In Memoriam

Barry Bernstein

Barry Bernstein, a music therapist and children's entertainer known as Bongo Barry in the Kansas City area, died on August 26 at age 55.

A graduate of the music therapy program at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, Bernstein was affiliated with Geriatric Services in San Francisco, California, and Colmery O'Neil Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Topeka, Kansas, prior to relocating to his hometown of Kansas City. He served as a music therapy consultant for the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas.

In 1991 he co-founded Rhythm For Life with the American Music Therapy Association, NAMM, Mickey Hart, Remo Belli, Barbara Crowe, and Arthur Hull, among others. One of the organization's primary activities was researching the therapeutic benefits of music on elderly Americans, specifically those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He helped adapt and design instruments for Remo that met the needs of special populations, including the Drum Table.

“One of the goals of Rhythm for Life is to bring drumming back into the family,” Bernstein said in an August 1995 Percussive Notes article. “Turn off the TV and play drums together. It gets you talking and enlivens you, and we might not have so many family problems. I don't think that's idealistic; I think it's a real solution to some of the problems in our society right now.”
As a registered music therapist, workshop facilitator, and recording artist, Bernstein maintained an international schedule providing services to schools, businesses, and healthcare facilities for his consulting company, Healthy Sounds. Awards included Drum magazine's 2003 Best Drum Circle Facilitator of the Year and the 2004 Kansas Distinguished Service Award for Arts and Disabilities from the Kansas State Board of Education.

Rashied Ali

Jazz drummer Rashied Ali died on August 12 at age 76 after suffering a heart attack.
        
Born in Philadelphia in 1935 as Robert Patterson, Ali worked in his hometown with a variety of rhythm and blues bands as well as with McCoy Tyner, the Heath Brothers, Lee Morgan, Don Patterson, and Jimmy Smith. After moving to New York City in 1963, Ali became active in the avant-garde jazz scene, working with Pharoah Sannders, Don Cherry, Paul Bley, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and Archie Shepp, with whom he made his first significant recording, On This Night.

In November 1965, John Coltrane invited Ali to join his group, playing drums alongside Elvin Jones. He appeared alongside Jones on Coltrane's album Meditations. Jones left Coltrane's group soon after that, and Ali remained the drummer in the group until Coltrane's death in 1967. Ali appeared on the Coltrane albums Cosmic Music, Live at the Village Vanguard Again, Concert in Japan, Jupiter Variations, and Interstellar Space, which consisted only of Coltrane and Ali.

Ali moved to Europe for a year and played with Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson, John Tchicai, Jon Hendricks, and his own free-jazz trio with John Surman and Dave Holland. After returning to New York he led his own group and also worked with Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Jackie McLean. In the early 1970s he formed his own record label, Survival Records, which released his solo albums New Directions in Modern Music and Moonflight. In 1974 he opened a club and restaurant called Ali's Alley which ran through 1979.

Allen Shellenberger

Allen Shellenberger, drummer for alternative rock band Lit, died from brain cancer on August 13, 2009. He was 39 years old. Allen was a founding member of Lit over two decades ago and was able to perform with the band until last fall. The group released several albums, including 1999's A Place in the Sun, which went platinum..

Jim Chapin

Jim Chapin, legendary jazz drummer, educator and author of Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, died on July 4, 2009 in Florida. He was just shy of turning 90 years old. Chapin was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame in 1995.

Jim Chapin's PAS Hall of Fame article

Barry J. Larkin

Barry J. Larkin died on May 28, 2009. He was President of the Iowa PAS chapter, Associate Professor of Music at Iowa State University, principal percussionist with the Des Moines Symphony, and the "first call" percussionist for the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines.

Larkin was born July 2, 1954 in Van Nuys, California. He received his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, his master's degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, and his doctorate from the University of Southern California. He was very involved with percussion pedagogy and acoustical research and presented his findings at numerous scholarly conferences and in prestigious journals.

Alexander Lepak

Alexander Lepak, co-author of the Friese-Lepak Timpani Method and timpanist of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra for 56 years died on March 25, 2009 after a battle with throat cancer. He was 88.

Lepak's career in music began as a youth in Hartford, Conn. He played timpani in his high school orchestra, studied music theory and played in various clubs and hotels with dance bands. Lepak served as the conductor of the Marines' 3rd Brigade Orchestra during World War II. When the war ended, he relocated to New York, performing with jazz orchestras and studying with Henry Adler and Alfred Friese. He returned to Hartford finish his degree at Hartt, graduating cum laude in 1950 and immediately being appointed to the theory and percussion faculty. He founded the Hartt School percussion ensemble in 1950 and conducted the Hartt Concert Jazz Band, which he founded in 1955. Lepak retired from the Hartt School in 1991.

In addition to teaching, Lepak was a noted performer, composer and publisher. He can be heard as timpanist on numerous recordings with the Hartford Symphony. During a 1979–80 sabbatical spent in Hollywood he recorded soundtracks for Star Trek, The Jerk, Shogun, numerous television shows, and Frank Sinatra's Trilogy album.

Lepak composed or arranged numerous jazz compositions for the Hartt Concert Jazz band and for percussion ensemble, and in addition to the Friese-Lepak Timpani Method his works include Thirty-two Solos for Timpani, 50 Contemporary Snare Drum Etudes, "Concerto for Mallet Instruments," "Suite for Solo Vibraphone," Control of the Drum Set and "Crescendo" for percussion ensemble. Most of Lepak's music and methods are available through Windsor Publications, which he founded in 1967.

Lepak was elected to the PAS Hall of Fame in 1997. He retired from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in 2003.

Alexander Lepak's PAS Hall of Fame bio

Edmond Bauthier

Edmond Bauthier, Vice President of International Sales for Pro-Mark Corporation and Aquarian, died on February 4, 2009. Bauthier was a 25-year veteran of the music industry, beginning with a four-year stint as president of Tosco, an Italian cymbal maker. He joined Sabian as Vice President of Sales in 1985, a position he held until 1997.

Max Neuhaus
By Tom Siwe

Max Neuhaus, pioneer solo percussionist and sound installation artist, died February 3, 2009 of cancer at his home in Maratea, Italy. For nearly 50 years, Neuhaus explored the world of sound, first as a concert hall performer and later as a creator of sound art to be performed outdoors and in public places, including New York City’s Times Square.

His early career included touring with composers Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, performing some of percussion literature’s most difficult works. In the late 1960s, he abandoned a successful career as a solo percussionist and began to explore the connection between music and its environment. He drew upon his interest in science and electronics to develop works that would challenge the established concepts of both art and music. His New York Times obituary by Bruce Weber states: “His father was a chemical engineer and his mother an amateur pianist, a combination of art and science that ended up defining him.”

