#359 Joseph Gramley- Grammy Winning Percussionist, Professor at Indiana University & More!
GRAMMY award winner Joseph Gramley performs around the world as a founding member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble, performs with English organist Clive Driskill-Smith in the duo, Organized Rhythm, is principal timpanist and percussionist with The Knights, and is widely heard and seen in his dynamic solo percussion concerts. He is proud to be joining the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in August of 2019.
Gramley's dynamic and exciting performances as a soloist have garnered critical acclaim and enthusiasm from emerging composers, percussion aficionados and first-time concert-goers alike. He is committed to bringing fresh and inventive compositions to a broad public, and each year he commissions and premieres a number of new works. His first solo recording, American Deconstruction,is an expert rendition of five milestone works in multi-percussion's huge new modern repertoire. His second solo recording, Global Percussion, continues his exploration of important works for the idiom and includes two new commissions and the first release of Philip Glass’ 1 + 1. An invitation from Yo-Yo Ma in 2000 led Gramley to join Mr. Ma's Silkroad Ensemble. In addition to participating in the group's extended residencies in cities and at universities around the globe, Gramley has toured with Mr. Ma and the Ensemble throughout North America, Europe, Central Asia, Australia, the Middle-East and Asia, performing in the world's finest concert halls. Along the way, Gramley has studied percussion styles and instruments from around the globe, collaborating with internationally-renowned musicians from India, Iran, China, Japan, Korea, Spain and Central Asia. He has also appeared on eight top-selling albums with Yo-Yo Ma on multiple labels. Gramley served as Associate Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble from 2014-2017. During Gramley’s tenure, the Ensemble won the 2017 GRAMMY award for ‘best world music’ album, was nominated for ‘Best Music Film’ and recorded the music for Ken Burns’ documentary, ‘Vietnam’ for PBS. -Read more
R.I.P.
R.I.P. to George “Funky” Brown, co-founder, drummer, and songwriter for Kool & the Gang who died Thursday, Nov. 16, after a battle with cancer. He was 74.
A rep for Kool & the Gang confirmed Brown’s death in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. Brown’s family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Lung Cancer Society of America in his honor. -Article
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Glenn Robertson! Master Sergeant Glenn Robertson, bass, is originally from Spencer, Massachusetts. Prior to joining Six-String Soldiers, he had the privilege of opening for and sharing concert bills with such diverse acts as John Mayer, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, George Clinton, Soulive, Martin Sexton, Colbie Caillat, Dave Barnes, Brett Dennen, and DJ Logic. MSG Robertson’s career has included appearances at venues ranging from the Montreal and Norwalk Jazz Festivals to the Hammerstein Ballroom, and New York City’s famous CBGB club. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied with Thom Hannum, Bob Gulloti, Jeff Holmes, and Eduardo Leandro.
Happy Birthday to Amy Smith! Amy is a nationally recognized performer and educator. As a member of the percussion group, The Caixa Trio (www.caixatrio.com) she has performed in France, Puerto Rico, Korea, Mexico, Brazil. In addition, Amy has performed with many orchestras including the Nashville Symphony, the Evansville Philharmonic, the Boulder Philharmonic, and the Sewanee Festival Orchestra. She is a sought after clinician and has presented workshops and master classes throughout the United States. A former resident of Tennessee, Amy was a band director for the Murfreesboro City Schools and the director of Steel de Boro, an elementary steel drum band. Under Smith’s direction, Steel de Boro performed at prestigious events including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the National Staff Development Council, and the Housing and Urban Development Conference. Amy was the national winner of the 1996 MTNA Collegiate Percussion Competition. She was a marimba soloist with the Boulder Bach Festival in Colorado and was also a member of the 1994 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps. In 2001, Smith studied African Music and Dance abroad in Ghana, West Africa. Amy holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Performer’s Certificate from Pennsylvania State University. She received her Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she was awarded a Chancellor’s Fellowship. Her former teachers include Frank Giguere, Dan Armstrong, Cort McClaren, Doug Walter, and Paschal Younge. Amy is an endorser of Innovative Percussion, Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Evans Drum Heads, and Grover Pro Percussion. Currently Amy is the orchestra. mariachi and percussion director at Young Women's Leadership Academy. She lives in El Paso, Texas with her husband, percussionist (and friend of the show) Andy Smith, and their two children.
Happy Birthday to Randy Gloss! Hands On’Semble (which is the music that leads into the interview with Randy) also garnered the attention of acclaimed film composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who recruited the group to provide percussion for his soundtrack to the Disney film Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. The following year, he brought Hands On’Semble back to provide the percussion for the Universal/ Dreamworks film Cowboys and Aliens.
