#416 Ivan Trevino- Percussionist, Composer, Educator and More!
This week’s guest is Ivan Trevino. Ivan is a Mexican-American composer, percussionist, teacher, and arts advocate. Recognized around the world for his contributions to percussion literature, Ivan’s music has been performed across five continents in 25 countries. His music distinctly threads indie-pop sounds with a contemporary classical aesthetic, and his body of work spans storytelling, singing marimba players, cello rockers, and an ever-present social consciousness. His newly commissioned works include music for The Juilliard School, The San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and Grammy-winning quartet, Third Coast Percussion. He is a multi-recipient of the Percussive Arts Society’s International Composition Contest, and in 2020, was the featured composer on NPR’s Performance Today.
An active educator, Ivan currently serves on faculty at University of Texas at Austin where he joyfully teachers a studio of undergraduate and graduate percussionists and music creators. He previously served as co-director of the Eastman Percussion Festival at his alma mater, Eastman School of Music, and is currently an artist and clinician for Marimba One, Innovative Percussion, Black Swamp Percussion, Pearl’s Malletstation, Meinl, and Zildjian Cymbals. In 2021, Innovative Percussion and Ivan collaborated to design his own line of signature series marimba mallets, which are used by percussionists around the world.
Ivan is also known for his work as a drummer with Break of Reality, an international touring cello rock quartet. As a member of the ensemble, Ivan was selected as a music ambassador by the U.S. State Department. Break of Reality has released five studio albums, is on regular rotation on National Public Radio, and has over 100 million streams on Spotify and Pandora Radio.
A Texas native, Ivan resides in Austin with his wife Amanda and their children, Henry and Oscar.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Keita Ogawa! Keita has worked with some of the biggest names in modern music including Yo-yo-ma, Assad Brothers, Charlie Hunter, Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, Le Nubians, Romero Lubambo, Clarice Assad, Jaques Morelenbaum, Osvaldo Golijov, Eric Harland, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and more. He also played and composed music called “Starting Five” with “J-Squad” (New York based 5 Japanese Jazz Musicians) for one of big National Japanese News TV Program called “Hōdō Station” since April 2016. Currently he works several projects like, Snarky puppy, J-Squad, Banda Magda, Bokantè, Camila Meza and the Nectar Orchestra, Clarice Assad and more.
Happy Birthday to Dr. Colleen Clark! Dr. Colleen Clark is an Assistant Professor of Jazz at the University of South Carolina where she coordinates the small ensembles, conducts a big band, and teaches her drumset studio and jazz history courses. As a player, Clark has been described as "someone to watch" and "someone who will be turning heads in jazz for years to come." Clark was invited by the ASCAP Foundation to lead her band, the Colleen Clark Collective, at the Kennedy Center.
Dr. Clark has performed in prominent NYC venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland and the 55 Bar. Her debut album, consisting entirely of her original music, Introducing Colleen Clark, was produced by Gordon Stout and engineered by ten-time Grammy Award nominee/winner, Brian Dozoretz. Clark proudly joined the Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Combo on their premiere performance at the Jazz Education Network Conference in 2019. She has presented her research on the evolution of the ride cymbal pattern for the Percussive Arts Society and the Jazz Education Network.
Dr. Clark has taught at the City University of New York's Borough Manhattan Community College and was active Graduate Faculty at the University of North Texas. She was a lead teacher for the ChiCa Power program at Jazz House Kids in Montclair, NJ.
Clark can most recently be heard playing on SteepleChase record #900, Allegra Levy's Lose My Number: Allegra Levy Sings John McNeil.
Dr. Clark is the only woman and drummer to earn a doctoral degree in jazz from the University of North Texas.
Her latest project is CC & the Adelitas, which features the merging of the golden era of Mexican music and jazz.