Born in Texas and raised in Pleasantville, New York, Neuhaus was, according to his sister, “a pot banger from an early age.” Inspired by jazz drummer Gene Krupa, who became one of his first teachers, Neuhaus went on to receive a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with PAS Hall of Fame recipient Paul Price, who introduced Neuhaus to the percussion music of Cage, Harrison, Cowell and other early 20th-century composers. Upon graduation, Neuhaus began exploring music of the avant-garde, especially works that included both percussion and electronics.

In the early ’60s, Neuhaus was awarded a Rockefeller scholarship and became a member of Ralph Shapey’s University of Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players. He later toured Europe with Boulez, and when German percussionist Chris Caskell left Stockhausen’s ensemble, Neuhaus was asked to take his place. Stockhausen’s repertoire included his seminal solo percussion work “Zyklus.” Max’s performance of “Zyklus” established him as a world-class percussion virtuoso. In 1964, Neuhaus presented a solo percussion recital that included live electronics. Columbia Records later recorded this music. The album cover pictured a shirtless Neuhaus amid an array of wires and instruments.

In 1968, Neuhaus decided to abandon the concert stage and devote his energies to the creation of what he called “sound installations,” the most famous of which is Times Square. Located below a pedestrian island in the middle of Times Square are sound generators that emit what seem to be electronically manipulated gong and bell sounds. Its success led to other permanent installations located in both Europe and the U.S.

Russell Peck
1945–2009

Composer Russell Peck died in early March, 2009 at age 64. Peck did not return home after going on a walk on March 1. His body was not discovered until a week later, due to a snow storm. He is believed to have died from natural causes.

Peck’s best-known works included "The Glory and the Grandeur” (percussion trio concerto), "Signs of Life” (for string orchestra) and "The Thrill of the Orchestra” (a narrated instrument demonstration piece). In 2000–2001 a consortium of 39 American orchestras commissioned Peck's timpani concerto, “Harmonic Rhythm.” The premiere performances began in September 2000 with the Louisville Orchestra.

Louie Bellson

Drummer, bandleader and composer Louie Bellson died on February 14, 2009.

Best known as a big band drummer with phenomenal technique, Bellson is credited with popularizing the use of double bass drums. During his career he worked with such leaders as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and his wife, singer Pearl Bailey. He also led his own big band and was an active composer, clinician, and drum book author. He was also known as one of the nicest guys in the music business.

Born July 6, 1924 in Rock Falls, Illinois, Bellson began learning to play drums at age three. When he was 16, Bellson won the national Gene Krupa drumming contest, and when he was 18 he worked with Ted FioRito and then with Benny Goodman for several months before going into military service. Afterward, he played with Goodman again and then worked with Tommy Dorsey. In 1950 he co-led a septet with Charlie Shavers that included vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, and then played briefly with Harry James before joining Duke Ellington in 1951. In addition to playing drums with the Ellington orchestra, Bellson also contributed several arrangements including "The Hawk Talks" and the drum feature "Skin Deep."

After marrying singer Pearl Bailey in 1953, Bellson left Ellington to become Bailey's music director and drummer, a role he continued until Bailey's death in 1990. In between, he worked with Jazz at the Philharmonic, recorded A Drum Is a Woman with Ellington in 1956, played with the Dorsey Brothers in 1955–56, subbed for Sonny Payne with Count Basie in 1962, and occasionally worked with Goodman.

Starting in 1967 Bellson led his own big band. He recorded frequently for the Pablo and Concord labels with his big band, as well as with many other prominent musicians. In all, Bellson appeared on over 200 albums and was a six-time Grammy nominee. He also wrote numerous compositions and several drum instruction books. He was an avid clinician who appeared at several PASICs.

In 1978 he was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame and in 1998 he was among the first group of drummers to receive the American Drummers Achievement Award from the Zildjian cymbal company. In 2007 he received the Living Jazz Legends award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and that same year Bellson was inducted as a Living Legend in the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame. In 2006 he released the CD The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson and the Jazz Ballet, and in 2008 he and trumpeter Clark Terry released Louie & Clark Expedition 2.

William F. Miller

William F. Miller, editor-in-chief of Modern Drummer magazine, died on Dec. 12, 2008 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Born on June 21, 1961 in Elmhurst, Ill., Miller attended Northern Illinois University and then transferred to the University of Miami where he received a bachelor's degree in music merchandising. He started at Modern Drummer in 1984 as an intern, and served as associate editor, features editor, and editor-in-chief. He served as associate editor of Modern Percussionist from 1984–86, features editor of Drum Business, and editor of several instructional books published by Modern Drummer. He was also active as a drummer in several groups that performed in the New Jersey and New York metro areas.

Mitch Mitchell

Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the 1960s and the group's last surviving member, died on November 12, 2008 at age 61.

Born in West London on July 9 1947, Mitchell was a child actor on an English television series. A largely self-taught drummer whose idols were jazz drummers Elvin Jones and Max Roach, Mitchell began working as a session drummer while still in his teens. In 1965 he began playing with the popular English group Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited to play in the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He performed on the band's 1967 debut album Are You Experienced? as well as the trio's albums Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold As Love. Mitchell was also a member of a later version of the band that performed the closing set of the Woodstock Festival in August 1969.

Oliver C. "Ollie" Zinsmeister

Percussionist Ollie Zinsmeister died on November 2, 2008. Born in Rochester, New York on July 22, 1911, Ollie was the first percussion student at the Eastman School of Music in 1924. He enlisted in the "President's Own" U.S. Marine Corps Band in 1935 as their principal percussionist and xylophone soloist, and remained with the band twenty years, retiring as a Master Sergeant in 1955. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he remained an active musician, performing with the Naval Academy Band as a guest xylophonist in 1998, and composing the Naval Academy Band March for a performance the following year. Ollie and his wife, Marge, were also active in Windjammers Unlimited, an organization devoted to the preservation and performance of circus music, with Ollie performing for several albums of their recorded music as well as many of the concerts the group gave all over the world.

Tatsuo (Tat) Kosaka

Mr. Tatsuo (Tat) Kosaka, an important figure in the history of Houston-based Pro-Mark Corporation, died at his home in Kobe, Japan on September 25, 2008 at the age of 80 following a long battle with cancer.

In a story that has been well-documented over the years, Mr. Kosaka was the “Japanese Associate” often referred to by Pro-Mark founder Herb Brochstein when recounting how the company started in 1957. After discovering Japanese white oak sticks that felt and sounded like no others, Herb set out to find the source. 

Referring to that search in a recent interview, Herb said, “The man from the Japanese trading company who helped me find the factory that made those sticks is Tat Kosaka. We’ve been working together since 1957 on a handshake."