In addition to Hands On’Semble, Randy has also worked with an extensive array of artists including: reggae superstar Ziggy Marley (on the Grammy winning album Fly Rasta); pianist Larry Karush; The Lian Ensemble (including the Pangea Project with Djivan Gasparyan and Swapan Chaudhuri; and the 2009 UCLALive production of Medea starring Annette Bening); percussionist Adam Rudolph’s “Go: Organic Orchestra” and world percussion group Vashti; projects with Indian slide veena virtuoso Chitravina Ravikiran (including a concert tour of India that also featured Brazilian pianist Jovino Santos Neto and master African drummer Alfred Ladzekpo); a Balkan/Indian collaboration with maestros Aashish Khan, Swapan Chaudhuri, Miroslav Tadic, Vlatko Stefanovski; Romanian pan flute virtuoso Damian Draghici; overtone singer David Hykes; Turkish musician Latif Bolat; Vinny Golia’s Large Ensemble; Persian pianist Ardeshir Rohani; pianist Dan Siegel; and South Indian percussionist Poovalur Sriji to name only some. Randy has also contributed percussion for film soundtracks by composers Danny Elfman, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Gary Chang; for television series’ such as Fear Factor; video games such as Uncharted 3 for Sony Play Station; recorded music for the American Conservatory Theater; Southwest Chamber Music (Lou Harrison); and has recorded several extensive percussion sample libraries for software companies such as: Apple (Garage Band), Ilio, and Native Instruments.
Gloss has performed worldwide at international music festivals such as: International Oud festival of Jerusalem; Tahiti Guitar Festival; PercPan, Ritmos de Terra, the International Music Festival of Belo Horizonte, and Encontro Internacional de Percussão in Brazil; World Drum Festival in Hamburg Germany; The Taiwan International Drum Festival, the Tainan Chi-Hsi Int’l Arts Festival – Int’l Drummers Gala and the Hsin Chu International Folk Drum Festival in Taiwan; Percussive Arts Society International Conventions (PASIC); Angel City Jazz Festival; Seattle World Rhythm Festival; Watts Tower Day of the Drum Festival; the Different Drummer Festival, and numerous PAS “Days of Percussion” including New York City, Southern California, Central California, Northern California, Southern Oregon, Utah, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Nevada. As well as performances at venues such as: Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco; Royce Hall, Skirball Cultural Center, Getty Center, and Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles; Siri Fort Auditorium and National Center for Performing Arts in India; SESC Sao Paulo and Sergio Magnani Music Hall Fundação de Educação Artística in Brazil; and in Canada at Outremont Theatre in Montreal and Convocation Hall in Toronto.
Randy Gloss has been on the faculty at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia California since 1999, where he oversees the M.F.A. World Percussion Program and is the current Chairman of the World Music Program. Randy has also taught at UCLA and LA Music Academy (LAMA), and has been a visiting artist/lecturer/clinician at many universities, music schools and conservatories in the U.S. and abroad.
Gig Alerts
The Trilogy Tour has been extended. Selling out shows across North America, the party continues as Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, and Pitbull’s ‘Trilogy Tour’ expands into 2024.
Three global powerhouses are continuing their arena party as Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, and Pitbull’s “Trilogy Tour” expands into 2024 with 18 new shows across North America. New cities on the tour include Denver, Austin, Toronto, Nashville, Atlanta, and many more, for an unforgettable night of music as the three stars perform a mix of their biggest career-spanning hits. -Article
Friends of the show, Paulo Stagnaro (Episode 4 and Episode 85), and Tony Escapa (Episode 106) of Ricky Martin’s Band and Gilmar Gomes (Epsiode 305) of Enrique Iglesias’ band can be seen on this tour.
The NYC Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and Tree Lighting will be taking place over the next couple of weeks in NYC.
Soundcheck Live is happening in L.A. on Wednesday November 22nd. Soundcheck Live is a monthly jam series that features some of LA's most notable touring and session musicians. FREE ADMISSION, doors 8pm. We’ve got a hell of a show planned for the end of the year. Definitely not one to be missed.
Damon will be playing on Nantucket for the Christmas Stroll from December 1st-2nd. 8-10pm with Emily Angell at the Brotherhood of Thieves, then 11-1am with Concrete Jungle at the Chicken Box, the hip hop cover band (both days).
Educational Spotlight
PASIC will be releasing its virtual sessions over the forthcoming weeks and they will remain up until Dec 31st 2023.
