religion, every pundit has an equal who has a contrary opinion. I, for one, am bothered by some of these views and not only have a contrary view of them but feel many are either misleading, questionable, or downright wrong.

"....an unpretentiously efficient drummer......." - Leonard Feather / L.A. Times "....a vital and driving force, a compelling and empathetic accompanist." - Frankie Nemko / Downbeat Magazine ".....technically fearsome......" - Owen Cordle / Jazz Times ".....veteran percussionist deserving of wider recognition." - Ken Dryden / All Music Guide "Mat's playin' his a** off." - jazz organist Jimmy Smith "Yes, he can play! His time feel is smooth and floating." - T. Bruce Wittet / Drums, Etc. "...popular and prolific sideman"........"well earned rep on the California coast." - Derek Taylor / Cadence Magazine "Marucci is a sure propellant to any soloist"......"keenly aware..." - Clifford Allen / All About Jazz ".....quite simply a musician's musician"..."clear, definitive personality as a leader"....."personally distinctive drum sound"........Marcus Crowder / Sacramento Bee "A ride to deeper dimensions" .....Jackson Griffith / Sacramento News & Review "The real deal"....Eric Cohen / WAER-FM (Syracuse, NY) "Marucci thunders with a percussive sparkle that twists and turns with surprises at every corner." - Jim Santella, Cadence Magazine "Sounds are great!" - Miff Mole, KSDS-FM "I saw Mat play with Jimmy Smith and sat thinking, 'that is what it sounds like to play perfectly for the music.'"..."soloing techniques are not only musical, but original and fascinating for the eyes and ears"..."true master of the drums." - Johnny Rabb

Primary Instrument

Drums

Location

Boise

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Has been a faculty member - The JazzSchool, Berkeley, CA Adjunct faculty member - Los Rios Community College District Applied Music Instructor - American River College, Sacramento, CA.

Clinic/Workshop Information

Published Books: Drumming Facts, Tips and WarmUps (Mel Bay Publications) Drumstick Finger Systems and Techniques (Mel Bay Publications) Drum Rudiments: A Simple Approach (Mel Bay Publications) Jazz Drumming Essentials....and More (Mel Bay Publications) Essential Snare Drum Exercises (Mel Bay Publications) Mastering the Snare Drum (Mel Bay Publications) Basic Coordination for the Drum Set (Mel Bay Publications)