#308A Get The Gig, Keep The Gig with Damon Grant and Stephen Bidwell!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Richie Flores! Richie Flores is one of the most in demand percussionists of today’s active music scene. Born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Richie was a prodigious child that began playing congas at the early age of 5. He embarked on his professional career by age 8 playing with Grupo Batacumbele and Roberto Roena and the Apollo Sound. By age 13, he traveled to New York to play with Roberto Roena at the Village Gate, making him one of the youngest musicians ever to travel with a band outside of Puerto Rico. He continued performing professionally while studying percussion at the highly regarded Escuela Libre de Musica in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
Richie’s musical career continued to evolve by playing with some of the most respected and celebrated artists in Music today such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Cachao, The Fania All Stars, Gato Barbieri, Hilton Ruiz, David Sanchez, Tropijazz All Stars, Jack Bruce of Cream, McCoy Tyner and even the Beastie Boys. He has participated on many notable recordings, including the Grammy Award Winning albums “Master Sessions – Volume I,” 1995 by Cachao, Dave Samuels 2003 “The Gathering” and The Celia Cruz 2002-2003 double Grammy winner album “La negra tiene tumbao”. Grammy nominated albums “Arete” by Eddie Palmieri in 1996 and on “Palmas” in 1994, as well as David Sanchez’s Grammy nominated album “Obsession” in 1997 and many more. He played for President Clintons Inauguration in 1998 and for the UN…All the Presidents around the world in 2000.
Happy Birthday to Ross Pederson! Ross is an explosive, sensitive, dynamic, and compelling voice on the drum set and in the studio, Ross has in the last decade emerged as an in-demand drummer and producer in Brooklyn, NY. Ross has shared the stage with renowned, diverse and prominent musicians/artists as Fred Hersch, Snarky Puppy (recorded on their first album, The Only Constant), The Manhattan Transfer, Take 6, Eddie Gomez, Kenny Werner, Patti Austin, Shayna Steele, David Cook, Chris Potter, Melissa McMillan, Grace Kelly, Emmy Rossum, Jessie James, David Binney, Lew Soloff, Nir Felder, Will Lee, Kevin Hayes, Jean-Michel Pilc, Rufus Reid, Mark Egan, Francois Moutin, Ben Wendel, John Ellis, Tim Lefevbre, Gary Versace, Oz Noy, Marc Johnson, Patricia Barber, Henry Hey, Lynne Arriale, Johannes Weidenmueller, Jon Hendricks, Madeline Eastman, Joe Martin, Taylor Eigsti, John Abercrombie, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry, Wycliffe Gordon, Gilad Hekselman, Pete McCann, Kate McGarry, Ralph LaLama, among many others. As a sideman, Ross has recorded on dozens of albums ranging from Jazz trio to Indie Rock. He is a current member of the bands of Shayna Steele, Melissa McMillan and Grace Kelly, The Manhattan Transfer, as well as a frequent member of the Kenny Werner and Fred Hersch Trios. In addition to his jazz roots Ross stays in touch with his rock, pop, and singer-songwriter roots, playing with and producing jazz, soul/R&B, folk, rock, and indie-electronic artists in Brooklyn at his home studio.
Happy Birthday to Ji Su Jung! Born in South Korea, she is a rarity in the world of percussion having begun her studies at the age of four. Her exceptional talent was recognized early on and led to recitals and concerto performances at such a young age that she needed a small platform to stand upon just to reach the keyboard of the instrument. That platform was soon left behind as her stature and musical voice matured and numerous solo performances ensued. In 2011, she came to the United States where she completed her undergraduate studies at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, thanks to a generous grant from The Brookby Foundation in Wisconsin, and later received her Masters and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of famed percussionist Robert van Sice.