Giving Tuesday is November 28th. You can support the Percussive Arts Society and make a plan to donate HERE.
The World Percussion Committee for the Percussive Arts Society has created social media pages. You can visit and subscribe to all of them HERE. The handles are @PASWPC on all platforms.
If you would like to donate to help this podcast stay afloat, you can donate below.
Product Review
Percussionist Robert Quintero was demonstrating how a couple of percussion accessories by Native Tounge Percussion Instruments work.
Iconic Recording
Joe picked out the iconic recordings for the week. The first is “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin with John Bonham on drums.
He also chose, “Stone Flower” by Antonio Carlos Jobim with these fine musicians accompanying Jobim.
Guitar: Eumir Deodato, Percussion: Airto Moriera, Percussion: Everaldo Ferriera, Drums/Percussion: Joao Palm, Violin: Harry Lookofsky, Bass: Ron Carter, Flute: Hubert Laws, Soprano Saxophone: Joe Farrell, Trombone: Urbie Green, Produced by: Creed Taylor.
Damon points out that the “official” Thanksgiving carol is “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie.
Music News
Is noise-cancelling technology actually bad for your ears? New research suggests that more Gen Z and Millennials are at risk of hearing loss due to their excessive headphone use — so what’s the best way to prevent hearing damage, with or without noise-cancelling technology?
Noise-cancellation is fast becoming a staple feature for those shopping for new headphones and earbuds, as many users can see the benefits of cancelling ambient noise while on their daily commute or at the gym. But new research from the World Health Organization indicates that around one billion Gen Z and Millennials are at risk of hearing loss due to excessive use of headphones — so you might wonder if using noise-cancelling technology is helping or actively hurting your ears. -Article
This is the Decibel Meter App from the CDC that Damon keeps on his phone.
Looking to get into the Christmas spirit this holiday season with a little music? Here’s a peek at some of the best Christmas music radio stations available.
SiriusXM is getting into the spirit of the holidays with plenty of Christmas music radio stations—around 26 channels of ad-free music. Some of the new channels to celebrate the season this year include Trans-Siberian Orchestra Radio, Smokey’s Holiday Soul Town, and Sleep Christmas. That last one is Christmas white noise for those who want the spirit of Christmas to continue even while they sleep. -Article
This is the SPOTIFY PLAYLIST that Damon and Marcos created to help pass the holidays. Put it on and take a break from the traffic and chaos that comes with the holiday season.
Joseph Gramley Interview
The song leading into the interview is, “Heart and Soul” by the Silkroad Ensemble ft. Lisa Fischer, Gregory Porter.
Joe took over the job friend of the show Michael Spiro used to have at Indiana University. Joe talks about how they met at the University of Michigan.
Damon brings up the movie The Goonies because Joe grew up in Coburg, Oregon.
Joe talks about growing up on a farm.
His mom introduced him to piano and later moved to drums.
Joe went to South Eugene High School before transferring to Interlochen Arts Academy.
Shout-out to Randy (Randal) Larson. He suggested the Interlochen International Music Camp to Joe.
Shout-out to Michael Udow.
Shout-out to the University of Michigan’s musical theater program.
Joe has a duo called Organized Rhythm with Clive Driskill-Smith. He talks about how this pair came to be.
Damon brings up the pipe organ in the Wanamaker Building in Philadelphia, PA.
Clive is also in the musical collective called The Knights.
Joe was a founding member of Silk Road Ensemble.
Joe was in the Ethos Percussion Group with friend of the show, Michael Sgouros.
Joe got to perform at Tanglewood and also the Salzburg Mozarteum.
Damon mentions the chocolate torte cake from Hotel Sacher and the Hohensalzburg Fortress.
Shout-out to Sir Ray Cooper.
Damon talks excerpts with Joe. He likes the tambourine part from Carmen. He also mentions orchestra bells in the Pines of Rome.
Joe talks about his favorite concerto right now is the Chen Yi Percussion Concerto. He had an opportunity to perform that with the South Bend Orchestra.
Joe’s least favorite excerpt is Beethoven’s 6th.
Joe picks out the iconic recording(s).
Shout-out to Julie Spencer, Michael Udow, Daniel Druckman and the late John Wyre.
Joe uses Black Swamp Percussion, Sabian Cymbals, Yamaha Drums and Percussion, and Innovative Percussion Sticks and Mallets.
You can follow Joe on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. You can also reach out to study with him at Indiana University (Bloomington).
The song leading out of the interview is, “St. James Infirmary Blues” featuring Rhiannon Giddens, performed by the Silk Road Ensemble.
