Yet another new kind of article today for Drums In The Twenties - a travelogue of sorts. In the last week of April of 2022, I and my colleagues in Alex Mendham's Orchestra were lucky enough to undertake the gig of a lifetime – a week-long residency playing in the grand ballroom of the Queen … Continue reading Library #9: Vintage Drum Adventures In The Land Of Jazz, May 2022
Barry bass drum
Instruments #1: The Barry ‘Collapsible’ Bass Drum, c.1919
I’m going to kick off this series of articles about drum equipment from the ‘twenties - and more specifically those few period instruments I’ve managed to find or make, and use day to day - with the one piece of kit which has had the biggest impact on my working life and which always causes … Continue reading Instruments #1: The Barry ‘Collapsible’ Bass Drum, c.1919
Heroes #6: William ‘Sonny’ Greer, 1895-1982
“We were a pretty wild bunch in those days, myself in particular” – Sonny Greer KEY RECORDINGS: With DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS KENTUCKY CLUB ORCH. / WASHINGTONIANS, 1924-30 Some of the great drummers of the ‘twenties gained their reputations as journeymen, able to slot seamlessly into a wide variety of musical ensembles and consequently to … Continue reading Heroes #6: William ‘Sonny’ Greer, 1895-1982
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