Articles

Mike Pride: From Cradle to Grave

By Troy Collins

Since the turn of the millennium, drummer, composer and bandleader Mike Pride has established a strong presence in the fertile Brooklyn scene. Pride's diverse interests include a wide range of styles; his myriad projects run the gamut from avant-garde jazz and indie rock to neo-classical chamber music and performance art. Encompassing key aspects of all these genres, the simultaneously issued Birthing Days and Drummer's Corpse are Pride's most personal endeavors to date--a fascinating pair of recordings that stand in diametrical ...

Mike Pride's From Bacteria To Boys: Betweenwhile

By John Sharpe

Even though drummer/composer Mike Pride has appeared on over 70 albums, ranging from avant rock to blues, he remains not as well-known as he might be in the jazz field. Betweenwhile is likely to change that. Pride's From Bacteria to Boys has existed in various lineups since 2005, but the current foursome first came together in 2009 and clicked immediately. Although the drummer's collaborators exhibit a similarly eclectic work ethic (with the likes of saxophonist Darius Jones, a rising star ...

Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys: Betweenwhile

By Nic Jones

Drummer Mike Pride is nothing if not busy, as a list of past collaborators including Milford Graves, George Lewis and Mary Halvorson shows. Such collaborations inevitably testify to his range, as does Betweenwhile, the second release by his working quartet. The trouble might be, however, that this very range dilutes the group's identity. Thus the two Monkian minutes of “Rose" are in contrast with the knottily Braxtonian “It Doesn't Stop," where alto saxophonist Darius Jones has to ...

Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys: Betweenwhile

By Mark Corroto

Certainly, any attempt to pigeonhole this drummer is a lesson in failure; priding himself in his diverse interests, whether recording a duet album of free improvisation with Jon Irabagon, on I Don”t Hear Nothin' But The Blues (Loyal Label, 2009), or playing with punk band Millions Of Dead Cops, Mike Pride he has also distinguished himself as a dynamic and responsive sideman to the likes of Andrew D'Angelo, Jason Stein, and Jack Wright. He leads--or is a contributing partner to--the ...

The Many Faces Of Mike Pride

By Mark Corroto

When you hear a new artist, naturally you tell others and spread the word. When the discovery is someone like percussionist and multi- instrumentalist Mike Pride--with his huge discography--you ask yourself, where have I been?

Born in Maine in 1979, Pride now makes his home in NYC. Like saxophonist and fellow New Yorker John Zorn, pinning Pride down to a single classification is nearly impossible. He comes to jazz and improvisation from a punk rock perspective, but his respect for ...