What's new - Yamaha Drums -

Yamaha Drums is very proud to welcome Jeff Beck's Veronica Bellino to our family of Acoustic Drum Artists. Veronica is an amazing talent who also performs in L.A's own Street Drum Corps!

Yamaha Drums and Guitar Center are very happy to announce a very special series of west coast Clinics/Workshops featurning Mr. Paul Bostaph! These FREE Workshops will give you a chance to see one of trash/metal drumming's greatest up close and personal plus learn more about Yamaha Drums and participate in a Q & A with Paul.

MON. JUNE 4TH @ GUITAR CENTER EMERYVILLE, CA. 7PM
WED. JUNE 6TH @ GUITAR CENTER LAS VEGAS, NV. 7PM
THURS. JUNE 7TH @ GUITAR CENTER SAN MARCOS, CA. 7PM
FRI. JUNE 8TH @ GUITAR CENTER LAKE FOREST, CA. 7PM
SAT. JUNE 9TH @ GUITAR CENTER WEST LOS ANGELES, CA. 1PM

More info coming soon! Make your plans now to attend!

Sergio Mendes brought some stunning music to Japan again this year, after receiving an enthusiastic response at last year’s Tokyo Jazz Festival. And once again the drummer accompanying Sergio was the talented Mike Shapiro! We caught the show at Billboard-LIVE Tokyo.

Mike was playing a PHX kit with a BAS1460 snare in Blue Ice Sparkle. For footwork he used an FP9315 foot pedal (out of production) and an HS1200 hi-hat stand.

Those distinctive samba rhythms flowed effortlessly from Mike’s sticks … but the underlying rhythmic feel is not simple, and it is most definitely not just a series of 16th notes. The soul is in the variations, and Mike’s playing matched the timing of percussionist Gibi perfectly for a seriously feel-good vibe.

Sergio Mendes played a Yamaha Motif XS8 (out of production).

Another artist who made a huge impression on this tour was Scott Mayo, exhibiting amazing versatility on sax, keyboards, and vocals! Scott played a Yamaha Motif ES8 (out of production), and Yamaha saxes: a YAS82Z alto and a YSS62R soprano (also out of production). He played a Yamaha flute too … but we forgot to ask the model number (oops).

The show was a series of familiar hits, but “The Girl From Ipanema” and Milton Nasciment’s “Travessia” struck a particularly emotional chord with the ecstatic audience. The last tunes were “Mas Que Nada” and “Tristeza,” providing the perfect ending for the perfect night.

Mike was pushing the energy level to the limit by the end of the show!

It was a truly emotional and satisfying performance. Great show!!

David Garibaldi is the drummer with the "Tower of Power" one of musics finest funk & soul acts to date.
David is known as an innovator in funk drumming and is a major influence to many top drummers worldwide. From early days of his career, David has been playing Yamaha Drums & hardware.
We sat down with David to talk about his successful career, his love for Yamaha Recording Custom drums and received valuable hints on how David achieves his reknowned snare sound.

Find out more on the Tower of Power here: http://www.towerofpower.com/

Find out more on Yamaha Drums & hardware: http://europe.yamaha.com/

Yamaha Drums stands for top quality Drums + smart, massive hardware components + innovative electronic solutions.
In this video Yamaha Artist Merlin Ettore introduces us to his world of hybrid drumming.
(performed with Yamaha Oak Custom shells on a Hexrack, 14" x 6.5" Yamaha copper snare and DTXM12 multipad for sampling).

We're at the Akasaka Blitz. Eric Valentine is back in Japan for the first time in four years, with Steve Lukather’s solo project.with Steve Lukather's solo project.

First a couple of photos …

A Yamaha guitar case!
Luke was using a nylon-stringed NTX1200 during last year's TOTO tour, but for this tour he's playing an LJX26CP featuring Yamaha's innovative SRT system.

And there it is! The LJX26CP on stage!
Luke used the guitar for the TOTO tune "Out of Love," which he played and sang with real feeling.

And here's Luke's drummer of many years, Eric Valentine.

PHX and HEXRACK II!!Pedals and hardware include a DFP9500C double bass drum pedal, HS1200D hi-hat stand, and SS950 snare stand. Eric’s main snare is an SD456APL (discontinued), and his side snare is an SD2255.
 

