raise bar

RAISE
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BAR
Castleton State College, Vermont USA
07/27/2010 > 08/01/2010
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The 15th International Percussion
Workshop, Drum Camp
and Festival
www.kosamusic.com
KoSA :
The Mission
KoSA Communications is
dedicated to developing and
promoting percussive arts
events that specialize in active mutual participation by
professionals and students.
This goal is met by featuring
the best programs taught by
some of the finest artists and
instructors today.
TOCA IS PROUD TO SPONSOR MICHAEL AND MARK
AT THIS YEAR’S KOSA PERCUSSION CAMP.
A Note
from the Directors
Welcome to KoSA! We are happily celebrating over a decade of sharing our
passion and the love of our craft. We are extremely fortunate as musicians
because music is one of the rare things in life that can be shared freely with
people of all cultures and religions – music transcends all boundaries.
Michael Wimberly
Mark Zonder
The world has changed drastically in the past few years due in large part
to the role of technology. Our world has become not only smaller, but it has
become also a heavily inter-connected village. In this global village we are
constantly seeking knowledge and improving our craft due in large part to
the wealth of information available to us over the internet etc. Naturally,
this is a great thing as it leads us to better ourselves as musicians and as
human beings. As the world changes, however, it is even more important
for us to embrace this change and raise our level of consciousness. We see
daily examples of this through the number of corporations that are going
“green” and the number of individuals who are making “noise” in an attempt to make us realize how important it is to take care of the planet or
else we will have to face the dire consequences of our inaction and of our
ignorance. Through the power of music, we, as artists, can participate in a
very present way by sharing our message through our craft and thus raising
the bar personally and collectively. We need to raise the bar for social and
culture awareness. This is where it starts right here with you.
We invite you to celebrate our 15th anniversary of our mission. Join us in
making the difference -to raise the bar!
We purposely keep the
comparative size of the
program small to facilitate
personalized learning in a
friendly, accessible environment. KoSA is proud of its
ongoing involvement in the
world of percussion, percussion techniques and emerging
percussion technologies. We
plan our program carefully
to incorporate and share
information essential for
musicians from Jr. High
School, High School, College,
Music Educ a t o r s, Ba nd
Directors, Professionals and
Drum Enthusiasts. In addition, KoSA presents evening
concerts and performances
featuring some of today’s
most respected artists in the
world of percussion. These
concerts, in a festival
atmosphere, are open to the
public and the community
at large.
The KoSA Percussion Workshops is open to everyone:
percussionists, educators,
and musicians from everywhere, of all ages and experience levels.
Just Play.
™
tocapercussion.com
©2010 Toca
Aldo Mazza
Founder / Artistic Director
03
exotic. educational. essential.
KoSA Cuba Music Festivals include the KoSA Cuba Percussion
Workshop, KoSA Cuba Band Trips and more...
completely custom programs available. Ask us! kosamusic.com
04
KoSA FESTIVAL 2009
KoSA Winnipeg DrumTalk 2010
The 2009 edition of the KoSA International Percussion Workshops, Drum Camp and Festival was
exceptionally held last August in Montreal, Canada.
This was a rare opportunity for the KoSA family to
showcase their brand new “baby”: the KoSA Centre
des Arts (KoSA Center for the Arts), a beautiful stateof-the art facility which currently houses KoSA’s
year-round world-music centre (the KoSA Academy)
and boasts a magnificent theatre with a large stage,
a 300 plus seating capacity, professional lighting,
not to mention wonderful acoustics.
2010 KoSA Winnipeg DrumTalk Festival was a great
success! Hosted by David Schneider, direcor of Winnipeg’s “The Music Cellar”, KoSA was proud to collaborate this past March in this exciting event. An
array of fantastic drummers from Canada, the U.S
and thanks to the KoSA collaboration, as far away
as Cuba performed at this year’s KoSA Winnipeg
DrumTalk Festival.
From July 30th to August 2nd, local and international media flocked to the KoSA Centre to witness
the magic of musical legends sharing their talents
and experiences in hands-on classes in such varied musical genres as South Indian rhythms, West
African drumming and dance, all styles of drumset
playing, to the steel drums. The “Get Real!” theme
encouraged participants to follow their passion and
become confident in order to shape and create one’s
own reality. The 2009 renown faculty members included Memo Acevedo, Pierre Béluse, Anne-Julie
Caron, Ndugu Chancler, Mario DeCiutiis, Kenwood
Dennard, Dom Famularo, Aldo Mazza, Allan Molnar,
Giraldo Piloto, Walfredo Reyes Jr., Jim Royle, Repercussion, Dave Samuels, Trichy Sankaran, Glen Velez
and Michael Wimberly. Highlights of the nightly
KoSA Music Festival concerts included Ndugu Chancler’s special hommage to Michael Jackson. Kenwood Dennard had the audience members dancing
with his performance of “The Ghetto” and “Funky
Broadway.” To add the famed group Répercussion
celebrated their 35th anniversary as they electrified
the audience on Friday night. The week came to a
close with an extended jam session on Sunday at
Montreal’s Upstairs Jazz bar & Grill, with the participation of house pianist John Roney, and bassist
Morgan Moore.
