Percussion
Don Canedy was a beloved band director and professor at Southern Illinois University before being hired by the Roger’s Drum Company in 1961. Don played drums beginning at the age of 10 and was a perfect fit for the company’s Educational Director. Just prior to his job at Roger’s, which at the time...
Rudi Metzler watched the Beatles on TV in his home in Germany and wanted to be the next Ringo Starr. He earned money washing cars, taking over a year to earn enough for his first drum kit. After playing in several bands he thought the future for him would be in selling instruments so he began...
Candido Camero was born in Cuba on April 22, 1921. By the age of four he was already interested in percussive instruments--a field he would revolutionize by blending Latin beats with jazz. Working with other pioneers on the concepts of Latin Jazz, such as Dizzy Gillespie, Candido opened up the...
Ndugu Chancler cut his teeth as a jazz drummer but later expanded his scope to include the blues, pop, soul, and funk. As a jazz drummer, he worked with an incredible line up of artists over the years including Miles Davis, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Gerald Wilson, Frank Sinatra, Thelonious...
Michael Bland was playing drums for top acts while still in high school. Just two years out of school, in 1989, Michael began playing for Prince, a gig that lasted seven years. Michael was on drums for such Prince albums as Crystal Ball, Emancipation, and Chaos and Disorder. He also worked with...
Tony Verderosa was inspired by Bill Bruford's use of electronic percussion units to write new music in real-time. After graduating from the Crane School of Music, Tony began working with a number of innovative drum products. He debuted the DTS70 Triggering Module for Yamaha and sought new ways to...
Dafnis Prieto grew up in a musical neighborhood in Cuba where he quickly fell in love with the drums. During his 2008 NAMM Oral History Interview, Dafnis discussed some of his musical influences and what the term “groove” means to him. Facilitating masters classes, clinics, workshops and serving as...
Wolfgang Haffner grew up in Germany and began playing drums at a young age. He gravitated towards jazz and one of his first recordings was with Al Cohn in 1987. He went on to record with the likes of Dominic Miller, Metro, Eddie Daniels, and Peter Bolte. Wolfgang was interviewed for the NAMM Oral...
Antonio Sanchez began playing drums at the age of five in his native Mexico and by the time he was a teenager he was playing professionally. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Antonio earned a masters in jazz improvisation from the New England Conservatory of Music. After performing...
Masani Yanagisawa’s father formed the Pearl Drum Company in Japan just after World War II. Masani applied his marketing knowledge to assist in the growth and development of the company. Working with his brother, who served as president, they built the brand name out of a pure OEM business to become...