#415 Jerrod "J-Rod" Sullivan- Drummer for Janet Jackson, Jeffrey Osborne, The 4 Korners, and More!
This week’s guest is Jerrod “J-Rod” Sullivan. Proficient, intentional, and consistent not only describes Jerrod ‘J-rod’ Sullivan’s approach to music, but also his approach to life. Born in 1992, J-rod discovered his love for music at the early age of two and could often be heard drumming on pots and pans in his mother’s kitchen. Immersing himself in the diverse world of music, J-rod spent countless hours teaching himself to play bass guitar and the art of production.
In 2006, J-rod uploaded his first Youtube video, and the reactions confirmed what he knew all along - his musical talent would be used as a gift to educate and inspire others. Committed to learning and advancing his skill, J-rod enrolled in the Atlanta Institute of Music, graduating in 2012, and joined The 4 Korners band in 2013. With a growing community of over 700K+ online followers, it's obvious that J-rod’s brand exceeds his talent. His style, method, and dedication create an electric and eager community of aspiring and talented musicians.
J-rod's talent has led him to collaborate with some notable artists, including Janet Jackson, Jeffrey Osborne, Lalah Hathaway, Avery Sunshine, Bebe Winans, Smokey Robinson, Stokley Williams, Eric Roberson, The Temptations, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Jidenna, Johnny Gill, Frank McComb, Sevyn Streeter, Xscape, Kenny Latimore, Byron Cage, Alex Bugnon, and many more. These collaborations have further showcased J-rod's versatility and ability to work with a wide range of artists.
Additionally, J-rod has recently reached a significant milestone in his career. His highly anticipated debut album, "The Comeback," is now available. This album is a culmination of his musical journey, showcasing his growth, passion, and unique artistic vision. With captivating melodies and a distinctive sound, "The Comeback" promises to leave a lasting impression on listeners and establish J-rod as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
J-rod has already released two well-received singles from the album, "Out of Nowhere" and the title track "The Comeback." These singles have given fans a taste of what's in store, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Stay tuned for J-rod's continued inspiration and mark-making as he promotes his incredible talent and unwavering dedication.
R.I.P.
Rest in peace to Zakir Hussain. Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain — who united musicians from diverse cultures and by doing so, shaped modern world music — died on Sunday in San Francisco. He was 73.
In a statement, his family said the cause of death was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. -Read more.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Scott Kettner (Episode 9 & Episode 285). When Scott Kettner looks at a map, he sees a direct line that connects the rivers of northeastern Brazil to the parishes of New Orleans and the streets of Brooklyn. A master percussionist, bandleader, producer and songwriter, Kettner is the guiding force behind Nation Beat, a band whose teeming, vibrant rhythms find common ground in the primal maracatu rhythm of Brazil’s northeastern region, the Big Easy’s funky, hypnotic second-line and strolling Mardi Gras Indians, and the unfettered freedom of big-city downtown jazz.
For Kettner, the discovery of maracatu was a life-changing experience. The great jazz drummer Billy Hart, who served as Kettner’s instructor at New York’s New School University, first informed him of the mysterious music. “He was turning me on to African music from different regions,” says Kettner, “and we started getting into Afro-Cuban rhythms and Brazilian rhythms. After a couple of years studying samba and bossa nova, I asked him, ‘Are there any other rhythms from Brazil that I should be learning?’ He said, ‘Yeah, man, there’s this music called maracatu!’ I pointed to his drumset and said, ‘Show it to me,’ and he said, ‘I don’t know how to play it! I just know it’s a badass rhythm and you have to go learn it, then come back and teach it to me.’”
Intrigued, Kettner began asking Brazilian musicians based in New York how he could learn about maracatu. Even most of them knew nothing of it. The only thing to do, Kettner reasoned, was to go to Brazil and find maracatu. Upon graduating in 2000, he spent a year living in the country, based primarily in the northeastern city of Recife, living in a favela, studying maracatu and other, even more obscure Brazilian rhythms with his new mentor, Jorge Martins. Upon his return to the USA, Kettner implemented maracatu in NYC and began performing and conducting workshops throughout the country.
As a side-man, Scott Kettner has performed and/or recorded with Willie Nelson, Cyro Baptista, Stanton Moore and Galactic, Frank London, The Klezmatics, Cascabulho, Vieux Farka Toure, Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante and many more.
His new book entitled “Maracatu for Drumset and Percussion” is now available by Hal Leonard Publishing. This is the first in-depth percussion book about the rich culture and music of Maracatu de Baque Virado from Brazil, with photos, history, recordings and an instructional CD-Rom.