Featured artists included Minnesota based drummer
David Stanoch, jazz artist Curtis Nowosad, pop artist
Andrew Stricko (of Faber Drive), KoSA’s Aldo Mazza,
Cuban monsters Piloto, Julio Lopez Sanchez & Jean
Roberto san Cristobal, and Rascal Flatts’ Jim Riley.
It was an eight hour event that held the attention of
over 350 people in attendance and their response
was terrific.
05
When Does a Person Become a Drummer?
By Liberty DeVitto
I am constantly getting videos sent to me by people
saying, “Look at my kid, he/she is only 3 years old
and can already play the drums.” The child is usually
playing on his or her’s mother’s pots and pans with
wooden spoons as sticks, or is propped up behind
his or her’s father’s kit banging aimlessly on anything
they can reach. And what’s really alarming about all
this, is the lack of ear protection on the child itself.
There are people in this world that will lead you to
believe the drums are a solo instrument. They are not!
You will never walk into a restaurant or bar and see
someone on a set of drums who has been booked as
the “entertainment for the evening”. Even if you consider yourself a drummer how long do you think you
would last there, especially with a date that doesn’t
play the drums! Don’t get me wrong, I do believe there
is a time and a place for a drum solo, the best ones
are wedged in between to musical movements…
The prelude to set up the solo and a finale for a big
climactic ending. The best solos have a beautiful musical flow. They tell a story through the passion and
emotion the player is projecting.
06
A person can take all the lessons in the world and
learn all the rudiments from the best teachers on the
planet. But to be a great drummer you must become
musical. You must develop a “feel’ for music, a sensitivity to a song, your feel in relation to the feel of
the music, because that is a drummers true calling.
To be part of a band, be it Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classical, Gospel, R&B, Rap, Latin, Marching, or any kind
of ethnic or world music, you must study the feel for
that music. The way to study this is to listen to other
drummers that have come before you. When these
musical styles cross, great things happen.
We, as drummers, lay down the foundation on which
most music is built. We need to go as deep as the
music is high. We, as drummers, must know what
musicians on other instruments are playing, which in
turn will help us create our parts. We must always
be listening. I truly believe a band is only as good as
the drummer. And that each drummer has his place.
Finding your place is finding your home, and once you
find your home, begin to decorate it to your style and
taste. Now you are a drummer.
MEMO
ACEVEDO
ANDERS
ASTRAND
BILL
BACHMAN
Cuban &
Afro-Colombian Rhythms
Marimba and Vibraphone
Drumcorps
Born in Bogotá, Colombia he made
his mark there during his early
teens as one of the pioneers of
Rock in Spanish. A self-taught musician, he specializes in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music. He leads
his own bands playing these styles
and Latin Jazz. His self produced
CD Building Bridges, featured his
mentor Tito Puente, and his Building Bridges composition is included
in the Latin Real Book. Memo has
been teaching at New York University for eleven years and he’s
also in charge of the Education
Department at LP. He taught for 7
years at Drummers Collective and
he’s co-author of Afro-Caribbean &
Brazilian Rhythms for the Drumset.
Awards include a JUNO Award in
1991 (equivalent to a Grammy),
Percussionist of the Year in 1994
and 1995 and Best Ad’s Award
1989 for Rubbermaid’s “Unbeatable” TV commercial. Credits as
a session musician/performer include The Urgency, Mark Murphy,
Gregory Hines, Hilton Ruiz, Moacir
Santos, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Stephen
Stills, Tito Puente, Irakere, Yana
& Flora Purim, Boss Brass, Anne
Murray, Betty Buckley, Louis Bellson, The Lion King and Civil War.
As a mallet specialist, Åstrand
regularly performs recitals and
gives clinics throughout the US
and Europe, both as a soloist
and together with his percussion
ensemble Global Percussion Network. In his compositions, Åstrand
focuses on improvisation as an
essential feature for soloists as
well as the ensemble. In addition
to mallet music, Åstrand has been
commissioned to composes for
brass quintets, saxophone quartet,
choirs, and big band. A more spectacular side features compositions
for ice instruments to be performed by percussion ensemble
(one of the concerts also featured
fighter aircraft as instruments),
tractors, and an entire building being inaugurated. Åstrand has also
composed music for multimedia
performances including dance,
video projections, ice instruments,
and fire sculptures.
In the world of marching tenors and
rudimental drumming, Bill Bachman needs no introduction. He is
not only a prolific author, worldclass performer, clinician and
educator, but also an inventor and
touring/recording drumset artist.
Bill Bachman has studied percussion performance at the University
of North Texas and is a graduate of
the Berklee College of Music. He’s
an international drum clinician and
the road drummer in Neal Morse’s
USA based progressive rock band.
