INDIANAPOLIS, IN – July 5, 2007 The Percussive Arts Society has released the names of those selected to the PAS Hall of Fame, the society’s highest honor given to individuals that have significantly impacted percussion education, research and performance. Jazz drumming pioneer Warren "Baby" Dodds, percussion educator, artist and author Anthony Cirone and internationally acclaimed composer Steve Reich will be honored in November at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Columbus, Ohio.
 
Warren "Baby" Dodds is often regarded as one of the most influential pioneers of jazz drumming. He began playing in New Orleans before settling in Chicago. His legendary work with leading jazz artists Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and many others allowed him to establish the foundation of jazz drumming. Along with many early classic jazz recordings with Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton, his 1946 solo recording Talking and Drum Solos is credited as the first unaccompanied drum solo recording made.
 
As a percussionist, author, composer and educator, Anthony Cirone’s impact on the percussion community is widespread. In addition to performing in many chamber ensembles and new music groups, he played with the San Francisco Symphony as a member of the percussion section from 1965 until 2001. A prolific author and composer, he has over 70 published titles including textbooks, three symphonies for percussion, four sonatas, a string quartet and other orchestral works. He wrote Portraits in Rhythm, an influential collection of 50 studies for snare drum that is considered a standard text for teaching percussionists in colleges and universities. Additionally, he served on the percussion faculties at San José State University, Stanford University and more recently the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
 
Widely regarded as one of the greatest American composers of the century, Steve Reich has introduced many new musical ideas to the percussion world. Reich has won international acclaim as a composer, having just been presented with The Polar Music Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He was also awarded the Praemium Imperiale for Music Award in 2006 in Tokyo, Japan. Stateside, he has won two GRAMMY® awards and was named Composer of the Year by Musical America in 2000. Reich has written several works strictly or predominantly for percussion instruments including Drumming, Piano Phase for Two Marimbas, Clapping Music, Music for Pieces of Wood, Music for Mallet Instruments, Organ and Voices, Six Marimbas, Sextet and Nagoya Marimbas.