Tat Kosaka was the president of Pro-Mark Japan, Ltd., and served as liaison for all company activities in the Pacific Rim until his death. He is survived by his wife, Machie, daughter Chieko and husband Yossi, daughter Chikako and husband Tetsuo, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

In a statement, Pro-Mark president Maury Brochstein said, “Tat was a huge part of this company. We might well not exist today were it not for his dedicated efforts early on and in the 50-plus years that followed.  We will miss him.”

Henry Adler

Drummer, author, teacher and publisher Henry Adler died on September 30, 2008 at the age of 93 at his home in Dunedin, Florida. 

Adler was born in New York City in 1915 and grew up during the Depression. His father gave him his first drum at the age of 13, and before receiving any formal instruction he was offered his first drumming gig at age 15 in Belmar, New Jersey. Henry learned the timpani in Brooklyn's Lincoln High School orchestra and was soon playing on CBS’s Horn and Hardart’s Children’s Hour.

As a young man Henry spent his time observing the professional percussionists who were entertaining at the Edison Hotel. By the time he was 20, he was a much sought-after percussionist and played with many of the greats of the big band era including Wingy Manone, Joe Marsala, Louis Prima, Larry Clinton, and the RCA Victor Studio Orchestra.

In 1938 while playing with Joe Marsala’s band at New York’s Hickory House, Henry invited Buddy Rich, who he recognized as a remarkable talent, to sit in with the band. This catapulted Rich’s career and solidified their life-long friendship. In 1942, Adler and Rich wrote Buddy Rich’s Modern Interpretation of Snare Drum Rudiments, one of the most popular snare drum rudimental books ever written.

In the late 1940s, Adler opened the Henry Adler Music Company on West 46th Street in the heart of New York’s Times Square. With its retail store at street level and numerous music studios above, Adler’s building became the hub for top musicians to teach their pupils and gather for laughs and music talk. Numerous renowned percussionists studied under Adler including Louie Bellson, Jack Sperling, Roy Burns, Phil Kraus, Sonny Payne, John Perilli, Sonny Igoe, Jim Petercsak, Al Lepak, Doug Allen, Tony DiNicola, Lou Gatti, and Sandy Feldstein, among many others.

Over the course of his career, Adler recognized the great importance of educational material and decided to become a publisher of music for professionals and students. A few of his books include Buddy Rich Today, How to Play Latin-American Rhythm Instruments, and the Roy Burns and Sandy Feldstein Elementary and Intermediate Drum Methods. To this day, many of Adler’s publications are used in the top music schools around the country.

In the 1980s, Henry was featured in the movie Desperately Seeking Susan, adding another dimension to his already multifaceted career.

Never one to slow down, Henry, well into his 80s, continued to share his passion for teaching. Up until the end of his life, he was regularly receiving numerous phone calls and letters soliciting advice.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities, 4405 DeSoto Road, Sarasota, Florida 34235.

Henry Adler's PAS Hall of Fame article

Earl Palmer

Legendary session drummer Earl Palmer died on September 19 at age 84 after a lengthy illness.

Born in New Orleans in 1924, Palmer was hired by bandleader Dave Bartholomew in 1947. Two years later, he began recording with such Bartholomew protégés as Fats Domino ("The Fat Man," "I’m Walkin’"), Lloyd Price ("Lawdy Miss Clawdy"), Smiley Lewis ("I Hear You Knockin"') and other New Orleans artists, including Little Richard ("Tutti Frutti") , who called Palmer Palmer “probably the greatest session drummer of all time.”

Palmer relocated to Los Angeles in 1957, becoming an A&R man at Aladdin Records getting involved with session work for producer Phil Spector and for numerous Motown records that were cut in L.A., and also doing moview soundtrack sessions. In 1961 he recorded a solo album called Drumsville for the Liberty label, followed a year later by Percolator Twist. Over the next few years Palmer was one of the busiest session drummers in L.A., appearing on recordings by such articles as Ritchie Valens, the Monkees, Taj Mahal, Van Dyke Parks, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Randy Newman, Neil Young, Elvis Costello and Professor Longhair. During the 1980s he became an officer of the L.A. Musicians Union.

Bobby Durham

Jazz drummer Bobby Durham died on July 7, 2008, in Genoa, Italy at age 71.

Charles Smith

Longtime Boston Symphony Orchestra percussionists Charles J. Smith died on June 29, 2008 at age 88.

Smith was born on June 30, 1919, in Newark, N.J. After attending the Juilliard School of Music in New York, he toured with the original Broadway cast of Porgy and Bess. He then served as a percussionist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for more than 50 years.

Daihachi Oguchi

Master Japanese taiko drummer Daihachi Oguchi died on June 27, 2008 at age 84. Oguchi helped form several top taiko groups, including San Francisco Taiko Dojo, who performed in Hollywood movies and on international tours since forming 40 years ago. Oguchi also led and played in the drumming and dance performance at the closing ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

“Your heart is a taiko,” Oguchi told The Associated Press. “All people listen to a taiko rhythm dontsuku-dontsuku in their mother’s womb. It’s instinct to be drawn to taiko drumming.”

Eric Stuer

Eric "Stu" Stuer, webmaster and originator of the world percussion website Rhythmweb.com, died on June 6, 2008 as the result of a car accident. 

A busy drummer in the Dallas area, for the past several years Stuer was a member of the band Bobby Young & Unique. Over the course of his career, he played onstage with such artists as Freddy King, B.W. Stevenson, David "Fathead" Newman, Gary Stewart, Johnny Paycheck, Vince Gill, Chuck Rainey, Charlie Daniels, Eric Tagg, Michael Gott, Hans York, Freddie Jones, Dallas Symphony violinist Tom Demer, and numerous other artists.

Since 1994, Stuer was involved in the drum circle scene and trained with Arthur Hull, Kalani, Layne Redmond, Dr. Barry Bittman and Christine Stevens.

In addition to Rhythmweb kids programs in schools and libraries, he frequently appeared on the Addison, Texas supper club circuit. He also performed New Orleans and Cajun style music from time to time with Dennis Cavalier and Texas Gumbo. and since 2003 was the Sunday drummer/percussionist at the Unity Church of Dallas.

Jack Gilfoy

Jack Gilfoy died on May 2, 2008, at his home in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Gilfoy held BM (music) and MS (education) degrees from Indiana University, where he was the first jazz drummer to complete a degree in percussion. He also studied jazz drumming with Shelly Manne and Joe Morello. He performed with such greats as Errol Garner, Teddy Wilson, Jim Cullum, Ken Peplowski, Allen Vache, Harry Warren, Bob Snyder, Milt Hinton and Doc Severinson, and with the big bands of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Larry Elgart, Nelson Riddle, Al Cobine and Buselli/Wallarab. For 30 years Jack toured the world as personal concert/TV show drummer for Henry Mancini. As a jazz educator, he worked Jamie Aebersold, David Baker and Jerry Coker.