Her exceptional potential quickly blossomed into professional success leading to concerto performances including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Marin Alsop, Colorado Springs Philharmonic with JoAnn Falletta, Houston Symphony with Daniel Hege, the Aspen Festival Orchestra with Michael Stern, Grand Rapids Symphony with Marchelo Lehninger, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra with Peter Oundjian, Boise Philharmonic with Eric Garcia, the Windsor Symphony in Canada with Robert Franz and the Romanian Symphony Orchestra. Miss Jung made her commercial recording debut this season at the invitation of Pulitzer prize winning composer, Kevin Puts performing his spectacular marimba concerto with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony for the Naxos label. Her recitals across America have also won over new audiences for the marimba and her appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C resulted in an unexpected invitation to join the faculty at The Peabody Institute. Ji Su has garnered numerous prizes in national and international competitions. She was the first percussionist in twenty six years to win the First Prize and the Audience Choice Award at the 2018 Ima Hogg Competition of the Houston Symphony and was a laureate in the International Marimba Competition in Linz, Austria in 2015. NPR radio host Fred Childs welcomed her as an artist in residence for his nationally syndicated program, Performance Today. During her week with him in Minneapolis, she performed many of the seminal pieces in the marimba repertoire introducing the instrument to listeners in every corner of the country. While in Minnesota, Jung’s concerts for children were highly successful reflecting her love for bringing classical music to young audiences. Ji Su has presented master classes at numerous conservatories and universities around the world including the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University’s Stienhardt School, The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and the Beijing Central Conservatory in China and she serves on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music as well as the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.
As the repertoire for marimba in mixed ensemble is growing rapidly, Miss Jung has become an active chamber musician alongside her solo concerts. Her first commercial chamber CD of Garth Neustadter’s Seaborne with The Percussion Collective is due for release in 2023. This all-star collection of young percussionists performs recitals and concertos in major concert venues around the world and she has been a core member since its inception. She has also appeared at the Yellow Barn and Norfolk Chamber Music Festivals where she performed with many of today’s greatest chamber musicians including legendary pianist Gilbert Kalish and Roger Tapping, formerly of the Takács String Quartet. Starting in the 2022-2023 season, Ji Su will join forces with luminary flutist Marina Piccinini to form a duo performing in both North America and Europe.
Happy Birthday to Satnam Ramgotra! Canadian born and raised, Satnam Ramgotra is a drummer/percussionist blending traditional drum set with Indian, African, and World Percussion elements into modern musical environments. His formal training on both drum set and Indian Classical Tabla started at the age of ten.
Satnam brings 30+ years experience to the Hollywood landscape as a studio musician for TV & film, a composer & a live-performance drummer & percussionist for world-renowned artists. Blending his training in Indian classical music with modern percussive styles allows him to create within a wide array of genres from punk & funk to classical & jazz. Ramgotra says, “I have an instinctual ability to capture the colour, style & emotion of what is intended to be created musically”.
Amongst the ‘A-list’ composers he collaborates alongside he is a house-musician at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions & worked on such projects as The Lion King 2019, The Dark Knight & Black Hawk Down as well as a co-composer on Dunkirk. His versatility in the industry allows him to perform, record or tour with artists like Beck, Sting, Pharrell Williams, Macy Gray, Shakira & he has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno & the 84th Academy Awards. You may have also heard his work on the A&E, Discovery, Epix, Food Network, History Channel, MLB, NFL, NHL Showtime networks as a composer for the boutique music library house Extreme Music.
Product Review
Stephen Bidwell has a loop and one-shot library OUT NOW with Yurt Rock!
The song leading into the episode is “RuDuo-Mental” by Damon Grant and Marcos Torres, performed by Damon Grant and Nicole Casino.
Want to know how to make yourself more desirable, marketable, and overall employable as a side-person or session musician in today’s post-pandemic climate?
In this session from the 2022 DIY Musician Conference in Austin, TX, you’ll hear Damon Grant (who’s worked with Charlie Hunter, Madonna, and many more) and Stephen Bidwell (of Black Pumas) talk about:
good preparation
the right tools
memorization hacks
professionalism
finances
and much more
Though both presenters are percussionists, this conversation is relevant for any instrumentalist or vocalist who seeks to work in a supporting role, on tour or in the studio.
You can download the UPDATED NOTES from the seminar FOR FREE (below)!
The song leading out of the episode is “Colors” by The Black Pumas.
