News & Updates — give the drummer some

Beaver Harris / April 20, 1936 - Dec 22, 1991

Beaver Harris / April 20, 1936 - Dec 22, 1991

One of the heaviest drummers in jazz, William "Beaver" Harris came out of a baseball family in Pittsburgh (in fact, his father was a founder of the Negro Leagues Pittsburgh team and two of Harris' uncles were pro players as well). A teenaged Beaver played professionally at 3B for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs, New York Black Yankees and Indianapolis Clowns. After playing reed instruments as a child he started playing drums while in the military at 20. While stationed at Fort Knox, he played in a band with Albert Ayler and Stanley Turrentine. After discharge he was playing...

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Clyde Stubblefield / April 18, 1943 - Feb 18, 2017

Clyde Stubblefield / April 18, 1943 - Feb 18, 2017

The recently-deceased Clyde Stubblefield, along with Jabo Starks, was one of the drummers in the James Brown band from '65-'70, powering "Cold Sweat", "Ain't It Funky Now", "Say It Loud - I'm Black & I'm Proud", "There Was A Time", "Sex Machine", "I Got The Feelin", "Mother Popcorn", "Get Up Get Into It Get Involved", Bobby Byrd's "If You Don't Work, You Can't Eat", Marva Whitney's "It's My Thing", Vicki Anderson's "Message From The Soul Sisters" and many more. "Starks was the Beatles to Clyde's Stones. A clean shuffle drummer to Clyde's free-jazz left hand"--Questlove Of course, it's his drums...

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David Axelrod / April 17, 1931 - Feb 5, 2017

David Axelrod / April 17, 1931 - Feb 5, 2017

Best known as a producer of sample-ready '60s records of unique vision, David Axelrod held many chairs in his career, from drummer to composer, A&R man and especially as a recording engineer, arranger and producer. In the late '60s and '70s he created several personal statements with his drum-heavy engineering, polished arrangements, creative use of strings, funky beats and eco-oriented themes. A longtime favorite of hip-hop samplers, his music was a groovy fusion of jazz, rock and soul. His sound and style is unmistakable to the ears. The son of a union activist, he grew up in Los Angeles and...

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Chief Bey / April 17, 1913 - April 8, 2004

Chief Bey / April 17, 1913 - April 8, 2004

The Muslim-American multi-instrumentalist and folklorist Chief Bey contributed some heavy percussion to the ethno-jazz scene from the '50s until just weeks before his death in 2004. He was born James Hawthorne Bey in the area of Beaufort SC and grew up in Brooklyn & Harlem. In the '50s he toured internationally in a production of Porgy & Bess (with Cab Calloway and Leontyne Price. Around 1951 he cut his first session as a bandleader, although it was credited to "Cawanda's group" (the exotica cash-in LP Taboo). In '59 he appeared on Olatunji's Afro smash-hit record Drums of Passion and went...

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Babatunde Olatunji / April 7, 1927 - April 6, 2003

Babatunde Olatunji / April 7, 1927 - April 6, 2003

The Nigerian percussionist, teacher and activist Babatunde Olatunji helped bring African rhythms to the greater music world. His 1959 album for Columbia, Drums Of Passion, became a staple on hi-fis all over the world. His bands included amazing jazz musicians like Yusef Lateef, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Pat Patrick, Marshall Allen, Horace Silver, Charles Lloyd, Airto and others. He played with the Grateful Dead and made all kinds of music from huge ensembles of drummers and folkloric musicians to jazz and soul. As a guest or sideman he played on records by Cannonball Adderley, Stevie Wonder, Max Roach, Mickey Hart, Richie Havens...

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