Charles Dowd
April 8, 1948 – March 24, 2010

Charles Dowd, a stalwart of percussion in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, succumbed to his struggle with pancreatic cancer on March 24, 2010. He recently retired as Philip H. Knight Professor of Music at the University of Oregon in Eugene where he had served on the faculty since 1975. Many of his former students have pursued careers in music and their respect, affection, and anecdotes can be found on the Facebook page "Thanks Charles Dowd." He is survived by his wife, keyboardist Christine Mirabella, and sons Geoffrey and Jason (of San Francisco).   

Dowd served as the Principal Timpanist in the Eugene Symphony for the past 35 seasons. Their March 18 concert, which he attended. was dedicated to him and opened with a special performance of Anthony Cirone’s “4/4 for Four” played by Tim Cogswell, Randal Larson, Brian Scott and Sean Wagoner. Dowd was also the Principal Timpanist with the Oregon Festival of American Music Symphonia, Cascade Festival of Music, Oregon Coast Music Festival, and Oregon Bach Festival, where he performed on the 2001 Grammy-winning recording of Credo by Krzysztof Penderecki. Dowd considered this performance his defining moment as a percussionist and recently told Eugene’s newspaper The Register-Guard, “We won the Grammy not for Bach but for Penderecki. Audiences are ready to hear modern music.”

Dowd also served as the Principal Solo Timpanist with the orchestra of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, which won 18 consecutive ASCAP Awards for adventuresome programming under the batons of Dennis Russell Davies and Marin Alsop. As a performer/conductor, Dowd was nominated for the Laurel Leaf Award of the American Composers Alliance in New York for performing works of American composers. During his 35 years conducting The Oregon Percussion Ensemble, they performed two premieres at PASICs in San Jose (1980) and Los Angeles (1985).   

Dowd authored six books on percussion performance and pedagogy: The Well-Tempered Timpanist; Velocity Warmups for Jazz Vibraphone and Marimba; Master Technique Builders for Snare Drum (co-authored with Anthony Cirone); The Jazz, Rock & Latin Source-book: 100 Grooves for Drums and Bass (book with CD); A Thesaurus for the Jazz-Rock Drummer; and A Funky Primer for the Rock Drummer.   

Born in New York to a jazz trumpeter father and church pianist mother, Dowd grew up in the Midwest before winding up in the San Francisco Bay area where he often played as a rock ’n’ roll drummer. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 from San Jose State University where he studied with his mentor, Anthony J. Cirone. Dowd received his master's degree the following year from Stanford University and did post graduate work at the Juilliard School of Music where he studied with the legendary New York Philharmonic timpanist Saul Goodman.

“As we mourn the passing of Charles Dowd, I can share my memories of him as one of those rare students who never had an unprepared lesson,” remember Cirone. “His work ethic was amazing. Always looking for greater challenges, Charles mastered the classical, jazz and solo repertoire with equal enthusiasm. He became an outstanding professor as well as performer with tireless dedication to his students and the percussion program at the University of Oregon.

“Charles also was a great personal friend,” Cirone continues. When told his composition was performed by the Eugene Symphony during last week’s special concert, Cirone was honored to have been a part of the symphony’s celebration of Charles. “But I am saddened by his early passing. May he rest in peace.”On May 22, 2010, at 3:00 p.m., the Oregon Percussion Ensemble will perform a tribute concert for Professor Charles Dowd. Students, colleagues, friends and family are invited to attend the performance in Beall Hall in Eugene. A tribute article, which turned out to be his obituary, can be found online at http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/24571252-35/dowd-music-symphony-percussion-eugene.csp

 

David Thomas Cook
Percussionist and music educator Dave Cook died on March 1, 2010, at age 60 following a massive stroke.

Cook was born in Fort Worth, Texas on August 4, 1949. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1971 from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University-Commerce). In 1978 he received his master’s degree in Percussion Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

Cook’s professional career included performances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, San Fernando Valley Symphony, Columbia University Orchestra, Manhattan Conservatory Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Wind Symphony. He was a founding member of the Allen Philharmonic where he served as Timpanist.

