Hamid Drake
Encyclopedia
Hamid Drake is an American jazz drummer
and percussionist. He lives in Chicago, IL but spends much of his time traveling around the world for concerts and studio dates.
He first became known for his work with Chicago tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson
. Drake was one of the founders, along with Foday Musa Suso
and Adam Rudolph
, of The Mandingo Griot Society. His other frequent collaborators include New York bassist William Parker
, saxophonist David Murray
, composer and percussionist Adam Rudolph
, German free jazz
saxophonist Peter Brötzmann
, fellow drummer Michael Zerang and Chicago free jazz
saxophonist Ken Vandermark
. In recent years, Drake has frequently appeared in Hungarian jazz groups, recording with musicians like Viktor Tóth and Mihály Dresch
.
In addition to the drum set
, he also performs on the frame drum
, the tabla, and other hand drums.
Jazz drumming
Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era latin jazz...
and percussionist. He lives in Chicago, IL but spends much of his time traveling around the world for concerts and studio dates.
He first became known for his work with Chicago tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson
Fred Anderson (musician)
Fred Anderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who was based in Chicago, Illinois. With a distinctive forward-bent playing posture, Anderson's playing was rooted in the swing music and hard bop idioms, but also incorporated innovations from free jazz, rendering him, as critics Ron Wynn and...
. Drake was one of the founders, along with Foday Musa Suso
Foday Musa Suso
Foday Musa Suso is a musician and composer from the West African nation of Gambia. He is a member of the Mandinka ethnic group, and is a jali...
and Adam Rudolph
Adam Rudolph
Adam Rudolph is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post bop and world fusion media, probably most notable to date for his work with Yusef Lateef...
, of The Mandingo Griot Society. His other frequent collaborators include New York bassist William Parker
William Parker (musician)
William Parker is an American free jazz double bassist, poet and composer.-Biography:Parker was not formally trained as a classical player, though he did study with Jimmy Garrison, Richard Davis, and Wilbur Ware and learned the tradition. Parker is one of few jazz bassists who regularly plays arco...
, saxophonist David Murray
David Murray (jazz musician)
David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
, composer and percussionist Adam Rudolph
Adam Rudolph
Adam Rudolph is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post bop and world fusion media, probably most notable to date for his work with Yusef Lateef...
, German free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
saxophonist Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann is a German artist and free jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.Brötzmann is among the most important European free jazz musicians. His rough, lyrical timbre is easily recognized on his many recordings.-Early life:...
, fellow drummer Michael Zerang and Chicago free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
saxophonist Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark is an American jazz composer and saxophone and clarinet player.A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compositions, which typically balance intricate orchestration with passionate...
. In recent years, Drake has frequently appeared in Hungarian jazz groups, recording with musicians like Viktor Tóth and Mihály Dresch
Mihály Dresch
Mihály Dresch is a Hungarian saxophone player, and one of the most interesting jazz and folk musicians on the current Budapest scene. Specifically his merger of the American free-jazz tradition with elements of traditional Hungarian folk has led to inspired, unexpected pieces of modern music...
.
In addition to the drum set
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, he also performs on the frame drum
Frame drum
A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical...
, the tabla, and other hand drums.
As leader
- Reggaeology (RogueArt, 2010)
- Blissful (RogueArt, 2008)
- Bindu (RogueArt, 2005)
- Hu: Vibrational "Universal Mother (Soul Jazz)
With Albert Beger and William Parker
- 2005 - Evolving Silence Vol.1 (Earsay's Jazz)
- 2006 - Evolving Silence Vol.2 (Earsay's Jazz)
With Scott Fields
- 1997 - Five Frozen Eggs (Music & ArtsMusic & ArtsMusic & Arts is an American record label based in Kensington, California.Music & Arts is owned and operated by Music and Arts Programs of America, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to informal education in the arts, established in California in 1984...
) - 1999 - Dénouement (Clean Feed RecordsClean Feed RecordsClean Feed Records is a jazz record label. The company was founded in 2001 in Lisbon, Portugal. , the label has issued more than 200 albums and one DVD. Its roster of artists includes Ken Vandermark, Dennis González, Scott Fields, Mark Dresser, Tim Berne, Charles Gayle, Peter Evans, Tony Malaby,...
)
With William Parker
- 2001 - Piercing the Veil (Aum Fidelity)
- 2007 - First Communion/Piercing the Veil [LIVE] (Aum Fidelity)