Bill has played with and instructed
many award winning marching
percussion groups including the
UNT drumline, Cadets, Bluecoats,
Blue Knights, and Carolina Crown
in his 12 years touring with Drum
and Bugle Corps. He’s the author of
Row-Loff’s Rudimental Logic, Quad
Logic, and Bass Logic, designer of
Vic Firth’s Heavy Hitter pad series
and “Billy Club” signature drumstick, producer of the instructional
drum DVD’s, “Rudimental Beats”
and “Reefed Beats” and is a contributing writer for Modern Drummer magazine. Bill is an endorser/
clinician for Dynasty drums, Remo
drumheads, Zildjian cymbals, Vic
Firth sticks & mallets, Row-Loff
Productions, and Sensaphonics
earplugs. For more information,
check out billbachman.net.
07
Drumming For The Band:
Groove, Support,
And Musicality
By Rick Van Horn
A fact of drumming life is that
you’re not likely to get work as
a single. Drummers need bands
to play in - and to do that, you
need to know how to play for the
band. This involves lots of factors, but three of the most important are “groove,” “support,”
and“musicality.” Let’s take a look
at each one.
means if you want to establish a
laid-back, relaxed feel in an R&B
tune, you have to come to it with a
laid-back, relaxed feel yourself. If
you want to burn on an aggressive
rock tune, then you have to bring a
high-energy approach. Being able
to generate the right feel for any
given situation will make you more
valuable to your band.
Groove
Support
We often think of “groove” in
terms of “pocket” or “laid-back”
playing—most often referring to
R&B styles. But every type of music needs to groove, whether it’s
big-band swing or speed metal.
The two ingredients of a great
groove are “time” and “feel.”
“Time” basically refers to how a
drummer sets and maintains a
tempo throughout a tune. Depending on the style of that tune, it may
mean holding the tempo consistently from the opening beat to
the last one. In other cases, it may
mean managing the tempo according to the desires of the band
or leader—possibly pushing a bit
at the chorus, or holding things
back during a bridge.
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“Time” is fairly easy to practice
and improve on. You can work
with a metronome, drum machine,
or recorded tracks in order to solidify your “inner clock” and thus
develop your sense of time.
“Feel” is a little more ambiguous.
I like to define it as “the emotional
content of the performance, as established by the musical and technical input of the musicians.” That
“Support” refers to how you contribute to your band musically. Do
you provide a consistently solid
foundation? Do you know how to
lay low when necessary, and then
pour on the power when the moment is right? Can you percolate
under a soloist, perhaps motivating him or her to achieve a more
impressive performance? Without
that sort of support from its drummer, no band can play at its best.
Musicality
Being able to support a band with
great time and a killer groove is
the critical starting point. However,
it’s what you add to those factors
with your own musicality that will
ultimately set you apart from other
competent players.
I break down the category of “musicality” into “creativity,” “dynamics,”
and “execution.” If you come with
a creative mind, the ability to tailor
your dynamics to suit any sort of volume situation or emotional level, and
the technical ability to execute all of
your ideas flawlessly, then you’ll not
only be a team player within your
band, you’ll be in a position to be an
MVP on the team.
dreamcymbals.com
JOHN
BECK
PAUL
DeLONG
MICHAEL
WIMBERLY
Classical Percussion
Drumset
West African Drumming & Dance
John H. Beck received his B.M.
and M.M. degrees from the Eastman School of Music where he is
now Professor Emeritus of Percussion. He is also the retired timpanist of the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra. As a performer he has
made many solo appearances
with the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra, Eastman Wind Ensemble and has soloed with and
conducted many percussion ensembles both in the United States
and abroad. His clinics are a feature at many percussion festivals
around the world. Mr. Beck is a
Past President of the Percussive
Arts Society having served as NY
State Chapter President and Second and First Vice President of this
international organization. He is a
composer having had his works
published by leading publishing
companies and has recorded for
CRI, Turnabout, Mark Records and
Heritage Records. Mr. Beck has
written many articles on percussion for leading music journals.
He is the editor of Encyclopedia of
Percussion and has written several
instruction books for snare drum,
drums set and timpani. He was
inducted into the Percussive Arts
Society Hall of Fame in 1999.
10
Best known for his multi-platinum
success with rock artist Kim Mitchell, Paul has forged a career which
encompasses funk, fusion, jazz and
latin, working with such diverse artists as Tom Scott, Domenic Troiano,
David Blamires, Lawrence Gowan,
Carlos Del Junco, Carol Welsman,
Dave Restivo, Nick “Brownman”
Ali, Colm Wilkinson, Doug Riley, Hilario Duran, David Clayton Thomas,
Roger Hodgson and The Canadian
Tenor. As a Juno award winner and
respected session player Paul has
performed at P.I.T. and the N.A.M.M.
shows in L.A. and the Montreal and
Cape Breton Drumfests. Always active on the studio scene, Paul has
also recorded numerous jingles and
worked on many TV shows, including the new Hockey Night in Canada
theme. Paul has taught part-time at
Humber College in Toronto for the
past 22 years and written several articles for Modern Drummer
magazine. His new book “DeLong
Way” To Polyrhythmic Creativity on
the Drumset is now being distributed worldwide by Hudson Ltd. Paul
is also involved in musical theatre
and has worked on the productions of Tommy, Joseph, Rent, The
Lion King, Hairspray, Peter Pan and
Hair. Paul’s fusion band The Code
has 3 CDs, the last release being
“Mianca”.
