| In Memoriam
Jack Gilfoy Jack Gilfoy died on May 2, 2008, at his home in Indianapolis, Indiana. Drummer William F. Ludwig II Former Ludwig Drum Company president William F. Ludwig II died on March 22, 2008. He was 91 years old.
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: 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. Miles also performed with Stevie Wonder, Muddy Waters, Barry White, David Bowie, George Clinton, Santana and Bootsy Collins.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. In 1979 he participated in the Estrellas de Areito recordings for Egrem, the Cuban state record company, which revived the descarga style from 20 years before. By the ’90s, Güines was recognized as an old master and toured often. He recorded with the young conguero Miguel (Angá) Díaz on the 1995 recording Pasaporte, which won the Egrem Album of the Year award, Cuba’s equivalent of a Grammy. He worked with other young bands, including Orlando Valle’s, and Jesús Alemañy’s band Cubanismo; he also recorded “Chamalongo” with the Canadian saxophonist Jane Bunnett, and played on the title track of Bebo Valdés and Diego el Cigala’s 2003 album, Lágrimas Negras.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. Obituary excerpts from the Associated Press.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. 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. During the late 1940s he helped develop the first tunable congas. His interest in design, as well as his friendship with Latin Percussion founder Martin Cohen, led to the development of the LP Patato Model Congas.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 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. Sandy devoted his life to music education. The Music for All Foundation recently established the Sandy Feldstein Music Education Fund. For those who wish to make a contribution, the Feldstein family sincerely appreciates your generosity. Contributions can be made payable to “The Music for All Foundation,” with “Sandy Feldstein Music Education Fund” written on the comment line of the check. All donations can be sent to 39 West Jackson Place, Suite 150; Indianapolis, IN 46225.Read Sandy Feldstein's PAS Hall of Fame profile Max Roach Read Max Roach's Hall of Fame article 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. 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. Steve Bagby Jazz drummer and University of Miami drumset instructor Stephen G. Bagby died of cancer on June 27 at a Fort Lauderdale hospice. He was 66. Bagby was born in St. Louis and grew up in the Chicago suburbs. He attended Duke University and Boston's Berklee College of Music. He moved to Miami in the 1960s, then toured with the Red Rodney-Ira Sullivan Quintet. He also played in various groups led by Sullivan and led the house band for WLRN’s Flamingo Jazz Series at Hialeah Race Track in the 1980s. During his career he performed and/or recorded with Stan Getz, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Stitt and Chet Baker. He also played with John Coltrane once in Chicago when Elvin Jones missed a performance. Bobby Rosengarden 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
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 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
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.
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
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. In the mid-1960s Ralph invented and patented "Set the Pace" - a silent set of drums made of wood and rubber. Joe Morello, Jim Chapin, Mel Lewis and Butch Miles are among the famous drummers who endorsed his practice pads.Siegfried Fink
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.
Don Alias
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 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
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. |
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. 
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.
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. 
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. 
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. 
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.
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.
