#231 Akbar Moghaddam- Master Drum and Instrument Builder!
Profile pic of Akbar is taken by Martin Cohen.
This episode is sponsored by Dream Cymbals.
This week’s episode features Akbar Moghaddam. Akbar is an innovator and master craftsman with a relentless passion for percussion. Working for the most celebrated brands in the industry, the man simply known as Akbar, has built a highly respected reputation for designing instruments that put the needs of
the player first. From his earliest days with the famed Valje brand in the late 80s, to his more
mainstream work with Latin Percussion and Gon Bops, the award-winning inventor has been
the architect of numerous design advancements, all while maintaining a healthy respect for the
traditions that percussion purists hold dear. Having worked in concert with legendary artists
such as Giovani Hidalgo, Alex Acuna, Karl Perazzo, Jesus Diaz, Orestes Vilato, Walfredo Reyes Sr.
and a host of other notable luminaries, Akbar’s talents have been immortalized on countess
recordings and played on the most prestigious stages throughout the world.
The blueprint for Akbar’s own brand, Sol Percussion, has been decades in the making. The ever-evolving
company he started in the Bay Area more than 30 years ago has recently been reborn as the
visionary re imagines a new line of premium, California-made boutique creations that will be in
keeping with the maker’s standards and attention to detail. With a new generation seeking
distinctiveness and uncompromising quality, this artisan will be answering the call—armed with
unmatched experience, an obsession for the art form and Sol.
Happy Birthday!
Happy 80th Birthday to Charlie Watts! Charlie is an English drummer, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1963. Originally trained as a graphic artist, he started playing drums in London's rhythm and blues clubs, where he met Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards. In January 1963, he joined their fledgling group, the Rolling Stones, as drummer, while doubling as designer of their record sleeves and tour stages. Watts has been the only Rolling Stones member other than Jagger or Richards to have been featured on all of their studio albums. He cites jazz as a major influence on his drumming style. He has toured with his own group, the Charlie Watts Quintet, and appeared in London at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Charlie Watts Tentet.
In 2006, Watts was elected into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame; in the same year, Vanity Fair elected him into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. In the estimation of noted music critic Robert Christgau, Watts is "rock's greatest drummer." In 2016, he was ranked 12th on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time" list.
Happy Birthday to Peter Erskine. Peter has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on 700 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992).
Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson Big Bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Brecker Brothers, The Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny and Gary Burton, John Scofield, et al, and has appeared as a soloist with the London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Frankfurt Radio, Scottish Chamber, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony, Oslo and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. Peter premièred the double percussion concerto Fractured Lines, composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage, at the BBC Proms with Andrew Davis conducting, and has collaborated frequently with Sir Simon Rattle. He also premiered the Turnage opera “Anna Nicole” at the Royal Opera House in London. Turnage has composed a solo concerto for Peter titled “Erskine,” which received its world premiere in Bonn, Germany in 2013, with a US premiere at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic. Peter has been voted ’Best Jazz Drummer of the Year’ ten times by the readers of Modern Drummer magazine and was elected into the magazine’s Hall of Fame in 2017. You can check out Peter’s NEW ALBUM.
Gig Alerts
Love Rocks NYC will once again return to New York City’s Beacon Theatre with a 2021 lineup featuring Warren Haynes, Gary Clark Jr., Jon Bon Jovi, Joe Bonomosa, and many more. Also on tap for the fifth annual benefit concert to fight hunger in NYC are Yola, Billy F. Gibbons, Emily King, Ledisi, Pedrito Martinez, Sara Bareilles, Tash Neal, Fantastic Negrito, Ivan Neville, Robert Randolph, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Jimmy Vivino.
The 2021 benefit for God’s Love We Deliver will air on June 3rd via a free FANS livestream beginning at 8 p.m. ET. This year’s house band will include guitarists Larry Campbell and Eric Krasno, drummers Steve Gadd and Shawn Pelton, and keyboardists Ricky Peterson and Jeff Young, with Will Lee once again serving as musical director and leader of the house band. On tap to host the 2021 Love Rocks NYC event are actors Jeff Garlin and Michael Imperioli as well as former New York Yankee centerfielder and talented guitarist Bernie Williams alongside special guest Tina Fey.
Memphis Travel is hosting a new FREE weekly concert series in the newly-renovated Handy Park on Beale Street! They’re having a special kick-off show on Saturday, June 5th but all other shows are on Thursdays throughout the Summer.
Educational Spotlight
Adam Deitch has a new educational subscription site called the Deitch Academy. Each course is designed to teach you a specific skillset, step by step with guidance. Whether you want to improve your technique, speed, grooves, fills or independence – courses are a great place to start.