Happy Birthday to Nate Smith! For nearly two decades, Nate has been a key piece in reinvigorating the international music scene with his visceral, instinctive, and deep-rooted style of drumming. He holds a diverse and ample résumé — which includes work with esteemed jazz leading lights such as Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Chris Potter, José James, John Patitucci, Ravi Coltrane, and Somi among many others. His 2x GRAMMY-nominated debut album, KINFOLK: Postcards from Everywhere, sees Smith fusing his original modern jazz compositions with R&B, pop, and hip-hop. He’s also ventured into the pop/rock world with recent collaborations with Vulfpeck spinoff band The Fearless Flyers, Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes) and performances with songwriters Emily King and Van Hunt. In recent years, through a series of viral videos, he has emerged as one of the most influential and popular drummers of his generation. His videos have been viewed millions of times and have inspired countless musicians and fans. In September of 2018, he released his first ever solo drumset album Pocket Change.
As a composer and arranger, Mr. Smith received two (2) GRAMMY nominations for his composition “Home Free (for Peter Joe)” for best instrumental composition and best arrangement (instrumental or a cappella). Of the KINFOLK: Postcards From Everywhere project, Mr. Smith says: “It was my goal to start with the simplest of elements, singable melodies with familiar harmonies, and use them to weave stories that felt nostalgic without being overly sentimental. Pieces like ‘Retold’ and ‘Pages’ use familiar, consonant harmonies as a means of evoking the listener to “reach back” for a memory, while ‘Skip Step’ and Spinning Down’ use layers of rhythm to express a feeling of unsettled tension. ‘Disenchantment: The Weight’ uses an ascending/descending chord progression to simulate a deep sigh of resignation, while ‘Home Free (for Peter Joe)’ uses a hymn like melody as a means of evoking feelings of both solemnity and ceremony.
Happy Birthday to Wally Reyes! “Few drummers playing today can successfully combine the rich history of Latin, Afro-Cuban and World Percussion with the drum set. For Walfredo Reyes, Jr., fusing the two disciplines has been his driving passion. In fact, by blazing this path, Reyes has challenged the technical levels of our instrument. Born in Cuba, raised in Puerto Rico, and culminating his musical style in the U.S., Wally (Walfredo Jr.) learned the traditions from the master, his father Walfredo Sr. He married those principles with his love of the drum set, coming up with his own truly global rhythmic style. Simply put, Wally is able to sound like a drummer and a percussionist at the same time. Add blistering chops and a penchant for playing unusual patterns to the mix, and you have only a small idea of what this man can do.
Not surprisingly, this “one man percussion show” has gathered an impressive list of gigs over the years, including touring and / or recording with: Carlos Santana, Traffic, Steve Winwood, Jackson Browne, Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, David Lindley, Ricki Lee Jones, Richard Marx, Sergio Mendes, Smokey Robinson, Robbie Robertson, Joe Sample, Boz Scaggs, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Johnny Hallyday, Khaled, Lindsey Buckingham, Chicago and many others.
Because of his versatility, Walfredo is one of the most in demand musicians in the world today. He continues to expand his talents to recording, producing, composing, education, live performance, and touring.” (Written by Rick Van Horn)
Gig Alerts
The Kennedy Center Honors were on this past Monday on CBS networks. You can watch all the music clips on the Kennedy Center YouTube channel.
Friends of the show Kevin Ricard and Teddy Campbell were in the house band, led by Rickey Minor.
Percussionist Pedrito Martinez was featured in a tribute to Arturo Sandoval.
Here are some of the top cities to spend New Year’s Eve in. -Article
Educational Spotlight
Hosted by the NYU Steinhardt Percussion Studies Program, the Broadway Percussion Conference offers classes with special guest percussionists, contractors, and conductors from the world of Broadway. Sessions are presented on drum set, percussion, mallet percussion, timpani, and Latin percussion, by the percussionists who developed the Broadway books! For high school (no on-campus housing available), college, and professional percussionists, the NYU Broadway Percussion Conference is a four-day intensive (June 9th-12th) study of the skills, experience, and know-how of the world of Broadway percussion. Panel discussions will be held with leading percussionists, conductors, and contractors who are actively pursuing musical careers on Broadway. You can email (friend of the show) Sean Staser for more details here: sjs512@nyu.edu. Application deadline is April 15th.
