When drummer, bandleader, and music professor Ralph Peterson Jr. lost his six-year battle with cancer on March 1, 2021, at the age of only 58, … Read More “Gearhead: Mapex Pays Tribute to Ralph Peterson Jr.”
Between 1957 and 1960, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne made four records as the Poll Winners, so named because each … Read More “Gearhead: Poll Winners’ Instruments Reunite on Bruce Forman Album”
The word “percussion” comes from a Latin word meaning to beat or strike, which is exactly what you do with most percussion instruments. But there’s … Read More “Gearhead: The Cuíca, Here’s the Rub”
It’s a big, heavy, low-pitched brass instrument. It can go oom-pah-pah, if that’s what you desire. But despite these familiar characteristics, and despite its name, … Read More “Gearhead: The (Somewhat) Heroic Tale of the Wagner Tuba”
In the 21st century, intellectual property (IP) has become a hot-button issue for musicians and composers, specifically as it pertains to the distribution of music … Read More “Gearhead: Spotlight on the Sarrusophone”
In the 1980s, as synthesizers and drum machines threatened to take over popular music, electric guitar manufacturers tried to come up with instruments that were … Read More “Gearhead: The Bond Electraglide”
These days, if you’ve got the right apps, you can recreate the sound of just about any instrument on earth. In the early 1970s, when … Read More “Gearhead: Appreciating The Optigan 50 Years Later”
It was the peak of the Roaring Twenties, and a great time to sell saxophones. More than a million of the instruments were already in … Read More “Gearhead: The Conn-O-Sax”
As veteran JazzTimes followers know, every year around now we present a report on the annual National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, … Read More “Gearhead: NAMM 2021 Goes Virtual”
The Roland corporation of Japan only manufactured its TR-808 Rhythm Composer drum machine for three years, from 1980 to 1983, but that short time was … Read More “Gearhead: The Roland TR-808 at 40”