A classical and contemporary
trained percussionist, Michael
Wimberly holds both a Bachelors
of Arts Degree in Music from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and a
Masters Degree in Music from
Manhattan School of Music. He has
performed and recorded with such
artists as Steve Coleman, Teramasa Hino, David Murray, Henry
Rollins, Mickey Hart, D’Angelo,
Alyson Williams, Angie Stone, Paul
Winter’s Consort and funk legend
George Clinton and the Parliament
Funkedelics. As a composer, Michael has created commissioned
scores for some of New York’s
most acclaimed dance companies
and has also worked on the television programs Calliope Corner, A
World of Music, Big Head People,
and Watch Me. Michael’s Broadway performances include Disney’s The Lion King and The Wiz.
Additional credits include The National Song and Dance Company
of Mozambique, Saint Lucy’s Eye’s
written by Bridgette Wimberly, and
Singing Joy by Oyamo. Michael
also attends many musical directing events. At KoSA, Michael will
be teaching African drumming and
West African rhythms.
LP is proud to support these great musicians at KoSA:
Paul DeLong • Dom Famularo • Aldo Mazza • Allan Molnar
John Riley • Jim Royle • Marcus Santos • Memo Acevedo
Rule your stage with LP.
Latin Percussion has been providing the best musicians
with the best instruments for over 45 years.
Play the best.
You deserve the best too.
Check out LPmusic.com
©2010 Latin Percussion, Garfield, NJ
KOSA Cuba 2010
Workshop & Havana Drum
Festival ‘Fiesta del Tambor
KoSA Cuba held its annual workshop and festival from March 7th
to the 14th, 2010. The program’s
itinerary was jam-packed with
workshop classes, private lessons
and concert events.
The week started with a conference & introduction to Cuban
music by the distinguished and
renowned ethnomusicologist Dr.
Olavo Alén, giving the participants
an overall view of Cuban culture,
music and its various genres.
Conga drums classes were conducted by top artists: Tomas Ramos “El Panga” (Tycoon), Julio
Lopez (LP) from Klimax, and Yaroldi Abreu (LP) from Irakere and
Chucho Valdés. Timbale classes
were conducted by Jean Roberto
Figueroa (LP) from Klimax with
his personal “Timba Rhythm” approach to that instrument.
The legendary Timbalero, Amadito
Valdés (of Buena Vista Social Club
fame), spoke about his philosophy
and approach to soloing while demonstrating the classic way of playing
Danzón. He also showed the “Abanico” roll, and his unique bell patterns
for Guajira, Son and Mambo.
Drumset was done by Juan Carlos
Rojas “El Peje” (LP), Oliver Valdés (LP),
and Ramsés Rodriguez (LP), each
exemplifying their own unique and
creative approach to Cuban rhythms
14
on the drumset. Some of the drumset
rhythm adaptations were Abakua, Pilon, Mozambique and Latin Jazz.
A major highlight of the workshop
classes was seeing Amadito Valdés, Oliver Valdés, Jesus and Yuliet
Abreu from ‘Los Papines’ (LP), and
Enrique Plá (LP) do an impromptu
jam/Descarga. KOSA participants
were also given the opportunity to
see various live performances with
top Cuban bands throughout the
week such as Anacaona (the first
all women band in history), Giraldo
Piloto and Klimax, Yoruba Andabo,
the legendary Rumba groups Los
Papines and Muñequitos de Matanzas, and one of the top bands
today, ‘Pupy y los que son, Son’.
One of the main concerts was held
at the classic “Amadeo Roldan” Theater in the Old Havana, by Orlando
Valle “Maraca” and his brand new
band “Otra Vision”. Aldo Mazza and
Memo Acevedo were invited to perform as his special guests.
The week was a tremendous success and exhilarating experience
for everyone involved!
KoSA Cuba and Havana Drum
Festival sponsors were: LP, Sabian
and Evans. For more information,
please visit our website www.
kosamusic.com or contact info@
kosamusic.com
liberty
de vito
DOM
FAMULARO
ALDO
MAZZA
ALLAN
MOLNAR
Drumset
Drumset
World Percussion
Drumset
Music Technology
& Video Conferencing
Carl
Fischer
Carl
Fischer
Liberty was born in Brooklyn, New
York, on August 8, 1950, second
generation Italian. Life began in a
one room furnished apartment. Liberty joined the group “Topper” which
would prove to be a pivotal point in
his career. The band consisted of
Liberty on drums, Doug Stegmeyer
on bass, Russel Javors on guitar and
vocals. Howie Emerson on guitar,
slide guitar and dobro. The band had
a sound of its own, with all original
material. A club owner once called
Topper, “the worst band to ever play
his club.” Topper , with the addition
of sax player Richie Cannata, eventually became Billy Joel’s band. After
thirty years with Billy Joel, and countless other projects, Liberty is still
going strong. He has recorded and
preformed with Sir Paul McCartney,
Mick Jagger, Ronnie Spector, Billy J
Kramer, Stevie Nicks, Meatloaf and
many others. He can be seen live
with his Atlanta, Georgia based band
with Derrick St Holmes (Ted Nugent)
Ed King (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Jeff
Carlisi (38 special) Jimmy Hall (Wet
Willie) as well as the New York City
based group with Ricky Byrd (Joan
Jett and The Blackhearts), Joe Lynn
Turner (Deep Purple, Rainbow),
Hugh McDonald (Bon Jovi), Christine
Ohlman (Saturday Night Live Band)
Will Lee (David letterman Band) and
others.