On the pop side of music Gilfoy performed with the Four Preps, Sonny & Cher, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, Nancy Wilson, the Wright Brothers, Bill Gaither, Sandy Patti and Elvis Presley. Gilfoy also played classical music with the Indianapolis Symphony, the Chamber Brass Choir, the Bloomington and Columbus Pops Orchestras and the Sonic Boom percussion group. He also led his own trio, quartet, quintet, sextet, septet and the Jazz State Of Indiana big band.

Drummer William F. Ludwig II

Former Ludwig Drum Company president William F. Ludwig II died on March 22, 2008. He was 91 years old.

William F. Ludwig II began playing drums at age eight, receiving early lessons from his father. He played percussion throughout his school years, and at age 16 won  the National Solo Drum Competition. He attended the University of Illinois, where he was enrolled in the School of Business Economics and served as solo timpanist with the University of Illinois Concert Band.

He joined the Ludwig Drum Company in 1938. At that time, Ludwig was a division of Conn, but Ludwig II bought the Ludwig name back from Conn in 1955.

During the 1960s, he guided Ludwig Industries through its greatest growth period, which resulted in major building expansions and the acquisition of several companies, including the Musser Marimba Company. He was named president of Ludwig Industries in 1973 following the death of the founder, William F. Ludwig, Sr. He sold the company to Selmer in 1985.

In 1940 he authored an instructional book, Modern Dance Drumming (formerly Swing Drumming), which is still included in many teaching lists and published in two languages. He also wrote many of the Ludwig Drum Company catalogs and brochures.

Ludwig II was recognized as a leading authority in the manufacture of all types of percussion instruments, and guardian of the Ludwig family heritage, including an extensive museum of early drums dating from the Revolutionary War. He also collected percussion patents, having accumulated and cataloged every American drum and accessory patent ever issued by the United States Patent Office, beginning with the Zimmerman percussion patent of 1858. Ludwig III was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame in 1993.

For more information:
William F. Ludwig II's PAS Hall of Fame article

Buddy Miles

Drummer Buddy Miles, who played with Jimi Hendrix and sang in the claymation commercials featuring the California Raisins in the 1980s, died on February 26, 2008 from congestive heart failure. He was 60.

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Miles performed with his father's combo at age 11. He went on to play for The Delfonics, The Ink Spots and Wilson Pickett. He co-founded the band Electric Flag with guitarist Michael Bloomfield in 1967, and besides drumming he also contributed lead vocals to the group. Miles also played in the Band of Gypsys with Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox. Miles was best known for the song "Them Changes," which he wrote and performed.

Tata Güines

Conguero Tata Güines died from a kidney infection on February 4, 2008, in Havana, Cuba. He was 77. Born Federico Arístides Soto in Güines, southeast of Havana, the son of a musician who played the tres, Güines moved to Havana in 1946. By the 1950s he was working with major Cuban bandleaders, including Peruchín, Bebo Valdés, José Fajardo and Chico O’Farrill. In the late 1950s he played as a soloist on influential recordings of Cuban jam sessions led by Israel (Cachao) López, originally released as Descargas en Miniatura. Also by the late 1950s he had joined forces with pianist Frank Emilio Flynn, forming the band Quinteto Instrumental de Musica Moderna, later known as Los Amigos.

Jim Faraday

James Andrew "Jim" Faraday died on January 12, 2008. Born in Middleboro, Mass., he played in the Milwaukee Symphony and freelanced in the Boston area before moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1970 to join the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. He was also Percussion Instructor at Dalhousie University for over 20 years and a long-time member of the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra.

Karlheinz Stockhausen

Karlheinz Stockhausen died at his home in Kuerten, western Germany at the age of 79 on December 5, 2007. He was considered one of the most controversial composers of the 20th Century. No cause of death was given.

He was considered by some an eccentric member of the European musical elite and by others a courageous pioneer in the field of new music. Rock and pop musicians such as John Lennon, Frank Zappa and David Bowie have cited him as an influence, and he is also credited with having influenced techno music.

So taken were the Beatles by Stockhausen's music, they asked permission to use his photo on the cover of the 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." He appears fifth from the left in the back row.

Stockhausen was born in the village of Moedrath near Cologne in western Germany on Aug. 22, 1928. His father was killed in World War II and his mother also died, leaving him orphaned as a teenager.

After completing his studies in musicology, philosophy and German literature at the University of Cologne, he studied under composer Olivier Messiaen in 1952-53 in Paris, where he also met his French contemporary Pierre Boulez.

In 1966-67, he served as a guest professor for composition at the University of California at Davis.

In 1971, he was appointed professor of composition at the National Conservatory of Music in Cologne. That same year, his work "Hymnen" debuted in a performance by the New York Philharmonic.

Stockhausen wrote 362 individually performable works, according to his publisher, including more than 140 of electronic or electro-acoustic music, and brought out more than 100 albums.

In one of his lager-scale operas, "Licht," Stockhausen tried to capture all of the facets of the world with sound and noises and set them in relation to the human spirit, speech, smells and colors.

The piece, which took 25 years to compose, is an enormous sonic representation of the seven days of the week. So large is the work's scope that multiple scenes needed to depict Thursday alone last four hours.

"Licht" is to be performed in its entirety for the first time next year at the European Center for the Arts Hellerau in Dresden, Germany.

The composer is survived by six children from two marriages.

Visit the Stockhausen Foundation here.

Roland Meinl

Roland Meinl, founder of Roland Meinl Musikinstrumente, a pioneer in the art of cymbal and percussion manufacturing, known and appreciated as an outstanding businessman, passed away on December 04, 2007 at the age of 78.

Roland Meinl was born on March 04, 1929 in Silberbach, Sudetenland, as the oldest child of Emil and Hedwig Meinl. After attending elementary and business school, Roland served in the military at the age of 16 during the last days of World War II. After his military service, Roland began an apprenticeship as a wind instrument maker in Grasslitz, which was interrupted because of his family’s relocation to a small city named Rimpar near Wuerzburg after the war. There he began a business apprenticeship, which upon completion his family moved to Neustadt a. d. Aisch where he founded the Roland Meinl Musikinstrumente company in 1951. That is when he began to produce Meinl cymbals.

During the early years, Roland manufactured everything by hand using only the simplest of tools. He carried the cymbals by bicycle to the Neustadt train station and shipped them from there. In 1964 the company’s first employee was hired and in 1969 a new company building was constructed. During the 70’s, Roland built up and developed the cymbal production, while at the same time establishing the company’s distribution business, becoming a strong wholesale partner for music retailers in Germany and Austria. In 1978 he founded Meinl’s first percussion factory in Thailand and began introducing the full range of Meinl percussion instruments.

Many groundbreaking innovations in the cymbal and percussion world, which are still applied to this day, were invented by Roland Meinl. His relentless and hard work laid the foundation for his company’s current success as one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of musical instruments.

