American drummer
Billy Drummond
Billy Drummond in 2008
Birth name Willis Robert Drummond Jr. Born (1959-06-15 ) June 15, 1959 (age 64)
Newport News, Virginia , U.S.Genres
Jazz Occupation(s) Musician Instrument(s) Drums Years active 1980s–present Labels Website
billydrummonddrums .com
Musical artist
Billy Drummond in Aarhus, Denmark, 2020
Willis Robert "Billy " Drummond Jr. (born June 19, 1959) is an American
jazz drummer.
Early life
Billy Drummond was born in Newport News, Virginia, where he grew up listening to the extensive jazz record collection of his father, an amateur drummer and jazz enthusiast. He started playing the drums at four and was performing locally in his own band by the age of eight, and playing music with other kids in the neighborhood, including childhood friends
Victor Wooten and the other Wooten brothers,
[1] who lived a few doors away and through whom he met
Consuela Lee Moorehead , composer, arranger, music theory professor, and the founder of the Springtree/Snow Hill Institute for the Performing Arts. He attended
Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music on a Classical Percussion scholarship and, upon leaving school, became a member of a local Top 40 band called The Squares with bassist
Oteil Burbridge .
[2]
Career
In 1986, encouraged by
Al Foster , who had invited him to sit in at the
Village Vanguard and advised him to take the next step, he moved to New York and almost immediately joined the band,
Out of the Blue , with whom he recorded their last album, Spiral Staircase (Blue Note Records). A year later, he joined the
Horace Silver sextet, touring extensively with him before becoming a member of
Sonny Rollins 's band, with whom he toured for three years. During this period he also formed long-term musical associations with
Joe Henderson ,
Bobby Hutcherson ,
Buster Williams ,
James Moody ,
JJ Johnson ,
Andrew Hill , and others.
He has made four albums as bandleader, including his
Criss Cross album Dubai (featuring
Chris Potter ,
Walt Weiskopf and
Peter Washington ), which was included in the list of “50 Crucial Jazz Drumming Recordings of the Past 100 Years” by
Modern Drummer magazine.
[3] His most recent album, Valse Sinistre , leading his band Freedom of Ideas, with
Micah Thomas ,
Dezron Douglas and
Dayna Stephens , came out on the Canadian Cellar Live label in August 2022. He has made five albums as a co-leader, including We’ll Be Together Again with
Javon Jackson and
Ron Carter . In addition to touring he is Professor of Jazz Drums at the
Juilliard School and
New York University .
A sideman on over 350 records, Drummond has played and recorded with, among others,
Bobby Hutcherson ,
Nat Adderley ,
Ralph Moore ,
Buster Williams ,
Charles Tolliver ,
Lew Tabackin and
Toshiko Akiyoshi ,
Hank Jones ,
James Moody ,
Sonny Rollins ,
Andy LaVerne ,
Lee Konitz ,
Dave Stryker ,
George Colligan ,
Ted Rosenthal ,
Bruce Barth ,
Joe Lovano ,
Andrew Hill ,
Larry Willis ,
Toots Thielmans ,
Freddie Hubbard ,
Chris Potter ,
Eddie Gómez ,
Stanley Cowell ,
Javon Jackson , and
Sheila Jordan . He is a long-time member of
Carla Bley 's Lost Chords Quartet,
Sheila Jordan 's Quartet, and the
Steve Kuhn Trio.
