Results for "Drums"

The Neighborhood Quartet

The Neighborhood Quartet’s music is as varied as its members’ résumés—as improvisers, they’re adept at navigating jazz harmony; as writers they understand the shape of folklike melodies—but, if they had to be classified, you could say they pursue a distinctly midwestern take on the tradition of R&B and pop instrumental groups. Such groups were thicker on the ground in the sixties and seventies: Booker T. & the MG’s, Young-Holt Unlimited, the Meters, and broadly kindred bands such as the more jazz-aligned Crusaders. On its self-titled debut album, the Neighborhood Quartet doesn’t explicitly sound like any of that—they aren’t retrogressive or imitative—but they tap into the tradition’s sensibility: sticky melodies laid on top of supple funk; clever, economical arrangements; tasty and succinct solos. For the group’s guitarist and lap-steel ace, Dan Schwartz, the NHQT has two principal modes, both evocative of motion: their groovy side, likened to cruising through the streets of the quartet’s native Twin Cities; and their ethereal side, likened to floating above the nearby prairie. Indeed, the album’s bright, hooky opener, “Hey Fellas,” written by the band’s vibraphonist, Steve Roehm, would sound great coming from a car stereo on one of the long commercial streets of Minneapolis (or Detroit, for that matter). Meanwhile, Schwartz’s plaintive “End of October” could soundtrack a country drive where with each second the windshield frames a new classic of landscape art. 

Alex Kautz

Renowned for his musicality, elegance and versatility, Alex Kautz stands out as a distinguished percussionist, educator, and composer. With an unwavering passion for jazz and world music, he has crafted a captivating and distinct musical voice and unique artistic expression.

Alex has been an important part of the NY competitive music scene for the last decade and has played and/or recorded with some of the top artists in the industry today including Tim Ries, Magos Herrera, Nilson Matta, Chico Pinheiro, Steve Willson, Lenny Andrade, Fabio Gouvea, Helio Alves, Victor Prieto, Robert Rodriguez and Michael Rodriguez among others.

Amy Aileen Wood

Amy Aileen Wood is a Grammy Award winning drummer and producer based in Los Angeles. In addition to her work behind the drum kit, Wood is a composer, engineer and mulit-intrumentalist. 

Her percussive sounds can be heard on Fiona Apple’s 2020 record Fetch the Bolt Cutters, which Amy co-produced. Most recently, she composed the score for the Netflix documentary White Hot and released her debut album The Heartening on Colorfield Records.

Over the past decade, Amy has performed live or recorded with a variety of artists including
Fiona Apple, David Garza, Tired Pony, Shirley Manson, Blake Mills, Lucy Woodward, Ultan Conlon, The Donnies The Amys.

Dexter Stanley-Tauvao

Born: May 8, 1995

Dexter Stanley-Tauvao is a Sāmoan jazz drummer, composer and educator currently based in New York, USA. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Dexter studied at the New Zealand School of Music and graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz with First Class Honours.

His musical career has taken him to Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, the USA and Germany, and he has performed alongside jazz icons such as Alex Sipiagin, Antonio Hart, Rufus Reid and Scott Wendtholt. While he is most passionate about big band and straight-ahead jazz, (Alex Sipiagin, Roberto Manzin, Umar Zakaria, New Zealand Youth Jazz Orchestra, Lauren Nottingham) he also loves Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, funk, indie-pop and folk music. Dexter’s willingness to learn has led to engagements with a wide range of musical ensembles, including:

Edward VanLandeghem

John Hadfield

As a composer, drummer and percussionist, John Hadfield’s dedication to music has taken him from his native Missouri to concert halls and clubs across the world. He has released four albums of his own compositions and has composed for many projects, including Heard By Others, a duo project with Lenny Pickett, Believers a trio with Brad Shepik and Sam Minaie, and For James a duo with Ron Blake. Hadfield also composed and performed in Apologue 2047, a multimedia performance art piece directed by Zhang Yimou which explored themes of the relationships of humans and technology. 

Xaver Hellmeier

Xaver grew up in a musical household, learning piano at first but switching to the drums at age 11. After taking private lessons for a couple of years, he started to perform with the Bavarian Youth Jazz Orchestra and eventually enrolled in the jazz program of the university of performing arts in Munich.
Two years later he relocated to Vienna, Austria to study with Mario Gonzi.

It was in Vienna where he met his future mentor Joe Farnsworth, who has played a major role in Xaver‘s development, showing him inside-knowledge about the bebop drumming of Kenny Clarke, Art Taylor & Philly Joe Jones.

Going to New York

Carl Zinsius

Carl Zinsius is a German musician: drummer, percussionist and teacher, currently living in Cologne.
He studied his Bachelor’s degree in Jazz-drums at  Conservatorium Maastricht (NL) and Siena Jazz University (It) and had the chance to take lessons with some of the most reknown musicians, like Peter Erskine, Gregory Hutchinson or Joey Baron.
He leads his own group, the Carl Zinsius Project (debut album in 2024!), is the percussionist and co-leader of the group Mondo Chôro, and drummer for the interdisciplinary project Everyday Feelings.
Concerts have brought him to travel Europe, Africa as well as North and South America.

Andrea Niccolai

Born: July 21, 1995

Andrea Niccolai, born in Recanati (IT), is a drummer and educator currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. His lifelong passion for music blossomed at a young age, influenced by his father's extensive record collection and a particular interest in Jazz. After graduating from high school, Andrea embarked on a journey to further his musical education, he was accepted at the Jazz Percussion program at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (NL). There, he had the privilege of studying under the renowned Dutch drummer, Eric Ineke.

In 2018, Andrea made the pivotal move to New York City, starting the Masters program at SUNY Purchase, where he honed his craft under the mentorship of jazz drumming luminary Mr. Kenny Washington. Shortly after relocating, he began collaborating with esteemed faculty members such as pianist Pete Malinverni, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and baritone player Gary Smulyan.

Mark Daniel Ettingoff

Early on music became an obsession for Mark soon after he heard Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit on his friend's parents' stereo system around age 10 (similar to many jazz boomers that talk about their formative experiences with The Beatles).  The mercurial guitar dripping in chorus and the pounding syncopated drums hit him instantly like an injection.  Transfixed, he scoured the local Wall-To-Wall sound for another dose of this cathartic magic.  He neglected to read the fine print on the album cover and ultimately purchased Weird Al's "Off The Deep End", which iconically contained a parody of the song and album cover.  Mark listened to the record in error for about a year suspiciously until he found Nevermind, the original 'holy grail' if you will.  This event marked his initiation into a lifetime of these sorts of dumb luck encounters.