Dom Famularo has been traveling
the globe preaching the gospel of
drumming for over 30 years. An
intense performer, Dom has presented master classes and clinics
around the globe in China, Hong
Kong, Japan, Israel, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany,
Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Austria,
Holland, Switzerland, Sweden,
Norway, Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore, Phillipines, Indonesia,
New Zealand, Australia, Mexico,
Canada, and the United States.
Dom acts as Education Director
and consultant for Sabian Cymbals, for whom he oversees programs worldwide.
Founder and Artistic Director of
the KoSA International Percussion
Workshops, and member of the
internationally acclaimed percussion ensemble, Repercussion, Aldo
is an internationally recognized
drummer-percussionist, recording artist, clinician, and educator.
He has recorded with such artists
as Celine Dion, Jon Bon Jovi, Nikki
Yanofsky and Aldo Nova and has
performed live with such artists as
James Brown, Chris De Burgh, and
Oliver Jones.
Allan Molnar currently resides in
New York where he teaches at
Lehman College. Prior to moving
to New York, Allan was active as
a percussionist and educator in
Toronto, Canada where his professional experiences included many
live and recorded performances
in a variety of genres. Allan spent
more than 20 years teaching instrumental music in the Toronto
school system and is a recipient of
the prestigious “Prime Minister’s
Award for Teaching Excellence.”
He works as a resource teacher
for the Canadian Teachers Federation through the “Sharing Teaching
Excellence” program, is a faculty
member of the KoSA International
Percussion Workshops. Allan cofounded The ALIVE Project (Accessible Live Internet Video Education)
in 2004.
15
JEFF
SALISBURY
MARCUS
SANTOS
JIM
ROYLE
Sergio
Bellotti
RICK
VAN HORN
GLEN
VELEZ
Drumset
Brazilian Percussion
Steel Drum Ensemble
Beatnick/Drums
Drumset
Frame drumming
Jeff Salisbury has played for Albert King and Cold Blood, Chuck
Berry, Bo Diddley, Linda Tillery and many other artists in rhythm
and blues and jazz. He is an original faculty member of Kosa International Percussion workshops
and has served as president of the
Vermont Chapter of the Percussive
Arts Society. He has appeared in
Modern Drummer and Downbeat magazines and his articles have
been published by Modern Drummer Publications and the Percussive Arts Society. Four articles
by Jeff appear on the website of
PAS under the heading hot licks at
www.pas.org. His most recent article can be found in Percussive
Notes, the journal of the Percussive Arts Society, December,2004,
entitled “Exploring M.P.’s Threes”,
a tribute to Mitchell Peters, Paco
Sery and the late, great Elvin
Jones.He has been involved as
an artistic advisor for the Discover
Jazz Festival, a faculty member for the Flynn Center for the
Performing Arts Summer Jazz
Camps and was commissioned by
the Flynn to compose and perform original percussion quartet
music in 2003. He has appeared
on many recordings, jingles, workshops and clinics.
16
Marcus Santos is a native of Bahia,
Brazil. An alumni of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Marcus
has shared the stage with artists
such as Paquito D’Rivera and the
Gipsy Kings. Marcus has led numerous workshops on Afro-Brazilian percussion and music for Social Change in universities around
the world, including MIT, Harvard
and Brown University. Santos has
produced and released internationally the “Modern Approach to
Pandeiro” educational DVD. Santos
is featured at the DVD “Musically
Speaking II”, produced by BOSE,
and on Sony pictures “Rachel
is Getting Married” starring Ann
Hathaway. In 2010, Marcus taught
Afro Brazilian Drumming to the
Abreu Fellowship recipients from
the New England Conservatory’s
program for the establishment of
a nation wide music educational
program called “El Sistema” USA.
Currently, Santos is artistic director of drumming groups in six different states in the US, part of an
effort to enact positive change by
engaging communities through
music, especially immigrant teenagers.
Jim Royle is from Connecticut and
has been president of the state
chapter Percussive Arts Society’s
for more then a decade. He attended the University of Bridgeport
and Majored in percussion and education. He has studied with world
masters such as Max Roach, Keith
Copeland, Akira Tana, and Vernal
Fournier. Jim is the drummer for
the New England Jazz Ensemble
big band and has also been documented on several CD’s. Although
he enjoys his own performance
career, the pleasure of teaching
aspiring musicians is equally important to him. Jim Royle’s Drum
Studio is known for turning out
remarkable performers, ensuring
that his students are exposed to
multiple aspects of percussion.