After his son Reinhold began working with the company in 1972, Roland continued to be involved in all of the company’s operations. As long as he lived, his presence, sense of humor, and magnanimity were always felt among all Meinl’s employees, who as a result always held him in high esteem. His life’s story is inseparably connected with the success of his company.

Roland Meinl is survived by his wife Nit, his son Reinhold, his daughter Ingeborg, and five grandchildren.

Carlos "Patato" Valdez

Conguero Carlos "Patato" Valdez died on December 4, 2007.

Born November 4, 1926 in Barrio Los Sitios in Havana, Cuba, he began playing congas around age 12. Patato came to the United States in 1952 and worked at New York's Tropicana nightclub with Conjunto Casino. In 1954 he moved to the U.S. permanently. His first jazz work was with Billy Taylor at Philadelphia's Blue Note jazz club. He also worked at New York City's Apollo Theater with trumpet player Chip Murray and played on Kenny Dorham's recording Afro-Cuban with drummer Art Blakey.

Since the 1950s, Patato was among the congueros in highest demand in Latin music and jazz. He played, toured and recorded with Miguelito Valdes, Perez Prado, Beny More, Cachao, Tito Puente, Machito, Herbie Mann, Elvin Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones.

Many consider his 1968 Patato y Totico album to be the definitive rumba record recorded in the United States. Other notable albums include Ready for Freddy (1977), Masterpiece (1984), Authority (2000), The Conga Kings (2000), The Conga Kings Jazz Descargas (2001), The Legend of Cuban Percussion (2000) and El Hombre (2004).

He's the man who gave Brigitte Bardot a mambo lesson in the film And God Created Woman. Patato also acted in and composed the title song for the television series The Bill Cosby Show. In 1991 he contributed to the soundtrack of the movie The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.

George Gaber

Retired Indiana University Professor of Percussion George Gaber died on November 21, 2007. He was 91.

Gaber's career included work with many of the most important orchestras, composers and conductors of the 20th century. He became a musician in New York in the 1930s. He studied snare drum with David Gusikoff, timpani with Karl Glassman and keyboard instruments with Joe Castka. He also studied at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music and did graduate study at Cooper Union in Architecture Design.

He started professionally with dance bands and Latin groups. Gaber toured the U.S. with the Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo Orchestra from 1937-39 and was timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony with Fritz Reiner as conductor from 1939-1943. In 1940 Gaber was chosen by Leopold Stokowski to be timpanist with the All American Youth Orchestra (AAYO) for its South American tour.

Gaber's work in New York throughout the 1940s and '50s included performances and recordings with symphony, jazz, modern dance groups, opera, radio, film and TV productions. He worked with conductors and composers Gian Carlo Menotti, Duke Ellington, Lukas Foss, Paul Whiteman, Noah Greenberg, Erich Leinsdorf, Otto Klemperer and Heitor Villa Lobos. He worked closely with and premiered several works by Darius Milhaud, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith and Bela Bartok. He played with the Los Angeles, Israel Philharmonic, Baltimore, Minnesota and New York orchestras under the batons of Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Sergui Comissiona, Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski and Walter Susskind.

In 1960 Gaber moved to Indiana University, where he focused on teaching and building a university percussion curriculum and department. He built a percussion department that, by the mid- 1970s, had a reputation for excellence that drew students from around the world. He lectured and served as an adjudicator at music schools and festivals in the U.S. and around the world including Canada, Costa Rica, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, Japan and China, including the Aspen, Colorado and Banff, Canada Music Festivals. The Secretary of UNESCO in Paris recommended him as advisor and participant for the "Percussion of the World" Festival of Iran in 1969.

In addition to teaching at Indiana University, Gaber continued to premiere and perform new music, working with composers Dave Brubeck, David Baker, Lukas Foss, Donald Erb, Fred Fox and John Eaton.

Read George Gaber's complete PAS Hall of Fame bio.

John Ruka

Professional Colleague and PAS member John Ruka, Executive Director of the Drum Instructors Guild and adjunct Instructor of Percussion Studies at Wisconsin Lutheran College, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, found peace on September 15, 2007. His Christian Burial was Saturday, September 22. John was 62 years of age. "In death, just like in life, sometimes only a drumroll will do." Twenty-one drummers gave him a final farewell at the close of his funeral service. Condolences and contributions may be made directly to the family of John Ruka, 7920 St. Anne Court, Wauwatosa, WI 53213.

Sandy Feldstein
by Dave Black

Former PAS President Sandy Feldstein died on August 30, 2007, following a year-long battle with cancer.

It is with great sadness that the music industry accepts news of the death of Sandy Feldstein. We have lost a great pioneer. Sandy passed away early on the morning of August 30, 2007 at his home in Tarzana, California, ending his year-long battle with cancer.

As a past president of the Percussive Arts Society and a 2005 PAS Hall of Fame inductee, Sandy was a long-time friend, consultant, mentor and selfless team member to many organizations throughout the music industry. His wise council throughout the years benefited all of us. We will miss him as a colleague and a friend, and will be forever grateful for all his contributions.

Sandy was born Saul Feldstein on September 7, 1940. A prolific composer, educator and author, he wrote dozens of books on music instruction, as well as hundreds of stand-alone compositions (receiving the ASCAP Standard Award for Composition every year starting in 1964). He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Potsdam and held a doctorate from Columbia University. In 1963 he started teaching at Potsdam, serving as Professor of Music Education at the Crane School of Music.

From 1968–72 he served as the Percussive Arts Society’s third president. Under his term, the PAS Hall of Fame welcomed its first inductees. In the late 1960s, Sandy began his career in music publishing as the Educational Director for Alfred Publishing Company (later becoming Executive Vice President). He went on to serve as president of CPP Belwin, Warner Brothers and Carl Fischer publications. In addition, he served as CEO of PlayinTime Productions, Inc. and Sandy Feldstein Music. He was also active on the boards of NAMM, Bands of America and VH1 Save the Music, and was the chairman of the NARAS (Grammy) Educational Committee.

On a personal note, I have lost a co-author, a wonderful mentor and friend. When I started at Alfred Publishing in 1985, Sandy took me under his wing. He taught me so much about the percussion world, the publishing business, and how to treat people with respect. He was one of the most even-tempered people I’ve ever known. I always marveled at his ability to remain calm and positive under the most stressful situations.

I was very fortunate to have co-written seven books with Sandy, most notably Alfred’s Drum Method and Alfred’s Beginning Drumset Method. I learned so much from him during the writing of those books and his tenure at Alfred. What is most impressive is that Sandy didn’t need me to co-write those books. He was already a highly-respected author, perfectly capable of writing those books on his own. He, however, wanted to give me that opportunity, and though I was almost 20 years his junior, he always treated me with respect and as an equal partner.