As a public school music teacher in Texas, Dave Cook taught in the Garland, Allen, and Richardson Independent School Districts, as well as the Santa Monica Unified School District in California. He helped start the Allen ISD orchestra program and most recently served as Director of the Liberty Junior High School Orchestra in Dallas (Richardson ISD). -Lauren Vogel Weiss

Jake Hanna
Drummer Jake Hanna, best known for his playing with Woody Herman, died Feb. 12, 2010 in Los Angeles at age 78 of complications from a blood disease. Born in Dorchester, Mass. on April 4, 1931, Hanna began playing professionally at age 13, and also played drums while he was in the Marines from 1950–53. After studying at the Berklee College of Music from 1956–58, he worked with Buddy Morrow, Toshiko Akiyoshi, briefly with Woody Herman, and Maynard Ferguson. He was the house drummer at the club Storyville in Boston and then worked with Marian McPartland from 1959–61. He worked with Bobby Hackett, Duke Ellington, Harry James, and Herb Pomeroy before working with Herman again from 1962–64. Hanna was the drummer for Merv Griffin's TV show, and moved to Los Angeles with the show. He was a founding member of Supersax and also played with Herb Ellis, Oscar Peterson, Bing Crosby, and Rosemary Clooney. In 1976 he participated in Herman's 40th Anniversary Concert, and he did occasional performances with Herman in small-group settings from 1984–86. Hanna recorded extensively as house drummer for Concord Records, working with such artists as Al Cohn, Harry Edison Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, Red Norvo, Joe Pass, and many others. He also co-led a band with Carl Fontana. Besides being known for his ability to swing a band, Hanna was also known for his sharp sense of humor.

Ed Thigpen
Jazz drummer and PAS Hall of Fame member Ed Thigpen, best known for his playing with the Oscar Peterson Trio, died on January 13 in Copenhagen, Denmark at age 79.

Edmund Leonard Thigpen was born Dec. 28, 1930 in Chicago, the son of jazz drummer Ben Thigpen. His first professional gig was with Buddy Collette when Ed was 18, and he soon joined the Jackson Brothers show band. He then worked with Cootie Williams at the Savoy Ballroom in New York for several months before becoming a drummer in the Army band for two years. After his discharge from the service, Thigpen returned to New York and worked with such artists as Dinah Washington, Johnny Hodges, Bud Powell, Lennie Tristano and Billy Taylor. During the 1950s he also recorded with Toshiko Akiyoshi, Ira Sullivan, Mal Waldron, Mundell Lowe, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Teddy Charles and Blossom Dearie. During that time, Thigpen became highly regarded for his brush playing and his strong sense of swing.

In 1959 Thigpen joined the Oscar Peterson Trio, which included bassist Ray Brown. Of the many recordings Thigpen made with the Peterson Trio, he cited West Side Story as being one of the best, and he was especially proud of his drum fill on the tune “Judy” from the album The Oscar Peterson Trio and Nelson Riddle.   

After leaving Peterson in 1965, Thigpen worked with singer Ella Fitzgerald for a year. He then moved to Los Angeles and worked freelance for a year before working with Fitzgerald again from 1968 to 1972, at which point he moved to Copenhagen. Ed became very active in the European jazz scene, and he recorded with a wide variety of artists including Toots Thielemans, Johnny Griffin, Horace Parlan, Helen Humes, Clark Terry, Kai Winding, Thad Jones, Benny Carter, Art Farmer and Monty Alexander. In addition, Thigpen led his own groups and released a number of fine albums, including Mr. Taste, It’s Entertainment, and Element of Swing.  

Thigpen was also active as an educator. His book The Sound of Brushes is considered a definitive resource on the art of brush playing, and his Rhythm Analysis and Basic Coordination for Drums found favor with many teachers and students. He taught extensively in Copenhagen and gave countless clinics and master classes around the world, including several PASIC appearances.  

Thigpen was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame in 2002.

 

Jack Rumbley
Percussionist Jack Rumbley died Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009, at the age of 79 after a struggle against cancer. He held BA and MA degrees from the University of North Texas Music School and served in the 4th Army Band, San Antonio. After service in the Army, Jack played timpani in the Corpus Christi Symphony.  Returning to Dallas, Jack taught in the Dallas ISD, spent 40 summers in the pit orchestra at Casa Manana, Fort Worth, and played timpani with the Fort Worth Symphony for 40 seasons. When he retired from the Fort Worth Symphony, he joined the East Texas Symphony in Tyler as timpanist.
Memorial gifts can be made to the Jack Rumbley Percussion Scholarship at UNT College of Music, 1155 Union Circle #311367, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, attention Elida Tamez.