Freddie Gruber
Encyclopedia
Freddie Gruber was a jazz drummer
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 teacher to a number of professional drummers.

Gruber grew up in the nascent New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 be-bop scene, and played with Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

, among many others. Gruber's student list includes Vinnie Colaiuta
Vinnie Colaiuta
Vincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...

, Neil Peart
Neil Peart
Neil Ellwood Peart , OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario . During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer...

, Steve Smith
Steve Smith (musician)
Steve Elliott Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...

 and Dave Weckl
Dave Weckl
Dave Weckl is a highly acclaimed jazz fusion drummer. Weckl attended Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, MO and graduated in 1978. He majored in jazz studies at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut...

. Gruber was an instructor/mentor at the Drum Channel Studio.

On January 15, 2011, Gruber was honored at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

 with a lifetime achievement award for educational excellence throughout his career. The large framed award featured a classic photo of legendary jazz drummers: Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...

, Jo Jones
Jo Jones
Jo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...

 (known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years), and Gruber himself. Under the photo was a plaque, and a cymbal that was signed by Armand Zildjian
Armand Zildjian
Armand Zildjian was an American manufacturer of cymbals and the head of the Avedis Zildjian Company.Born in Quincy, Massachusetts, Armand Zildjian was the scion of a cymbals-making tradition that dated back to his ancestor Avedis, who began the company in 1623 in Istanbul...

's children.

Gruber's former drum student, Neil Peart
Neil Peart
Neil Ellwood Peart , OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario . During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer...

 (of Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

), provided an obituary tribute which was posted to the Hudson Music website.

Sources

  • Jazz Improv Magazine Tribute to Buddy Rich: "Way Beyond Drums, Buddy Rich, A Portrait of the Man." (Spring 2006)
  • The Commandments of Early Rhythm and Blues Drumming - by Zoro and Daniel Glass (2008)
  • Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road - by Neil Peart (2002)
  • Travelling Music: Traveling Music : The Soundtrack to My Life and Times - by Neil Peart (2003)
  • Rhythm and Light - by Carrie Nuttall (2005)
  • Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography - by Jon Collins (2005)
  • Roadshow : Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle - by Neil Peart (2006)
  • Far and Away: A Prize Every Time - by Neil Peart (2011)
  • Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
    Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
    Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage is a 2010 documentary film directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. The film offers an in-depth look at the Canadian progressive rock band Rush, chronicling the band's musical evolution from their progressive rock sound of the 1970s to their current heavy rock style...

    (2010)
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