Discography
As leader
1991:
Native Colours (
Criss Cross )
1993: The Gift (Criss Cross)
1995: Dubai (Criss Cross)
2022: Valse Sinistre (Cellar Live)
As co-leader
2003: Pas de Trois The Drummonds
2006: Mysterious Shorter Nicholas Payton/Bob Belden/Sam Yahel/Billy Drummond/John Hart
2006: Once Upon a Time The Drummonds
2006: Letter to Evans The Drummonds
2006: Beautiful Friendship The Drummonds
2016: Three's Company Ron Carter/Javon Jackson/Billy Drummond
With OTB
With
Nat Adderley
With
Carla Bley
With Steve Kuhn
1997:
Dedication (Reservoir)
1998:
Countdown (Reservoir)
2000: The Best Things (Reservoir)
2001: Temptation
2002: Waltz – Red Side
2002: Waltz – Blue Side
2004: Easy to Love
2007: Pastorale
2007: Baubles, Bangles and Beads
2007: Pavanne for a Dead Princess
2010: I Will Wait for You
With
Stanley Cowell
2014: Are You Real
2015: Reminiscent
2017: No Illusions
With
Eddie Henderson
1998: Dreams of Gershwin
1999: Reemergence
2001: Oasis
2010: For All We Know
As sideman
Old Country (1990) with
Nat Adderley
Sam I Am (1990) with
Sam Newsome
In New York (1990) with
Tomas Franck
For the Moment (1990 with
Renee Rosnes
Mirage (1991) with
Bobby Hutcherson
Hornucopia (1991) with
Jon Faddis
John Swana and Friends (1991) with
John Swana
Mirage (1991) with
Bobby Hutcherson
Better Times (1992) with Rob Bargad
The Charmer (1992) with
Charles Fambrough
Epistrophy (1992) with
Bill Pierce
Simplicity (1992) with
Walt Weiskopf
Without Words (1992) with
Renee Rosnes
Dawnbird (1993) with
Vincent Herring
Secret Love (1993) with
Vincent Herring
Blue Note Years (1993) with
Joe Henderson
Feeling's Mutual (1993) with John Swana
Scheme of Things (1993) with Scott Wendholt
In from the Cold (1994,
Criss Cross ) with
Jonny King
Days of Wine and Roses (1994) with Vincent Herring
Dearly Beloved (
SteepleChase , 1996) with
Lee Konitz
Notes from the Underground (1996,
Enja ) with Jonny King
Bluesology with
George Cables (
SteepleChase , 1997)
Out of Nowhere with Lee Konitz and
Paul Bley (
SteepleChase , 1997)
RichLee! with Lee Konitz and
Rich Perry (
SteepleChase , 1997)
Light Breeze with
Franco Ambrosetti (Enja, 1998)
True Blue (1998) with
Archie Shepp
Vertigo (1998) with
Chris Potter
Universal Spirits (1998) with
Tim Ries
Dusk (1999) with
Andrew Hill
Duke's Place (1999) with George Mraz
Art & Soul (Blue Note, 1999) with Renee Rosnes
Everything I Need (1999) with Carol Fredette
Out of the Dark (1999) with Andy Fusco
Pleasant Valley (1999) with
Javon Jackson
Reemergence (1999) with
Eddie Henderson
Remembrance (1999) with
Sadao Watanabe
Rendezvous (1999) with
Jerome Harris
Search (1999) with
Joel Weiskopf
Sound of Love (1999) with
Tommy Smith
Navigator (2000) with
Joel Frahm
Ask Me Now (2000) with
Michael Urbaniak
Siren (2000) with Walt Weiskopf
Steal the Moon (2000) with
Carolyn Leonhart
Two Tenor Ballads (2000) with
Mark Turner and Tad Shull
What Goes Unsaid (2000) with Scott Wendholt
This Will Be (2001) with Chris Potter
Oasis (2001) with Eddie Henderson
Song (2001) with
Marty Ehrlich
Workin' Out (2001) with
John Campbell
Cedars of Avalon (2001) with
Larry Coryell
Alternate Side (2001) with Tim Ries
With a Little Help from My Friends (2001) with
Renee Rosnes
Deja Vu (2001) with Archie Shepp
Waltz for Debbie (2002) with
David Hazeltine
Wurd on the Skreet (2002) with
Donald Brown
Life on Earth (2003) with
Renee Rosnes
Line on Love (2003) with
Marty Ehrlich
Little Song (2003) with
Sheila Jordan
Strings (2003) with
Jim Snidero
French Ballads (2003) with Archie Shepp
Deja Vu (2003) with Archie Shepp
The Lost Chords (2003) with
Carla Bley
Dream Dancing (2004) with Steve Kuhn
Close Up (2004) with Jim Snidero
Tea for Two (2004) with Walt Weiskopf/
Andy Fusco Quartet
Sight to Sound (2004) with Walt Weiskopf
Winter Sonata (2004) with
Gary Versace
Cleopatra's Dream (2006) David Hazeltine
