Drummond has worked on over 200 recordings, including seven under his own name and three as a co-leader. He is in high demand as a producer. He teaches master classes, seminars, and workshops around the world at places like the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Berklee School of Music, the University of Massachusetts, and the Sibelius Academy of Music in Helsinki, Finland. In October, he gave a presentation about the musical legacy of Charles Mingus. Drummond has been commissioned by Lafayette to compose two works for the Jazz Ensemble, which will be performed at its spring concert 8 p.m. Friday, May 4.
Admission is free.
Born in Oakland, California in 1962, Handy played guitar, trombone, and piano before he fell in love with the saxophone after hearing Dexter Gordon on the radio. From the time he arrived in New York at age 23 in 1986, Handy was acknowledged as a musician with a big, burly tenor sound, sharp wit, and above all, individuality. Thiam was born in Dakar, Senegal. His family, members of the Dogon Tribe, are historians who use the drum to tell their story to the Woloff people of Senegal. The two began to work closely together and Dunham brought him to the United States in 1968.