Product Reviews
With the LP Tambo-Rings drummers and percussionists can add subtle jingle to their sonic palette. Available in two sizes, the rings are finished in a choice of black sand or stainless steel and jingles come in either brass or galvanized steel. The smaller, 6" Tambo-Ring has five pairs of jingles and when laid over hi hats or cymbals offers a cool sizzle effect that is dry and raw. The larger, 14” Tambo-Ring features 15 pairs of jingles and adds another dynamic to grooves when used on hi-hats, cymbals, snares, toms and timbales.
Inspired and developed with Stanton Moore, the LP Tambo-Stick (LP9001) offers a different sound to a beatmaker’s grooves. The well balanced, 14" solid maple stick has a natural satin finish and two pairs of steel jingles. The larger diameter front end provides added weight to enhance the instrument’s balance, improve durability and aide articulation. The tapered back fits comfortably in the hand while the central, pyrolyzed LP logo acts as a guide placing the jingles in the best alignment when played. The LP Tambo-Stick is designed to offer drummers and percussionists just the right amount of musical color to their sound.
Iconic Recording
This week’s iconic recording is “The Letter” performed by Mongo Santamaria on his ‘Mongo’s Way’ album. It was originally recorded by Joe Cocker and you can also hear the Tedeschi Trucks Band cover it as well. You can read more about the original HERE. You can also read the credits for the Mongo version HERE.
This song (Mongo’s version) is also on the playlist that friend of the show, Marcos Lopez, created.
Music News
Make Music Day, Held on June 21, is part of the international Fête de la Musique, taking place in 1,000 cities across 120 countries. The daylong musical free-for-all celebrates music in all its forms, encouraging people to band together and play in free public concerts. Learn more at makemusicday.org. The Percussive Arts Society is proud to partner with Make Music Alliance and the NAMM Foundation to bring Make Music Day to life on June 21st!
A Florida concert promoter is offering vaccinated fans drastically cheaper ticket prices for an upcoming event — while protesting a state mandate prohibiting vaccine passports. Ticket prices are $18 for Vaccinated Fans — $1,000 for Unvaccinated -Article
On Friday, June 18th, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, Bandcamp will hold their second annual Juneteenth fundraiser where they donate 100% of their share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The LDF has a long history of effectively enacting change through litigation, advocacy, and public education, and they’re doing this annually in recognition of the fact that real progress towards racial equity requires a sustained, ongoing commitment. They’ll promote the fundraiser to fans the week before June 18th, and hope you’ll help them spread the word.
Also! The next Bandcamp Friday will be on August 6th, and they’ll continue to hold those on the first Friday of the month for the rest of 2021.
Akbar Moghaddam Interview
Akbar’s name means great in Persia. Muslim (mainly Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh; also Iran): from a personal name based on Arabic akbar 'greater', 'greatest', an elative adjective from kabir 'great'. Allahu Akbar ('Allah is the Greatest') is a slogan of Muslims throughout the world.
Akbar got his start working with his dad and tools.
Akbar’s mom played the Daf Drum. The Daf is a Middle Eastern frame drum used in popular and classical music in Iran and Pakistan. The Daf is the national musical instrument of Pakistan.
The history of the coup leading into the revolution in Iran can be found HERE.
Akbar talks about living through the Iranian Revolution and his military service. Akbar went AWOL (absent without official leave but without intent to desert) from the army.
From Iran, Akbar made his way to Pakistan, India, Canada and ultimately the USA.
The music store Akbar started at in San Francisco was the Haight Ashbury Music Center. It just closed last year. His friend that owned it is Massoud Badakhshan. Massoud also owns Gelb Music.
Akbar ended up studying with Tom Flores. Back in the 1950's when Tom first started designing and creating drums, he believed the one thing that would set him apart from everyone else was superior sound. Once you have mastered that, you must make the drum strong enough to withstand abuse. The final step is to create a distinctive look - it only takes one quick glance to recognize a Valje.
Akbar talks about some of the conga drum history in the USA.
He then goes on to talk about how to build a drum, starting with the quarter-sawing method. Quarter-sawing gets its name from the fact that the log is first quartered lengthwise, resulting in wedges with a right angle ending at approximately the center of the original log. Each quarter is then cut separately by tipping it up on its point and sawing boards successively along the axis.
Akbar mentions that building a conga drum is similar to how wine barrels are made.
Harold Muñiz worked with Akbar in his shop in San Francisco.
Akbar tells the story of when the strip mall his shop was in caught fire.
After the fire, Akbar started repairing other musical instruments to get back on his feet.
Talking to musicians like Armando Perazza about what makes the drums sound good and the culture behind them helped Akbar with instrument building.
After Akbar’s Sol Percussion shop in the old Valje factory burned down, he ended up working for GonBops when they were owned by DW.
Shout-out to Pete Engelhardt.
After GonBops was sold to Sabian (in Canada), DW acquired Latin Percussion and then Akbar went to work for them. He just recently left LP and started his own shop again, Sol Percussion.
Akbar talks about some of the designs he created along the way. Like the Changui Bongos.
He also talks about what is next for him and his relationship with Pete.