Manhattan (2006) David Hazeltine/George Mraz Trio
Pastorale (2007) with Steve Kuhn
Baubles, Bangles and Beads (2007) with Steve Kuhn
Pavanne for a Dead Princess (2007) with Steve Kuhn
The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu (2007) with Carla Bley
New Conversations (2007) with Carla Bley
Blue Fable (2007) with
Larry Willis
Nights of Key Largo (2008) with
Tessa Souter
Moon River (2008) with Nicki Parrott
The Offering (HighNote, 2008) with Larry Willis
Once Upon a Melody (2008) with
Javon Jackson
Beautiful Love: The NYC Session (2008) with
Al Di Meola ,
Eddie Gómez ,
Yujata Kobaya
Appearing Nightly (2008) with
Carla Bley
Art of Organizing (2009) with
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Chick Corea Songbook (2009) with
The Manhattan Transfer
Mutual Admiration Society (2009) with
Joe Locke /David Hazeltine
New Moon (2009) with
Ron McCLure
Mays at the Movies (2009) with Bill Mays
Crossfire (2009) with Jim Snidero
One Night at the Kitano (2009) with
Jed Levy
SteepleChase
Fly Me to the Moon (2009) with
Nicki Parrott
Mays at the Movies (2009) with
Bill Mays
The Decider (2009) with
Peter Zak
All My Friends are Here (2010) with
Arif Mardin compilation
I Will Wait for You (2010) with Steve Kuhn
Invitation (2010) with
Beat Kaestli
Cedar Chest (2010) The Music of
Cedar Walton compilation
For All We Know (2010) with Eddie Henderson
New York Encounter (2010) with
Yakov Okun Trio
Steeplechase Jam Session Volume 29 (2010)
Andy Laverne
SteepleChase
Steeplechase Jam Session Volume 30 (2010)
Don Braden
SteepleChase
Dedication (2010) with Ron McClure (2010)
SteepleChase
Live at Smalls (2011) with Tim Ries
Live at Smalls (2011) with
Jesse Davis
Beyond the Blue (2012) with
Tessa Souter
Home Tone (2012) with
Tony Lakatos
Nordic Noon (2012) with Peter Zak
SteepleChase
Jazz in the New Harmonic (2013) with
David Chesky
The Eternal Triangle (2013) with Peter Zak
SteepleChase
Homeland (2014) with
Vincent Hsu
Are You Real (2014) with
Stanley Cowell
SteepleChase
Leap of Faith (2015) with
Burak Bedikyan
SteepleChase
Primal Scream (2015) with
David Chesky
Rambling Confessions (2015) with
John Hebert
Sing to the Sky (2015) with
Emma Larsson
Tales, Musings, and Other Reveries (2015) with
Jeremy Pelt
Reminiscent (2015) with
Stanley Cowell
SteepleChase
Standards (2016) with
Peter Zak
SteepleChase
En Rouge (2016) with Atlantico (Dave Schroeder/
Sebastien Paindestre )
Jive Culture (2016) with Jeremy Pelt
Whirlwind (2016) w/ Andy Fusco
SteepleChase
With Due Respect (2016) w/ Freddie Redd
SteepleChase
En Rouge (2016) w/ Atlantico* Inside the Moment (2017) w/ Camille Thurman
Live and Uncut (2017) w/ Mark Whitfield
Cities Between Us (2017) w/ Allegra Levy
SteepleChase
No Illusions (2017) Stanley Cowell
SteepleChase
The Pendulum (2017) w/ Mike Richmond
SteepleChase
Picture in Black and White (NOA, 2018) w/
Tessa Souter
Jubilation (2018) w/J im Snidero and Jeremy Pelt
Trio in the New Harmonic: Aural Paintings (2018) w/ David Chesky
Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk (Sunnyside, 2018) w/
Frank Kimbrough
NYCD: A Tribute to Art Van Damme (2018) w/ Pierre Eriksson
Out in the Open (2018) w/ Sam Dillon
New Easter Island (2019) w/ Atlantico
One Mind (2018) w/ Peter Zak Quartet
Tones for Joan’s Bones (2018) w/ Mike Richmond
SteepleChase
New Departure (2018) w/ Takayuki Yagi
Playing Who I Am (2019) w/ Andrea Domenici
New Easter Island (2019) w/ Atlantico
Friday the 13th (
Steeplechase , 2020) w/ Stephen Riley
Jazz Dance Suites (
Chazz Mack Music , 2020) w/ Charles McPherson
Kimbrough (
Newvelle , 2021) A tribute album to Frank Kimbrough featuring 67 artists curated by Elan Mehler
Early Spring (Steeplechase, 2021) w/ Anthony Ferrara
On the Move (Stunt, 2021) w/ Gabor Bolla
Sources
References
International National Artists Other