His students frequently go on to
be collegiate Majors in music and
percussion, or study at summer
music camps and Juilliard. Jim’s
five-graded ensembles have been
invited to perform at the Panorama
Steel Pan Festival in VA Beach in
2003 and 2006, as well as a tour
in London, England in 2006. In
2004 the ensemble was commissioned a steel pan composition by
percussion artist Michael Udow. It
was called “Rio Grande Riffs” and
was released in 2006.
Sergio Bellotti moved from the
south of Italy to the USA in 1995.
He was first active in the Boston
music scene, and is now a worldwide clinician/performer who has
recorded and/or shared the stage
with Mike Stern, Wayne Krantz,
Tom Scott, Bob James, Robben
Ford, Nathan East, Bernard Purdie, Harvey Mason and Dan Siegel
among others. Sergio performs
weekly in Boston with WeJazzUp!
and alongside various other local
and international artists. He is the
founder and co-leader of the Electric Jazz ensemble Spajazzy and
co-leads a duo with percussion
virtuoso and Remo Signature Artist, Alessandra Belloni. He is also
the co-founder of the successful
Ponte USA program with Franco
Rossi from the Accademia di Musica Moderna in Italy. Sergio has
taught drum set at Berklee College of Music since 2002, writes
for Drum Club magazine in Italy,
and has performed at the Montreal
Drum Fest ‘03 (now available on
DVD), Cape Breton International
Drum Fest ‘04, ‘05 and ‘06, Berklee World Percussion Festival ‘05,
KoSA ’10, and the Percussive Arts
Society PASIC ‘05 and ‘09 in the
USA and ‘06 and ‘07 in Italy.
Rick Van Horn is best known to
the drumming world through his
twenty-four years as an editor of
Modern Drummer magazine. Rick
started as a regular columnist in
1980, and his “Club Scene” column provided helpful tips on the
subject of being a working drummer in hundreds of subsequent
issues. Rick has also written a
best-selling book on the subject.
Rick’s drumming career covers the
musical gamut, from high-energy
rock and show bands to jazz trios
and pit percussion for Broadway
musicals. Since May of 2008 he’s
anchored the touring band for
1960s vocal supergroup Jay & The
Americans, playing dates across
the U.S. and Canada. As an educator, Rick has appeared at drum
events around the world, including the Cape Breton International
Drum Festival, Italy’s Percfest, and
eight previous KoSA summer sessions. He’s also on the faculty of
the University Of The Arts in Philadelphia. Rick is also an internationally recognized drum journalist. His columns have appeared
in Australia’s Drumscene, Italy’s
Bateria & Percussioni, Argentina’s
Bateristas Al Sur, and America’s
own Percussive Notes.
An internationally recognized master drummer, composer, scholar,
and teacher, Glen has merged his
background in Western percussion with the study of frame drum
techniques from around the world.
A member of the Paul Winter Consort, Steve Reich & Musicians, and
Trio Globo, Glen has left an indelible imprint on percussion.
Horacio “El Negro”
Hernandez
Drumset
Originally from Cuba, Horacio has
done much to further the marriage of jazz, rock and Cuban music.Through his work with such
icons as Santana, Dizzy Gallespie,
Gonzalo Rubalcava and Miche
Camilo, Hernandez has become
Afro-Cuban music’s most visible
drummer.
17
GARY HUSBAND PHRASING IDEA
by PaulPHRASING
DeLong
GARY HUSBAND
IDEA
Hands And Ears
by Paul DeLong
Here's an interesting phrasing idea that was inspired by something that I heard Gary Husband
play on a live Allan Holdsworth recording. It's a simple accented pattern phrased in groupings of
eight eighth-note triplets (the first of which is bracketed below), but notice that when you play it, a
sort of superimposed funk groove is implied. This phrase occurs three times in two bars of 4/4.
Very cool, and very usable in a jazz or fusion setting.
>R >R
L
>
R
>R
L
L
> >R
L
R
L
>R
L
>
R
L
>R >R
L
L
>R
L
>R
L
L
÷ 44 .. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ..
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Once you get it in your hands and brain try moving it to the drumset. Here's a few different ways
to voice it:
>
a) Left hand on snare, right hand ascending on toms:
>R >R
L
>R
L
3
R
L
L
> >R
R
L
>
R
L
>
R
3
L
L
>R >R
L
>
R
3
L
>R
L
3
L
÷ 44 .. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ..
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
3
>R >R
>R
>R
3
>R >R
3
3
>R >R
b) Left hand on snare, right hand on bell of ride cymbal (add bass drum also):
3
L
L
3
L
L
3
L
3
>R
L
>R
3
L
L
3
L
>R
3
L
>R
L
3
L
y y œ y
y œ œ y y
y œ y œ œ y y œ y œ y œ œ .
œ
œ
÷ 44 .. œ
.
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
x
x
x
x
x œ
x œ œ x œ
xœ
c) Double stops:
÷ 44
> >
L/R L/R
>
L/R
3
3
>
L/R
3
> >
L/R L/R
3
>
>
L/R
> >
L/R
>L/R
L/R L/R
3
3
>
L/R
3
3
.. œœ œœ
œ
œ
œ œ
œ
œ
œ œ
œ
œ
.
