Currently active singers: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Tuesday,
April 20, 2010 Drums are essential to African music, and as a
style with origins in African-American aesthetics, it's natural
that drums would be essential to jazz. There are many kinds of
drums and many types of struck instruments that make up the
"percussion" section of a jazz group. The classic drumset
consists of a bass drum (sideways), a snare drum, a second drum
with a deeper sound (tom), and cymbals on a stand. The drummer
can add an almost unlimited number of drums, cymbals and smaller
instruments to the set-up. These small instruments can be common
sounds such as cowbell, or exotic sounds from almost any culture
of the world. The drummer traditionally sits at the back of the
jazz ensemble, but could sometimes be heard as a soloist. During
the Swing Era, many drummers had their turn in the limelight.
One of the first big stars of the drumset was Gene Krupa (above)
who got his start with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, then went on
to lead his o