Scott is also a recent recipient of a prestigious NEA (National Endowment for The Arts) award for his project entitled “A Tale of Two Nations” which brought together his group Nation Beat and the traditional maracatu group from Recife, Brazil Estrela Brilhante. The grant helped fund a tour that had it’s world debut at Lincoln Center Out of Doors in the summer of 2013. This tour was historic in that it was the first time that a traditional maracatu group from Brazil had ever performed in the United States.
Happy Birthday to Marcos Torres! (Episode 310 & Episode 354) A versatile percussionist, producer, and Grammy Award-Winning engineer, Marcos has been at the forefront of creating a fresh new sound within the Salsa genre for over a decade. His respect for the tradition and trajectory of this music, as well as his love and knowledge of Hip-Hop, R&B, and aptitude for sound curation as a whole, have led to him to help push the boundaries of the genre as we know it today.
Born into a musical family of Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage, Marcos was gifted a bongo at the age of three, and never looked back. He has since turned into one of his generation’s most respected and sought after percussionists, performing with salsa superstars La India, Tito Nieves, Ismael Miranda, Jerry Rivera, Obie Bermudez, and the legendary Issac Delgado among many others.
He is currently working out of New York City in varied roles as a percussionist, producer and engineer with rising artists from across Latin America including Jeremy Bosch, Fer Casillas, Tania Matus and Flaco Navaja.
Happy Birthday to Raynor Carroll! Raynor Carroll joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Co-Principal Percussionist/Timpanist in the 1983/84 season. In addition to his performances at Los Angeles Philharmonic concerts, Carroll participates in the LA Phil’s Green Umbrella and Chamber Music series. In addition to performing, Carroll is an active teacher/clinician on timpani, percussion, and West African drumming. He taught for nearly 20 years at his alma mater, California State University Los Angeles, and has taught at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Music Academy, and California State University Long Beach. Mr. Carroll currently also teaches at the University of California at Los Angeles. Mr. Carroll is the founder and owner of Batterie Music, a publishing company specializing in music for the symphonic percussionist. His highly acclaimed timpani method “Exercises, Etudes and Solos for the Timpani” and the multi-volume orchestral repertoire series are among his published works. For information about Raynor Carroll’s “Music for the Symphonic Percussionist” series, please visit www.batteriemusic.com.
Happy Birthday to Marcelo Woloski! Marcelo Woloski is a multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winning percussionist, producer and composer. His broad array of sounds, versatility, masterful skill, charismatic personality and creativity has made him the to-go person for recording artists, producers and arrangers throughout the globe. As described by Journalist Raul Da Gama "Woloski is a musician and percussion colourist who employs an enormous aural palette to express himself."
The Berklee College of Music graduated percussionist, based in New York City for 12 years, became a regular member, has recorded multiple albums, and has toured the world with groups like Snarky Puppy, Banda Magda, and the group of Sofía Ribeiro.
Voted “Percussionist of the year 2017” by Bateristica Magazine and “Most creative performer” by Sala Musik Festival 2020, Woloski's performing and recording credits include Susana Baca, Ruben Blades, Marta Gomez, Laura Mvula, Paquito D'Rivera, Becca Stevens, Lalah Hathaway, Chris Potter, and The Kronos Quartet among others.
Marcelo's work as a composer can be heard on the new music he is releasing with Quiet Colors along with Joanna Kucharczyk ; on his debut album Mundo Por Connell , which features 27 musicians from 12 different countries, as well as his songs Palermo , Bardis and Portal released by Snarky Puppy, and his Mini-documentary about racial justice Justice Now (shown at 1927 Art Gallery - Athens ,Greece - 2021).
Woloski plays Latin Percussion, Evans, Vic Firth, Woodpack, Cincinatti washboards, Requena Cajons, SM Percussion, Cosmos Maracas, DEM'sticks, and J.King broomsticks.
Happy Birthday to Jhair Sala! Jhair Sala is a world-class and in-demand percussionist who regularly performs with the Pedrito Martinez Group. Sala’s unique style represents a new-school approach to Afro-Peruvian and Afro-Cuban musical styles.
When the Peruvian-born Jhair Sala was barely three-years-old, he sat with his father beating on wooden boxes known as cajons. At that tender age, Sala’s inherent percussive talents were pushing through. His family moved to New Jersey when he was six, and his passion for percussion continued to grow.
Jhair Sala's first teacher was Lucho Gomez, who taught him proper finger, hand, and palm techniques for cajon and other percussion instruments. During his teens, he performed with his mother's band on The Mariela Valencia Show, which gave him an opportunity to travel all over the world and absorb a variety of cultures and musical traditions.
Once settled in the USA, Jhair Sala had the opportunity to study percussion with his idol, Pedrito Pablo Martinez. Under Martinez’s guidance, he absorbed Cuban music and gained fluency on congas, bongos, timbales, and Bata. Subsequent lessons with Roberto Chino Bolaños readied him for his first significant American appearance.