œ œx œ œ xœ œ œ xœ œ œ œx œ œ œx œ œ xœ œ œ xœ œ œ .
x
Note that c) could also be played with the right or left hand on a crash or chinese cymbal.
> >R
d) Add flams:
LR
L
>
LR
R
>
RL
L
R
> >
R
LR
L
>
LR
R
>
RL
L
R
>
LR
R
L
>
LR
R
>
RL
L
R
÷ 44 ..…œ œ œ …œ œ …œ œ œ …œ œ œ …œ œ …œ œ œ …œ œ œ …œ œ …œ œ œ ..
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
These kinds of phrasing ideas will add a lot of colour to your playing, as well as inspiring
the musicians around you to think outside the box!
18
3
By John H. Beck
A growing concern of mine over
these many years of playing percussion is “what is happening to
good snare drum hand position
(grip) and will the ears be able
to take all these loud sounds”? I
have been playing drums since I
was ten years old and have been
teaching since I was in my teens.
After 43 years of playing timpani
in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and 49 years of teaching
at the Eastman School of Music,
I feel I have a pretty good knowledge of what’s happening to future drummers.
should have the feeling of being
able to slide freely within the hand.
Now for those who have played for
years squeezing the thumb and
index finger together, this will feel
terrible, but with practice it will
eventually feel better and make
your drumming more relaxed.
Can’t get enough volume with this
grip – yes you can, if you lift the
stick off the drumhead rather than
playing into it. My concern with too
much tension is that eventually
problems with tendinitis, carpal
tunnel syndrome and other arm/
hand problems will occur.
Let’s start with snare drum hand
position for the matched grip. Our
forefathers who taught snare drum
knew that a good hand position
was as important to quality snare
drumming as a good embouchure
was to a wind player for quality
playing. Sanford Moeller, George
Lawrence Stone, Charlie Wilcoxon
and countless other teachers spent
hours with their students until the
proper hand position was correct.
One important ingredient was RELAXATION. Make sure the fulcrum
is correct and relaxed. One popular idea today is to squeeze the
stick between the thumb and index finger and then use the other
fingers as necessary. No, I don’t
agree. Let’s use the thumb, index
and middle fingers in the following
manner. Let the stick balance on
the middle finger at the fingertip
and place the thumb and index
finger on the stick with the index
finger extending slightly ahead
of the thumb. This will produce a
three-point fulcrum that will be relaxed. The ring and little finger will
be used as necessary. The stick
Let’s take a look at the ears. With
the volume that is necessary for
today’s music, the ears are taking a beating. I did some foolish
things when I was just starting to
play the drum set. I use to turn up
the volume on the record player
and place my ears next to the loud
speaker in order to hear better
what the drummer was playing. No
one told me this was dangerous
to my ears. After all these years
of playing and teaching percussion, I need to wear hearing aids.
Could I have avoided this necessity, probably not completely but I
could have prolonged it if I would
have taken some necessary precaution many years ago. There is
no excuse today when there are all
kinds of hearing protection devices
offered by audiologists to protect
your ears. Bands play louder, orchestras play louder, all musical
groups play louder so use caution
and don’t harm your hearing.
I leave you with these words:
RELAX YOUR HAND POSITION
AND PROTECT YOUR EARS.
John
Riley
Jazz Drums
Grammy award winning John Riley
began playing drums at age eight,
after receiving a snare drum as a
gift. With the support, encouragement and patience of his parents,
he played in the school band and
began drum lessons with a good
local teacher, Tom Sicola. John
began studying with Joe Morello
in 1971, after meeting him at a
drum symposium. He went on to
attend North Texas State University, receiving a Bachelor of Music.
At NWSU, he also played, toured,
and recorded with the famed One
O’clock Lab Band. John returned
to New York and received a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from
the Manhattan School of Music.
He began freelancing with a wide
spectrum of world class musicians
including John Scofield, Mike
Stern, Bob Berg, Woody Herman,
Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Miles
Davis the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band,
and many others. He has written
three critically acclaimed books
about jazz drumming and was also
the winner of the 2004 and 2005
Modern Drummer Magazine Readers Poll. John currently performs
with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra,
Bob Mintzer, Jon Faddis and Joe
Lovano.
19
KoSA Academy in Montreal
The Joy of Making Music Without Knowing
Where It Will End
By Anders Astrand
Now in its seventh year, the KoSA Academy has gained
the reputation as the premiere music centre in Montreal.
The primary mission of the KoSA Academy is to provide
students of all ages and all levels with not only the very
best instruction by our top of the line faculty, but also to
surround the students with a motivating environment
and world-class instruments and technology. The Academy boasts fully equipped drum and percussion studios
with a three-hundred and fifty seat concert hall with
top-of-the line lighting and sound equipment. The faculty is made-up of the finest instructors and performers
who share a true passion to teach. During the course of
the year, KoSA hosted regular clinics and master classes
by visiting artists and artists in residence such as Pete
Lockett, Chris Lesso and Aubry Dayle, and the legendary
father of songo: Changuito. New, this year, KoSA added a
“BAND MATCH” ™program. This unique program places
musicians of the same level in a band where they receive
professional guidance and get to perform live. Individual
classes are also available on diverse instruments with top
professionals on drumset, all world percussion instruments (Cuban, Brazilian, African, etc), classical percussion, bass, guitar, voice, and piano (keyboards). Classes
are open to children and adults of all ages and all levels.
