- Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10, 1924) is a bebop/hard bop percussionist, drummer, and composer. He has worked with many of the greatest jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins. He is widely considered to be one of the most important drummers in the history of jazz. - Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30 1917 Brooklyn, New York - April 2 1987) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuoso technique, power, speed and ability to improvise. - Art Blakey
Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11 1919-October 16 1990), also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Along with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, he was one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. He is known as a powerful musician and a vital groover; his brand of bluesy, funky hard bop was (and remains) profoundly influential on mainstream jazz. - Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (9 September 1927-18 May 2004) was one of the most influential jazz drummers of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan. He served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1949 and then played in a Detroit houseband led by Billy Mitchell. He moved to New York in 1955 and worked as a sideman for Charles Mingus-Teddy Charles, Bud Powell and Miles Davis. - Dennis Chambers
Dennis Chambers is an American drummer who has recorded and performed with John Scofield, Carl filipiak, Steely Dan, Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, John McLaughlin, Niacin, Mike Stern, and many others. Despite a complete lack of formal training, Chambers has become well-known among drummers for his impressive technique and speed. - Tony Williams
Tony Williams (December 12, 1945 - February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. - Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White (born December 19 1949) is an American jazz funk drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever and being one of the forerunners of jazz-rock/funk. White was born in New York City. A self-taught, left-handed drummer on a right-handed kit, he began his career in local groups, and playing regularly with Jackie McLean in the late 1960s. - Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa (January 15, 1909 - October 16, 1973) was a famous and influential American jazz and big band drummer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style. - Jack Dejohnette
Jack DeJohnette (b. 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. DeJohnette was born in Chicago, Illinois. Besides the drums, he studied the piano, which he plays on several recordings. He first became known as a member of Charles Lloyd's band, a group that Keith Jarrett also was a part of at that time. He played with Bill Evans in 1968 on the acclaimed Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and from 1969 to 1972, … - Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd (born April 9, 1945 in Rochester, New York) is a very well known session drummer, mainly known for work with Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Stuff, Bob James, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Eddie Gomez, The Manhattan Transfer, Michal Urbaniak, Steps Ahead, Al Di Meola, Manhattan Jazz Quintet, and many others. Gadd is arguably the most recorded drummer in history, featured on over 600 albums. - Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes, born on March 13 1926, in Boston, Massachusetts, is an American jazz drummer who began his full time professional career in 1945. From 1947 to 1949 he worked with Lester Young, and from 1949 to 1952 was a member of the Charlie Parker Quintet. He also recorded at the time with Bud Powell, Wardell Gray, and Stan Getz. From 1953 to 1958 he toured with Sarah Vaughan. - Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham, born May 16 1944 in Panama, is one of the world's best and most influential drummers known for his jazz fusion in the 1970s, with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, where he pioneered a powerful style of drumming with jazz, rock and funk influences. He has played and recorded with musicians including Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Larry Coryell, and Horace Silver; and is famous for his fast, explosive, and powerful playing. - Antonio Sanchez
Antonio Sanchez (born November 1, 1971) is a drummer. He is originally from Mexico City but he moved to Boston, Massachusetts to study at Berklee College of Music in 1993. After he graduated he went on to perform with Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Paquito D'Rivera, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, David Sanchez, Chris Potter (jazz saxophonist), Avishai Cohen and others. Now he is considered one of the most demanded and respected drummers of his generation. - Brian Blade
Brian Blade (born 1970 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Brian made his first appearances as a sideman with pianist Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman and continued to work as a sideman with other musicians commonly known as "young lions." As a leader, he has released two albums under the Brian Blade Fellowship with a distinct country music feel, … - Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer. He was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, USA. He began playing the drums at the age of four. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, then studied percussion at Indiana University. His professional career started in 1972 when he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra. After three years with Kenton he joined Maynard Ferguson for two years. - Dave Weckl
Dave Weckl (born January 8, 1960) is a highly acclaimed jazz fusion drummer. Weckl attended Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, MO and graduated in 1978. He majored in jazz studies at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. Starting out on the New York fusion scene in the early 1980s, Weckl soon found himself working with artists such as Paul Simon, Madonna, George Benson, Michel Camilo and Anthony Jackson. - Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936-May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. He played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958. He then freelanced extensively with hard bop and other post-bop players, including Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Jackie McLean, Pat Metheny, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Mal Waldron, and Cedar Walton. - Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph (Philly Joe) Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer. The name "Philly Joe" was used to avoid confusion with Jo Jones, the drummer from the Count Basie Orchestra, who became known as "Papa Jo Jones". In 1947 he became the house drummer at Café Society in New York City, where he played with the leading bebop players of the day. The most important influence on Jones among them was Tadd Dameron. - Joe Morello
Joe Morello (born July 17, 1928) is a jazz drummer perhaps best known for his years with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. He is frequently noted for playing in the unusual time signatures employed by that group in such tunes as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk." Morello was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He had health problems throughout his career as a professional musician, especially with his back and eyesight. If he hadn't had eyesight problems at an early age, … - Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke (born Kenneth Clarke Spearman, later aka, Liaqat Ali Salaam, on January 9, 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-died January 26, 1985 in Paris, France) was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming. As the house drummer at Minton's Playhouse in the early 1940's, he participated in the after hours jams that led to the birth of Be-Bop, which in turn lead to modern jazz. - Steve Reid