Performing with the group Kambalache Negro, Jhair Sala revealed a unique perspective on soloing and grooving. His career took off and he began performing with bands and artists that include: Desmond Child, Patience Dabany, Hector Tricoche, Andy Montañez, Pedrito Pablo Martinez, Justo Betancourt, Xiomara Laugart, Brenda K. Star, Osmany Paredes, Jimmy Bosch, Adalberto Santiago and Ismael Miranda, Nino Segarra, Raulin Rosendo, Paquito Guzman and many others.
Jhair Sala gained a reputation as a first-call accompanist. One of his first recording collaborations was with Mongo Santamaria's oldest daughter, Ileana, who produced the album I Know What I Want. Sala’s session credits also includes albums with Patience Dabany, Osmany Paredes, Edmar Castañeda, Mariela Valencia, Kambalache Negro,Ropa Vieja, Afrodita, Yerba Buena, and Ibboru, among others.
Jhair Sala is comfortable in all Latin genres, attributing his versatility to a close study of such masters as Pedrito Martinez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Little Johnny Rivero, Paoli Mejias, Karl Perazzo, Chino Bolanos, Mariela Valencia, Carlos Sala, Lucho Gomez, and Juanchi Vasquez.
Gig Alerts
Stephen A. Austin University has a Graduate assistantship available to prospective students.
Third Coast Percussion (who are friends of the show, Episode 202 and Episode 273) have released their upcoming tour dates for 2025.
A ‘Yacht Rock’ Tour Sets Sail: Toto, Christopher Cross, and Men at Work Tee Up North American Tour for Summer 2025 -Read more
Winter Jazzfest is going on in NYC with some friends of the show involved in different performances, including: Stefon Harris (Episode 391 and Episode 19), Makaya McCraven, and Ivan Llanes (Episode 279 and Episode 388) with Matthew Whittaker.
You can submit to perform a Tiny Desk Concert by visting: npr.org/tinydeskcontest to learn more.
Educational Spotlight
The educational spotlight this week is that PASIC submissions are now open until January 22nd 2025.
Iconic Recording
“J-Rod” chose the song, “Cherish the Day” performed by Robert Glasper from the ‘Black Radio’ album, featuring Lalah Hathaway.
Music News
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced its final Junk Fees Rule that aims to cut down on fees tacked on at checkout for live events and hotels & AirBNBs. The FTC says ‘junk fees’ hide the real price, which harms consumers and undercuts honest businesses. -Article
Kid Rock Recently met with President-elect Trump’s pick for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to ‘open a can of whoop ass’ on the live concert industry. -Article
Jerrod "J-Rod" Sullivan Interview
The song leading into the interview is “The Comeback” by “J-Rod” from the album with the same name.
Shout-out to (friend of the show) Marvin “Smitty” Smith who turned Damon onto “J-Rod”.
Damon found this video (below) first when encountering “J-Rod”.
Shout-out to Jellybean Johnson and David Garabaldi.
Damon mentions the drum machines created by Roger Linn.
“J-Rod” talks about balancing different high profile acts and his own band.
Damon and “J-Rod” talk about subbing and making sure the sub is comfortable.
“J-Rod” talks about his tuning and EQ on his drums.
“J-Rod” attended the Atlanta Institute of Music and talks about his experience.
He talks about mixing for remote recording sessions.
“J-Rod” released an album called ‘The Comeback’
“J-Rod” plays with the group The 4 Korners. Shout-out to Clarence “T-lee” Hill
Damon and “J-Rod” talk about the plexiglass “drummer jail”.
“J-Rod” talks about his upbringing.
He was playing football and basketball during high school and decided to quit that for music.
He grew up in Cartersville, GA.
“J-Rod” talks about attending Sonny Emory’s Georgia Tech drum camp in 2008 that was pivotal for him.
Shout-out to friend of the show, Taku Hirano.
Eric Moore ii, Tony Royster Jr., Thomas Pridgen and the guy who started Gospel Chops as an idiom, Gerald Heyward.
“J-Rod” talks about how he got the Janet Jackson gig.
Shout-out to Eric “Pik Funk” Smith.
“J-Rod” had a TD50 that he got for his band, but learned to use it for the Janet gig.
He talks about his “audition process” with recording videos and learning music.
Touring with Lalah Hathaway lead to him getting the gig with Janet Jackson.
Damon brings up walking with lions in Africa.
“J-Rod” picks the iconic recording for the week.
Shout-out to Marvin “Smitty” Smith.
“J-Rod” uses Pearl Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Audix Microphones, Drum Dots, Motion Pro Thrones, Pig Hog Cables, Reunion Blues Cases, Empire Ears, and his clothing line, Got Pocket?