The curriculum is designed for individuals who wish to
improve their craft or are strictly beginners. The Academy
has been receiving international attention for our customized music-intensive study programs. This past year we
have welcomed students from Brazil, Bermuda and the
United States to immerse themselves in the KoSA environment. KoSA is also recognized for preparing students
for college and university entrance music auditions.
The Academy is located in the KoSA Centre des Arts
5325 Crowley Avenue, Montreal, Qc H4A 2C6
www.kosamusic.com / 514-482-5554
performance. instruction. magic
A C A D E MY
Located in the beautiful, new KoSA Centre for the
Arts in Montréal, KoSA Academy features world class
instruction, live performances, illuminating seminars
and much more. Schedule a lesson today... and prepare
to have your world turned upside down.
learn more by visiting kosamusic.com!
performance. instruction. magic
20
One of the best parts of being a musician is the many
forms of musical collaborations possible with other
musicians. During the past few years, I have had the
opportunity to play together with some great performers in the music world, blending my musical expression with theirs, creating something that none of us
knew existed. Let me share some musical moments
with you.
In recent years, I played in WÅG, a trio with Mattias
Wager and Gary Graden. Mattias is a gifted organist
and Gary is the choirmaster at the St Jacob’s Church
and a great singer. The music we perform spans over
centuries, from Gregorian chant to Sting, but we very
rarely stick to sheet music. Instead we improvise,.
The Gregorian chant may start as a rhythmic pattern
with me on the marimba, continue as Mattias and
Gary explore the terra incognita of free improvisation, and finally settle in the serene voice of Gary (a
capella), accompanied only with a bow on a bar of the
vibraphone. We did not rehearse it that way, but our
mutual concept of the music at that moment made
it inevitable; it could only go in that direction. Using
the knowledge we have about one another, listening
to each other, being sensitive for where the music is
heading; all of these are ingredients in the making of
successful improvisation. Here, the “me” is not important, but the “we.” On the other hand, at the next
concert, that same Gregorian chant may end in a furious crescendo with me on the drum set and Mattias
playing block chords with full registration.
A concert with WÅG typically has no printed program. Instead, the audience is taken on a musical
journey of the unexpected where everything can happen: plainsong meets pop music, chamber musical
expressions combine with elements of avant- garde,
and, sometimes the audience is invited to join in the
music-making! The key element in every WÅG concert
is improvisation: free improvisation, improvisation on
different themes, and, last but not least, improvised
arrangements. Why don’t you try it? It is fun!
Can one DVD really make
such a profound
difference in your art?
Yes.
Instruction. Performance.
Interviews. Insight.
You’ll find something new
every time you view it.
KoSA Eleven / Live 2006
Available from Hudson Music
and online at kosamusic.com
21
Credits
Editor:
Aldo Mazza
Projects Coordinator:
Dr. Jolan Kovacs-Mazza
Project Assistant:
Purna Bhattacharya
Erin Rosenzveig
Graphic Design:
Pascal Milette (LAB912)
Festival Live Sound:
Ezra Mulheron (MSR Sound)
Festival Stage Manager:
Evan Ritchie
KoSA Webmasters:
Scott Rouse
Mickael Kanfi
KoSA Jam Session/Rhythm Section:
Francesco Beccaro bass
Bob Quaranta piano
KoSA Staff:
Purna Bhattacharya
Erin Rosenzveig
John DiRaimo
Louis Cailloux
KoSA Photographers:
Peter Bruce Wilder
Dr. Jolán Kovács-Mazza
Video:
Caro Thompson
Drum Techs:
Rene (Redge) Adolph
Chris Adolph
Tyler Adolph
Drum Tech Logistics:
Lincoln Gagnon
22
Head of Logistics:
Peter Bruce Wilder
Special Thanks
Memo Acevedo, Senator Susan Bartlett,
the D’Addario Foundation, Pat Denis,
John DiRaimo, Dom Famularo, David
Stackpole & Ed French (Stackpole &
French Law Offices), Lincoln Gagnon,
Kevin Kearns and Modern Drummer
Magazine, Phil and Whitney Lamy, Erin
Rosenzveig, Robert Marchand, Pascal
Milette, Allan Molnar, Jim Norris
(Canadian Musician), Lori Philips, David
Schneider, David Segal, Verizon, Peter
Wilder, Michael Wimberly, Mme
Huguette Kovács, the instrument manufacturers for their great instruments
and continuous support, the wonderful
artists for sharing their talents with us,
KoSA’s future directors: Angelina and
Massimo Mazza, and Marlene White
for taking great care of the real boss:
little Gianluca Mazza.
KoSA
P.O Box 333. Station Saint-Jacques
Montreal, QC
Canada H3C 2S1
514-482-5554
1-800-541-8401
info@kosamusic.com
www.kosamusic.com
©2010 Avedis Zildjian Company
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