With the acquisition of Warner Brothers Publications in 2005, Alfred acquired most of the other percussion catalogs Sandy had written for over the years (Henry Adler, Columbia Pictures Publications, Belwin Music and Warner Brothers). At PASIC 2005, Sandy stopped by the Alfred booth, looked at the tremendous number of percussion books on display and said, “I feel like I’m looking at my whole life’s work in front of me.” In a way, that statement was right.

I am honored and grateful that Alfred is now home to most of Sandy’s percussion publications. It is comforting to know that these publications will continue to be available to students who will benefit, as we all have, from his knowledge and enthusiasm for the percussive arts. I am truly blessed and grateful for the years we worked together, for the opportunities he gave me, and for the many life lessons I will continue to carry with me as result of having known him.

Read Sandy Feldstein's PAS Hall of Fame profile

Max Roach
Jan. 10, 1924 - Aug. 15, 2007

Legendary bebop drumming pioneer Max Roach died on Aug. 15, 2007 after a lengthy illness.

As the big band era of the 1930s and early ’40s gave way to the bebop era of the late 1940s and ’50s, Max Roach became the most important bop drummer through his work with bebop founders Charlie “Bird” Parker (saxophone) and Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet). Roach was at the forefront of a new drumming style in which the ride cymbal was the most important element of the drumkit, and Roach’s ability to play extremely fast ride patterns set a new standard for drumming excellence. Roach co-led an influential group with trumpeter Clifford Brown for several years, and then led several groups of his own after Brown’s untimely death.

Roach also pioneered solo drum compositions, such as “The Drum Also Waltzes,” and he organized the first jazz percussion ensemble, M’Boom. Roach brought a new complexity and sophistication to jazz drumming, and he also used his music to address political concerns such as racism.
--Rick Mattingly

Read Max Roach's Hall of Fame article

Kakraba Lobi
1939–2007
by Barry Olsen

Kakraba Lobi, one of the greatest masters of the gyil, the Lobi-Dagaraa xylophone, died in Accra, Ghana on July 20, 2007. To the Lobi and Dagaraa people of northwest Ghana and the neighboring areas of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, the music of the gyil is the essence of cultural identity. These people, whose primary occupation is subsistence farming, have over the centuries developed a highly refined musical technique and a vast and extremely complex repertoire. The proper execution of gyil music is an art requiring years of training and study. Even the most highly skilled musicians of other ethnicities have great difficulty in grasping it.

Kakraba Lobi was born in Kalba Saru in the northwest of Ghana. His father was highly skilled in the arts of making and playing the gyil, which had been passed down in his family through many generations. As a child, Kakraba listened and observed intently, thus absorbing the family tradition.

After several youthful years of work in non-musical fields, Kakraba traveled to the city of Accra, where in his early 20s he gave broadcasts for Radio Ghana. In 1957 the noted ethnomusicologist Professor J. H. Nketia offered him a teaching post in the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana. From 1962 until 1987 he was a full-time member, and until his death, an advising member of the staff at the Institute. He was also a founding member of the National Dance Ensemble of Ghana. He was featured as a gyil soloist and toured extensively with them throughout the 1960's.

Kakraba has guest lectured at universities in Germany, Japan, Scandinavia, and the United States, and has performed as a soloist throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. His innovative approach to composing and improvising has been studied by percussionists and ethnomusicologists from around the world.

He was the first person to adapt the repertoire of the gyil to the international concert stage, bringing it out of its traditional context in the villages of Ghana's northwest. In so doing he created a vast body of original works based not only on the traditional repertoire of the gyil, but also on the music of other Ghanaian ethnic groups. One of his notable innovations was to play kpanlogo, a popular Ghanaian dance style derived from the music of the Ga ethnic group, not only adapting traditional songs to the gyil but composing numerous original ones in this style as well.

Fond of collaboration, Kakraba recorded and toured extensively with Mustapha Tettey Addy and Foday Musa Suso in his youth. Since 1999 he toured the United States five times with Valerie Naranjo and Barry Olsen, including an appearance at PASIC 2000, and recorded four CDs with them, the last of which will be released this autumn. Naranjo, who studied under him for the past 16 years, has published several of Kakraba's compositions, transcribing them for marimba.

Bobby Rosengarden
1924--2007

Jazz drummer Bobby Rosengarden died of kidney failure on February 27, 2007, at age 82.

Rosengarden was best known to many for his work on TV shows, including The Steve Allen Show, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Sing Along with Mitch, the early years of Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, and The Dick Cavett Show, for which he was also the bandleader.

Rosengarden was also an in-demand New York freelance musician and studio player whose credits included recordings and/or appearances with Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Skitch Henderson, Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan, Benny Goodman, Billie Holliday, Carmen McRae, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Ben E. King, Jay and the Americans and Arlo Guthrie. In 1965, he played a Stravinsky piece with the Columbia Jazz Band, with Stravinsky conducting.

Ian Wallace

Drummer Ian Wallace died Feb. 27 at age 60 of complications from esophageal cancer. Born in England, Wallace played in various bands before settling in Los Angeles and becoming an in-demand studio and touring drummer.  Among the artists he worked with were Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Ry Cooder, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Roy Orbison, the Traveling Wilburys, Brian Eno and Jackson Browne. He also played with several jazz bands and founded the Crimson Jazz Trio.

Fred Marsden

Fred Marsden, the drummer in the 1960s English band Gerry and the Pacemakers, died of cancer on December 9 at age 66. Gerry and the Pacemakers, fronted by Fred's brother Gerry, was the first Liverpool band to have a No. 1 single with "How Do You Do It?" in 1963, followed that year by another chart-topper, "I Like It." They were the second band signed by Brian Epstein, whose first band was the Beatles. Later hits included "You'll Never Walk Alone," "Ferry Cross the Mersey" and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," co-written by Fred. The group disbanded in 1967.

Val Eddy

Legendary vibraphonist and composer Val Eddy, who played a large part in the early acceptance of the vibraphone in classical music and popular recordings, died on November 25, 2006, just a few days after attending PASIC 2006. He was 94 years old.

With his trusty 1922 Leedy vibraphone, Val composed and arranged a number of important books for the instrument, including the renowned Solos Suitable for Playing in Church and the now famous "Bird Suite."

He was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on May 11, 1912 and by age eight he was taking piano lessons. He thrilled in the drum lessons he was given six years later and felt he finally found "his instrument" at the age of 16 when he first trained on the xylophone.

During his fraternity days at Ohio State University, he won two trophies for his accompaniment work, which led to a weekly radio broadcast over WOSU in Columbus. He arranged for the 80-piece US Navy band during World War II and was heard weekly over NBC. He also performed in many concerts for the Navy School of Music.