Steve Reid is an American jazz drummer who has played with a wide range of notable artists including Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Sun Ra, and as a session drummer for Motown. He was named "Jazziz"’s "Percussionist of the Year" in 1993 and 1995. - Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni (born 6 July 1924), better known by the stage name Louie Bellson, is an American jazz drummer. He is considered to be one of the few drummers whose technical proficiency is in the league of Buddy Rich. He is a composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator, and is credited with pioneering the use of two bass drums. - Jo Jones
Jo Jones (later known as Papa Jo Jones) was an American drummer, one of the most influential in the history of jazz. - Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson died of leukemia on February 23, 1996. - Paul Motian
Paul Motian is an American jazz drummer who splits his time evenly and effectively between the postwar styles of bebop, post-bop, cool jazz and free jazz. Whether transfiguring the piano trio with Bill Evans , performing in Keith Jarrett 's "American Quartet," or leading his own groups, Motian's combination of traditional swing roots and clever unpredictability have made him one of the most consistently active and prolific drummers in modern jazz. - Bill Stewart
William Harris "Bill" Stewart (born October 18 1966, Des Moines, Iowa) is an American jazz drummer. Stewart is a versatile player who has performed with a broad array of musicians, from Maceo Parker to Jim Hall. He is also an active composer, whose distinctive tunes, which might be categorized as "postmodern" jazz tunes, appear on his, and others', records. - Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb (born January 20 1929 in Washington D.C.) is an American hard bop drummer. He has worked extensively with a wide range of artists, including Geri Allen, Dinah Washington, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Cannonball Adderly, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Wynton Kelly, Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, Gil Evans, Miles Davis, Paul Chambers, Kenny Burrell, J.J. Johnson, Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderley, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, George Coleman, … - Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis (May 10, 1929 - February 2, 1990) was a drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents. His birth name was Melvin Sokoloff. He started playing professionally as a teen, eventually joining Stan Kenton in 1954. His musical career brought him to Los Angeles in 1957 and New York in 1963. In 1966 in New York, he teamed up with Thad Jones to lead the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. - Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne (June 11 1920-September 26 1984), born Sheldon Manne in New York, New York, was an American jazz drummer. He was frequently associated with West Coast jazz, but his broad range of contributions to music, not only jazz, showed that he could not be readily pigeonholed. - Billy Hart
William "Billy" Hart is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history. Early on he performed in Washington, D.C. with soul artists such as Otis Redding and Sam and Dave, and then later with Buck Hill and Shirley Horn, and was a sideman with the Montgomery Brothers (1961), Jimmy Smith (1964-1966), and Wes Montgomery (1966-1968). Following Montgomery’s death in 1968, Hart moved to New York, … - Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton (Foreststorn Hamilton) (September 21 1921, Los Angeles) is a jazz drummer. He was born in Los Angeles in 1921 and was raised locally as the Central Avenue jazz scene was beginning to coalesce. In the 1940s, he performed with Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He appears in the "March Milastaire" number in the film "You'll Never Get Rich" (1941) as part of the backing group supporting Fred Astaire. - Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (b. Monroe, Louisiana, August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. He lives in Chicago, although he spends much of his time traveling around the world for concerts and studio dates. He first became known for his work with Chicago tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson. His other frequent collaborators include New York bassist William Parker, saxophonist David Murray, composer and percussionist Adam Rudolph, … - Cozy Cole
Cozy Cole (October 19, 1909 - January 31, 1981) was a well known jazz drummer who had a #1 hit with the song "Topsy Part 2". The song contained a lengthy drum solo, and one of the few drum solo recordings that ever made the popular Billboard top 100 (1958) charts. The single, issued on the tiny Brooklyn-based Love Records, was a sensation. He is cited as an influence by many contemporary rock drummers, including Cozy Powell, … - Han Bennink
Han Bennink (born April 17, 1942) is a Dutch jazz drummer, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist. Bennink was born in Zaandam, the son of a classical percussionist. He played the drums and the clarinet during his teens. Through the 1960s he drummed with a number of American musicians visiting the Netherlands, including Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and Eric Dolphy (he can be heard on Dolphy's final studio recording, "Last Date" (1964)). - Harvey Mason
Harvey Mason (born February 22 1947 in Atlantic City, New Jersey is one of the best-known session drummers. He has worked with many jazz and fusion artists such as Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and almost all the Mizell Brothers productions with Donald Byrd, Johnny Hammond, Bobbi Humphrey and Gary Bartz. He is featured on George Benson's 1976 album, "Breezin". - Lewis Nash
Lewis Nash (born December 30, 1958) is an American jazz drummer. Nash grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was encouraged into jazz by his high school band teacher. By the age of 18, Nash was a first call sideman for visiting musicians to Phoenix, and received the call to move to New York and join Betty Carter's band at the age of 22. Nash became a highly in demand sideman during this period, and since his tenure with Carter, … - Ari Hoenig
Ari Hoenig (born 1973 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), is a jazz drummer, composer and educator known for his unusual and intense approach to drumming emphasizing complex rhythms in direct harmony with other group members. He currently leads a group that makes regular appearances in New York jazz clubs including the 55 Bar and the Blue Note, in addition to performing worldwide. Joining him in the group is the noted French pianist Jean-Michel Pilc. - Chick Webb
William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb (February 10, 1905 –June 16, 1939) was a jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader. - Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian Jazz percussionist and musician. He currently resides in Los Angeles. - Ed Thigpen
Edmund Leonard (Ed) Thigpen (born December 28, 1930) is an American jazz drummer born in Chicago, Illinois, perhaps best-known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959-1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956-1959. Ed's father, Ben, was a drummer who played with Andy Kirk for sixteen years during the 1930s and 1940s. Ed was raised in Los Angeles, California and attended "Thomas Jefferson High School", …
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