Other friends of the show who have participated in this program as teachers or mentors include: Javier Diaz, Jon Epcar, Valerie Naranjo, and more!
The PAS Percussion Ensemble Comptetition and Festival is happening on Saturday March 8th. Applications are now open for interested applicants.
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording chosen by Ivan is Natalia Lafourcade’s “Hasta la Raíz” from the album with the same name.
Music News
How much bigger can the global live concert space grow? Boston-based Hearby is betting that AI-generated concert searches can crack the discovery riddle and boost attendance across the board. Here’s a look at the just-launched ‘Ask Hearby.’ -Article
the iconic Blue Note Jazz Club is expanding to Los Angeles, bringing the legendary reputation of our renowned New York flagship to the heart of LA’s dynamic music scene! Designed specifically for Los Angeles, the new Blue Note LA will offer an intimate atmosphere paired with programming similar to our New York flagship Blue Note! Blue Note LA is set to open its doors in March 2025.
In addition to the venue, Blue Note and the LA Philharmonic form a special partnership for the newly named Blue Note Jazz Festival—formerly the storied Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival—beginning the upcoming Hollywood Bowl 2025 season.
A couple of friends of the show, in Will Fry and Pedro Segundo have recorded on the score for the new movie Mufasa.
Damon made a holiday playlist of music for you to enjoy!
Ivan Trevino Interview
The song leading into the interview is, “Anthem" for solo marimba, written and performed live by Ivan Trevino.
Damon and Ivan met in person after (friend of the show) Lynn Vartan’s clinic.
Shout-out to Iain Moyer and Payton MacDonald for instigating the connection.
Ivan and Payton both went to Eastman School of Music.
This is the Extroverted - Introvert article that Damon mentions.
Ivan has been introducing music to his kids, Henry and Oscar.
Damon mentions getting a Legoland Drivers’ License.
Ivan talks about his wife Amanda.
Ivan joined his father’s band as a kid and they played a lot of Tejano music.
Ivan started on drumset, but then played saxophone for a short time before returning to drums.
Ivan studied with Phillip Mikula in Victoria, Texas.
Shout-out to Sean Miller who taught Ivan in marching band.
Damon and Ivan talk about concert percussion vs. marching percussion.
Ivan plays drums in the cello rock band, Break of Reality.
He also is a part of the band The Big Trouble with Drew Worden and Madeleine McQueen.
Ivan and Damon talk about genre bending/crossing music.
Ivan teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. He talks about his job duties.
Ivan talks about being a self published composer and some of his repertoire.
Shout-out to Michel Burritt, Gordon Stout, Nancy Zeltsman and others who helped champion the work Ivan was doing.
Damon talks about the 360 Songwriting course offered at Berklee.
Ivan usually starts his compositions from voice and also piano.
Ivan talks about inspiration sources.
Ivan talks about teaching his students about opportunities.
Ivan picks the iconic recording by Natalia Lafourcade and mentions the Song Exploder (podcast turned Netflix series) episode.
Damon brings up the podcast that Ivan hosts with Aaron Staebell.
Shout-out to friend of the show, John Beck.
Ivan uses Marimba One Instruments, Innovative Percussion Sticks and Mallets, Black Swamp Percussion, Pearl Drums, and ZIldjian Cymbals.
Shout-out to John Beck and Michael Burritt,
You can follow Ivan on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The song leading out of the interview is “Run to the Light” by Ivan Trevino, performed by The University of Texas Wind Ensemble. Jerry Junkin is the conductor and Ivan Trevino and Thomas Burritt are the soloists.