After the war he was the drummer in the Navel Academy Band for many years before his work as a composer hit full swing. In between he created 30 "mini" concerts in San Diego and often remarked that his career highlight was performing solos with the Conservatories of Music in Moscow.

His compositions for the marimba, such as "Mexi-Mexi," helped define the power of the instrument in classical settings, and his "Bird Suite," including the charming "Penguin March," "Bufflehead Duck Waddle" and "Brown Pelican Strut," were considered important works for the vibraphone and used in educational study in many university programs around the world.

More than his entire list of credits and accomplishments was the man himself. Val was the steady hand behind the mallets that harmonically legitimized the instrument he loved. He was a humble and friendly man who loved music and was so happy to talk to young students.

There will be a celebration of the life of Val Eddy on Saturday, December 16th at11:00 a.m.  Flowers and contributions to the Memorial Fund for Val Eddy may be sent to: Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3902 Kenwood Drive, Spring Valley, CA 91941.

John R. Raush

John R. Raush, who in recent years contributed many new-literature reviews to Percussive Notes, died on Nov. 18, 2006 in Baton Rouge, La.

Raush was born June 30, 1936, in Chicago. He studied with Otto Kristufek, timpanist of the Chicago Opera Orchestra, and while attending Northwestern University of Illinois was a student of Edward Metzinger, timpanist of the Chicago Symphony. Raush was a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra and the orchestra of the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood, where he studied with Roman Szulc, timpanist of the Boston Symphony.

He moved to Louisiana to play in the Shreveport Symphony, graduated magna cum laude from Centenary College, and later received a Master of Music Education degree from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches and became professor of percussion and director of bands at NSU. He was the first percussionist to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas in Austin, where he was a member of the Austin Symphony.

In 1977, he moved to Baton Rouge to join the faculty of the LSU School of Music and also joined the Baton Rouge Symphony as timpanist. During his 19 years on the faculty of the LSU School of Music he served as assistant dean, associate dean and interim dean. Under his direction, the LSU Percussion Ensemble achieved international recognition. It was awarded first place in the 1988 National Collegiate Competition and was featured in a showcase concert at PASIC '88 in San Antonio.

During the 1989-90 symphony season, Raush was featured as soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony in Marshal Griffith's "Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra." He also appeared as soloist with the Louisiana Sinfonietta and the LSU Wind Ensemble. He performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as soloist in the world premiere of Dinos Constantinides' "China III" with LSU saxophonist Griffin Campbell at the World Saxophone Congress in Kawasake, Japan, and as principal timpanist with the Baton Rouge Symphony in the Isaac Stem Auditorium in Carnegie Hall.

His interest in mallet-keyboard performance was reflected in articles he wrote for The Instrumentalist and Percussive Notes. His reviews of new percussion music appeared regularly in Percussive Notes and Notes, the journal of the Music Library Association. He was also a longtime member of the PAS Contest & Audition Procedures Committee.

His arrangements of percussion music are performed and featured on CDs by college percussion ensembles across the nation. In his leisure time, he enjoyed woodworking and created percussion accessories in use by several major orchestras.

Memorial donations can be made to the LSU School of Music Scholarship Fund, at LSU School of Music, Dalrymple Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-2504.

John Wyre
May 17, 1941 - October 31, 2006
by Lauren Vogel Weiss

John Wyre (second from left) with Bill Cahn, Steve Gadd, and Robin Engelman at PASIC 2005 in Columbus, Ohio

John Wyre, one of the founding members of the world-renown percussion ensemble Nexus, passed away on October 31, 2006 in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Jean Donelson Wyre.

Inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame with the other members of NEXUS in 1999 at PASIC '99 in Columbus, John told Percussive Notes, "We're just one of the ripples on the pond. Through technology, music has exploded exponentially. We're aware of so many different things happening around us now. Our world keeps growing; who knows how vast it will be in another hundred years. How deep will the archives be? How much stuff--good and bad--will people have to wade through to even find our music. Some future percussionists might come along and resurrect something that Nexus has done the way Bob Becker did with George Hamilton Green. The fact that we've reached out and touched some people, inspired them to continue along the trail--that's enough for me. I feel good about what we've done, and we've made a positive contribution to percussion."

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Wyre played in the All-Philadelphia Senior High School Orchestra, studied with Fred D. Hinger (Timpanist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at that time), and became involved in Alan Abel's Settlement Music School Percussion Ensemble (where fellow Nexus members Bill Cahn and Russell Hartenberger would also play). John then went to Rochester, NY to study with William Street at the Eastman School of Music (which would also be the alma mater of another future Nexus colleague, Bob Becker, as well as Cahn).

After leaving Eastman, Wyre played with the Oklahoma City and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras before becoming the Timpanist in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for 11 seasons between 1966 and 1981. In 1968, he joined Becker and Cahn, along with Robin Engelman (with whom John played in both the Milwaukee and Toronto orchestras), and Hartenberger at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, and three years later these five musicians gave their first performance as Nexus. (The late Michael Craden [1941-1981] was also one of the founding members of the ensemble.)

For the next three decades, Wyre performed with Nexus all around the world, playing music that ranged from traditional xylophone rags to Ghanaian drumming, from concertos composed for them to free-form improvisations. "My very favorite thing that we do is a piece called 'Tongues'," he shared in an unpublished interview. "Bob plays mbira. It's very simple, which is a sweet thing. I could play that all night and never get tired of it."

"Nexus is...making music, exploring the world together, sharing the stage from individual spontaneity to exquisite precision," he wrote for PN in an article celebrating the ensemble's 25th anniversary in 1996. Six years later, in another interview, Wyre explained why he chose to leave the ensemble. "It's been 31 extraordinary years, but I want to spend less time traveling all over the world. I want to spend more time writing and I want to work with some other musicians as well. There are a lot of things that I'll miss but I'm looking forward to some new horizons."

Although Nexus was an important part of his music life, he also organized and directed World Drum Festivals, played in numerous chamber ensembles, collected instruments and music of other cultures, and wrote a book: Touched by Sound: A Drummer's Journey. "My spiritual life is inexorably linked to music," he wrote in the book's Preface. "Sound has always been at the very core of my being."

"John transformed time by being in its center," Robin Engelman stated. "He was also the greatest orchestral timpanist I had ever played with or heard. But John's center is the memory I will always cherish."

John Wyre's life was hanging out with his friends and making music.

JOHN WYRE REMEMBERED
by Kalman Cherry

With the passing of John Wyre, the percussion world and, indeed, the music world has lost a treasured member. My personal memories of John go back a long time. John's father, Ross Wyre, was my high school music teacher, band director, and mentor. Ross Wyre, himself, was an accomplished musician, having studied tuba at the Curtis Institute of Music (class of 1934). In the 1960's, John and I shared some wonderful music making at the Marlboro Music Festival, a venue that drew some of the finest musicians in the profession. And then, there were the NEXUS concerts with some great parties afterward. Memories such as these help to sustain one during difficult times. John has entered a realm that awaits each of us. We shall meet again. In the interim, I know there are many who join me in wishing him Peace Profound.