Eric did so much stick twirling while playing and during his solo that we were wondering when a stick or two would escape him. What a scene! Just as I was thinking how great it would be to be able to show our readers as well, these photos arrived. Total havoc! You can almost hear Luke saying "how far are you trying to throw that thing?" Thanks Eric!!

Canadian-born jazz singer and pianist Laila Biali appeared at Tokyo’s Cotton Club with fellow Canadians Larnell Lewis (drums) and George Koller (bass) from March 21 through 23.

Larnell is a big guy! Just guesstimating we’d have to say he’s about two meters tall! The night we met at the Cotton Club was his 28th birthday.

Larnell was playing a Maple Custom Absolute kit with a Blue Ice Sparkle finish.

His snare is an MSD1465 in Antique Sunburst, and pedals/stands include an HS1200 hi-hat stand, an SS950 snare stand, and an FP8500C foot pedal. Larnell usually uses a Hexrack system with a massive setup, but since this is basically a jazz gig he chose to use the more subdued setup shown in the photo.

We were delighted to hear almost unbelievably delicate, musical tone coming from a player that physically large. Then as the night progressed and the excitement mounted Larnell turned up the heat with fatter, solid sound that took the audience on an unforgettable musical journey.

Some video footage of the Cotton Club performance is available here:
http://www.cottonclubjapan.co.jp/jp/sp/120321_laila/

In late March we made one of our frequent pilgrimages to Tokyo's Blue Note, this time to see and hear French soul man Ben L'oncle Soul and his drummer Loic Gerard.

Sweet looking guy!

Loic's kit was a Cub Custom in Swirl Black.

Loic is a true left-hander, and his kit is set up as a completely reversed mirror image of what us "righties" consider normal. His snare is a Roy Haynes signature SD655ARH.

And for footwork...

Being a leftie Loic uses the left-footed DFP9500CL twin pedal. And his HS1200D hi-hat stand has a right-foot pedal mounted on the outside. This lets him use the twin pedal without having to change the position of the hi-hat stand. There are actually quite a few drummers who set things up this way.

As for the performance...the musicians and audience were definitely all on the same page, and it was hot! Everyone gathered at the Blue Note was infused with the spirit of soul! The standing ovation was clearly heartfelt. Great show!

CHECK IT OUT !!

Al Jarreau, who was in Japan last year for the Tokyo Jazz Festival, is back again this year with The George Duke Trio. Drummer Gorden Campbell is supplying the rhythmic foundations. Although Gorden usually moves in R&B circles, for this tour he’s really stretching out and covering an impressive range of musical styles.

Gorden's setup is shown below. He's using the HEXRACK II hardware introduced at the NAMM show earlier this year, with PHX series drums.

His pedals are an FP9500C for the kick, and an HS1200D hi-hat stand. His main snare is an SD455APL/RMGW, and his sub is an NSD1365M. Above the NSD1365M there' s a DTX-MULTI 2 electronic percussion pad unit.

The show was a visual and musical delight. The audience's attention was riveted on the impressive stage setup as well as the sound. Al was pleased too, and gave us his "wow, looks great!" seal of approval.

Gorden's solo punctuated the show with a jaw-dropping explosion of energy. Absolutely amazing! Gorden is currently working on a self-produced DVD that we can't wait to see and hear!

We're at Tokyo's Cotton Club again, where Grammy award winning jazz vocalist Diane Schuur is performing with her band, featuring Yamaha drummer Tony Moore.

The drum setup is a matte black PHX kit.

Tony's main snare is a Roy Haynes signature SD655ARH, and his spare is a Steve Gadd signature BSD14ASG, so he certainly has some drumming legends on his side!

At the front of the set is a Chinese gong that he bought in China before arriving in Japan for the tour. The gong got quite a bit of use during his solo.

As expected, the performance was absolutely fantastic! The audience did not hold back their appreciation, and Diane responded with a show that increaserd in intensity and passion as the night went on. The band followed Diane's lead, delivering a tight, powerful performance. It was quite an emotional evening.

Tony played a drum solo that also elicited unrestrained appreciation from the crowd. He made full use of the projection and volume of the PHX drums to support the band with some brilliant drumming.

Called on to perform with artists such as Rufus and George Benson, Tony Moore is a young drummer with a very bright future.