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The first vintage & Custom Drum Magazine, since 1988
In 1977, Ludwig revived the legendary Black Beauty. Apparently, the drum was named by Paul Whiteman, conductor of the first performance of “Rhapsody in Blue” in New York’s Aeolian Hall. The drummer was George Marsh. He was playing his Ludwig and Ludwig Deluxe which Whiteman described as a “Black Beauty” because of its sleek black appearance and brilliant sound.
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A special limited edition version of Buddy Rich’s best-selling live album ‘Birdland’ will be released July 21, 2023 featuring an exclusive translucent red vinyl.
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Wow! I hadn't realized how long its been since I wrote anything up here. A short update: I'm still with REO Speedwagon, drum teching a mostly electronic kit (except the cymbals).
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Linear paradiddle exercises between the cymbal, bass drum, and snare drum.
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We’ve all at one time or another been advised to "just listen” and we would be told the answer to whatever it is that’s is confusing us..
Read moreWhen Miles came to Boston to play Lennie’s on the Turnpike in 1967 my brothers and I were there. The band now included Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson on tenors plus Eddie Gomez filling in
for Ron Carter. Needless to say, they blew the walls down. At one point Tony had played so hard that Miles jokingly threw a towel at him to wipe his face.
Read moreJim delighted a packed audience at the 2022 Chicago Drum Show by giving a clinic sharing his personal experiences throughout almost 4 decades in the drum business. I have transcribed Jim’s clinic below for those who were not able to attend and hope you will enjoy Jim’s wonderful anecdotes and shared life lessons
Read morea deal was struck with the Jacques Capelle company to produce drums under the Orange name. Capelle was founded in Paris in 1908 and was already well known for their uniquely designed bass drum pedals and hi-hats, which are still very desirable among collectors.
Read moreReduced to $12,600. Proceeds will benefit DrumsForCures :: DRUMSTRONG.org 501c3
Read moreKen Lovelett, owner of American Percussion Instruments has posted for sale this gorgeous and rare set of Sonor Lites in small (bop?) sizes at www.drumsellers.com.
Read moreCertain shell depths are more rare than others. The 5 x 14 is the most common size. It is a toss-up between the 4 x 14 and 6 x 14 as to the 2nd most rare of the Elite sizes, but the rarest of all is the 7 x 14 Elite.
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The winner of the pair of the July Gus Moeller Drum Sticks Give Away is Laura Kerr of New Mexico.
Read moreWooding drums were produced by Hollywood Meazzi in Italy. Meazzi made several lines of high-quality drums during the 1960’s and 1970’s. At one point, their endorsee roster included Max Roach, who had his own signature kit. Jack DeJohnette and Billy Cobham also had Meazzi kits.
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(editor’s note; It is clear from this image that William of Ockham invented the traditional grip 1000 years ago)
Micro Practice
We do ‘micro practice’ all the time. We work on a single thing: single strokes, double strokes, lines from Stick Control and the like. Why? Because it works. Reducing our focus to a single item reaps big rewards. When learning a new figure, I will often take a 2-beat or even a 1-beat section and work on it exclusively. Then, when I tackle the whole thing, I’ve got a good handle on each part.
My first introduction to Tony Williams was the Miles Davis album 'Miles in Europe.' Inconceivable to me that Tony was keeping time. He was playing his 'parts' (yes, plural) 'within' the time. (And killing it!) Elvin Jones with John Coltrane? More plural 'parts' within the time. (And more killing!) Max Roach played pstterns and melodies. Jimmy Cobb often played straight quarter notes on the cymbal. To me, that was his part in the music. And so on.....
Read moreFamily portrait time here at Curotto Acres. Ludwig & Ludwig Super-Sensitives were around from 1929 to 1935-36. They do not appear in a Ludwig catalog past 1935 but I have heard of a few wood examples from the early 1940s.
Read moreI recently bougth a Staccato kit in bop-sizes. I've researched the he** out of this but cant find much. Reach out to the family of Pete T, with no Lucky, and wrote to Micha in Germany as he is supposed to be a wizard. No luck there either.
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When I was a kid, after hours trying to develop an open double stroke roll, I got a great feeling when suddenly discovering I achieved the ability to play clean, even, and fast double strokes with its resulting machine gun effect. The same holds true for many other aspects of learning to play my instruments.
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In honoring his former boss, Mike wanted to focus on Herbie Hancock’s Blue Note period rather than the later funky stuff that Mike Clark is best known for.
Read moreI have 3 re-issued Ludwig snare drums in my collection. The first one is the 6.5 x 14 Black Beauty snare that was re-issued for Ludwig’s 100 year Anniversary in 2009. Although the shell wasn’t modelled after the original Black Beauty snares from the past, it was beautifully and skillfully hand engraved by John Aldridge. I purchased one of the last of the limited 100 that John engraved.
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