Robert A. Winslow

Robert A. Winslow, a founding member of the Percussive Arts Society in 1961 who served on the first PAS Executive Committee, died on Sept. 23, 2006.

Winslow was a band and orchestra conductor of national and international reputation who also served as an adjudicator throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. Dr. Winslow was a member of the faculty of the College of Music at North Texas for 18 years. Previously he held similar positions at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and at Boston University.

Winslow recorded and performed as a percussionist with many of the great conductors and composers of the world, including Zubin Mehta, Georg Solti, Eugene Ormandy, Seiji Ozawa, Andre Previn, Igor Stravinsky, Carlos Chavez, William Kraft, Lucas Foss, John Cage and Elliott Carter. For many years he was a regular member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra. He was an original member of the Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble under the direction of William Kraft and was a freelance performer for television, motion pictures, recording and musical theater in Los Angeles and Boston.

Winslow was born in Erie, Colorado. He held a B.A. from UCLA, an M.A. from California State University at Northridge, and a Doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado.

Tony DeNicola

Jazz drummer and teacher Anthony "Tony" DeNicola died on Sept. 2, 2006, which was his 79th birthday.

His early teachers included percussion legends Phil Krauss and Henry Adler and he began playing professionally in high school. After school, Tony played with the Army band during the Korean War, and traveled with jazz greats Freddie Green, Charlie Ventura, and Harry James, among others.

Tony brought his knowledge of percussion to Trenton State College in the early 1970s. He taught there for nearly 30 years, inspiring students in all areas of music, including classical percussion performance, jazz drumming, rock drumming, mallet performance, and composition.

After retiring from Trenton State College in the 1990s, Tony returned to his first love, drumming. He made numerous CDs with Kenny Davern, and in 1994 he received the Jazz Musician of the Year award from the state of New Jersey.

Ralph C. Pace
January 24, 1925 - June 9, 2006

RALPH C. PACE ... every baby boomer who took drum lessons knows the name and face that graced the cover of his drum instruction books. Inspired and driven by the question "Who would want to buy one of your drum books?", Ralph wrote 11 books and taught thousands of students who never came through the doors of his teaching studio. His books instructed and challenged drummers from beginners to the most advanced musicians. In 1947, at the age of 22, he wrote his first drum instruction book. "Variations of Drumming" was the standard curriculum for many years at Berklee College of Music, Juilliard, and Manhattan School of Music as well as other noted schools of music.

Ralph was a self-taught drummer who came from a musical family. His father, Frank, was a piano tuner and played mandolin, his Uncle Nick a guitar player and older brother, Dominick, played clarinet. He joined the Army in 1942 and gained musical experience as a drummer in the military band playing in Germany and France.

Upon his return to New York at the end of World War II, Ralph began to tour with the Marshall Young Band. Life on the road was not for him so he returned to New York and began to play with different combos. He also began teaching private students. He had a profound effect on several of his students - Skip Hadden became a professor at Berklee College of Music and Andy Newmark is a renowned studio musician.

Siegfried Fink
February 1928 - May 2006

PAS 2003 Hall of Fame inductee Siegfried Fink passed away on May 3, 2006. He suffered a heart attack during a golf tournament. The final burial ceremonies will be on June 9, and a Farewell Concert presented by Fink's former students will take place in Wurzburg on June 15. Traudel, Conelia, and Clara Maria Fink (wife, daughter and grand daughter) will plant a big tree in the cemetery of Wurzburg in memoriam of Siegfried.

Fink was head of the percussion department at the University of Music in Wuerzburg, Germany as well as a noted composer and performer. For more information about his life and career, visit the PAS Hall of Fame.

Don Alias
2/12/39 - 28/03/06

Percussionist Don (Charles) Alias died on March 28. His credits included work with George Benson, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, Chick Corea, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Roberta Flack, Nina Simone, Michael Brecker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Holland, Mongo Santamaria, Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Herbie Hancock, Marianne Faithfull, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Weather Report, Mick Jagger, Carla Bley, Paul Motian, and David Sanborn.

Alias and bassist Gene Perla co-founded the group Stone Alliance, which included such players as Kenny Kirkland and Jan Hammer. They released four albums including Stone Alliance, Marcio Montarroyos, Con Amigos and Heads Up. In the 1980s, Alias formed the percussion-based band Kebekwa. In 1997 he appeared with DeJohnette in a video titled Talking Drummers: A Journey of Music, Friendship and Spirit.

Roland Kohloff
New York Philharmonic timpanist Roland Kohloff died on February 24, 2006. A native New Yorker, Kohloff had been Principal Timpanist of the New York Philharmonic since 1972 when he succeeded his former teacher, Saul Goodman. Previously, Kohloff was Principal Timpanist of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera Orchestras, where he appeared frequently as soloist.

Since 1978 Kohloff had been a faculty member of The Juilliard School. He also performed and taught at the Aspen Music Festival, and in 1991 gave the New York premiere of the Timpani Concerto by Siegfried Matthus with the New York Philharmonic.

Irv Kluger

Jazz drummer Irv Kluger died on Feb. 28 at age 84. He was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1921, and during his early career as a jazz drummer Kluger worked with such bandleaders as Georgie Auld, Boyd Raeburn, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, Tex Beneke, Charlie Parker, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie. He backed singers including Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole and Peggy Lee. In the early 1950s he played for several Broadway shows in New York and then settled in California. His recording session work included Dizzy Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts," Sheb Wooley's novelty hit "Purple People Eater" and the TV theme to Bonanza. For the past 20 years, Kluger played regularly at Pogo's Tavern in Las Vegas, and he was a past Vice President of Las Vegas Local 369 of the American Federation of Musicians. Kluger is profiled in Burt Korall's book Drummin' Men.

Ray Barretto

Conguero Ray Barretto died on February 17 at age 76 from complications of a tracheotomy. Barretto had undergone heart bypass surgery in January and suffered from pneumonia. A tracheotomy was performed in the hopes of a quicker recuperation.

Barretto was famous in the salsa field for such hits as "El Hijo de Obatala," "Indestructible," "Cocinando" and others. He won a Grammy for best Tropical Latin performance in 1989 for the song "Ritmo en el Corazon" with Celia Cruz. The following year, Barretto was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame, and in January 2006 he was named one of the National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters of 2006, the nation's highest jazz honor.

In the late 1950s, he played in Tito Puente's band, and his popularity grew in the New York jazz scene. Over the years, he recorded with such jazz musicians as Cannonball Adderley, Freddie Hubbard, Cal Tjader and Dizzy Gillespie.