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12.14.11 |
Birdland Big Band Tour |
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Tommy and the band
will be touring North America! Columbia
Artists Management is putting the BBB out
for a USA tour in the fall of 2012 and
spring of 2013! Dates will be finalized and
announced this summer.
January will
have major announcements including the first
announcement about performances on the West
coast! Click
here to "like" Tommy on
Facebook for all the latest! |
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10.1.11 |
Tommy and the Birdland
Big Band Release "Eleven" |
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Tommy and the
the Birdland Big Band have released a new
studio CD entitled
"Eleven."
The album is
available right
here!
The entire
band took part in recording the album at the
amazing Avatar Studios. This album has all
the power and excitement that the BBB has
become known for during countless sold-out
shows at New York's Birdland Jazz Club.
Click
here to join the
discussion on Tommy's Facebook page. |
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10.1.11 |
Onward and Upward |
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"After a long and fruitful
career in New York City, I'm excited for a new
challenge. My family and I are moving to San
Francisco. Besides NYC, SF is one of my favorite
places to visit and perform and it will be fun to
experience living there.
After the first
question, which is "Are you JOKING!?!?", the next
one is, "What about your bands?" The Sextet and Birdland Big Band, I'm happy to say, will continue.
The BBB will continue to play at Birdland on
Fridays with a guest conductor and drummer. I will
be coming back to NYC twice a month to play and lead
the band. The Sextet will continue and our first gig
of 2012 is already confirmed on "The Jazz Cruise." Other offers are coming in. I've been asked if I'll
be starting West Coast versions of both bands and
the answer for now is "we'll see." I need to learn
the town, the musicians, and the scene. So, spread
the word. I'm coming!
As far as private
instruction, I will have an announcement in
November. Literally, hundreds of you have been
beyond patient and I appreciate it.
And, on
a very happy note, the brand new Birdland Big Band
recording is, I'm thrilled to say, finished!
We're aiming for a November 11 release party at Birdland and it will be available worldwide. This
thing sounds insanely great (thank you, Steve Jobs),
and will be the first recording we've done where we
can finally say "this is what we do." If you've
never owned big band music before, or if you've never
owned jazz before, or if you love music that blows your
hair back with true acoustic power and virtuosity,
this is your entry point. For everyone else who is
already in that "club," get ready. It's coming for you."
- Tommy Igoe |
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8.27.11 |
BBB Recording New CD!
Tommy Igoe Sextet on the 2012 Jazz
Cruise! |
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Tommy and the full
Birdland Big Band
are recording a new CD! The CD will be
released in October. Stay tuned to Tommy's
Facebook page for
updates!
Tommy's incredible sextet
will perform on the 2012 Jazz Cruise! The
cruise will run January 29 to February 5. Go
here to learn more! |
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4.15.11 |
Yamaha Club Custom
Debut at Birdland! (click photos to
enlarge) |
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On Friday, April 15,
Tommy introduced his brand new
Yamaha Club Custom drumset at
Birdland.
The kit features a 20" bass
drum, 10" rack tom, and 20" floor tom. The
beautiful black swirl finish is painted - no
wrap! The
swirls are raised and can be felt
when you run your hand over them. Completely
unique and very gratifying for any drummer!
Heads are Evans clear G1s on the bottom
and coated G1 and G2s on top. The bass drum
is an EQ4. Here are some photos from
the gig!
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2.28.11 |
Tommy Endorses Yamaha
Drums |
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Here is the
official press release from Yamaha:
Tommy Igoe, one of the busiest drummers,
performers, clinicians and educators in the
music industry today, has signed with Yamaha
Drums.
“Joining the Yamaha family is
like coming home,” said Igoe. “The first set
I purchased on my own was a beautiful, white
pearl lacquer Recording Custom kit. With all
the gigs I played around New York, the set
logged a lot of miles with me and always
sounded flawless.”
In addition to his
solo projects and a weekly gig leading the
vaunted Birdland Big Band in New York City,
Igoe has performed and toured with Stanley
Jordan, Art Garfunkel, Lauryn Hill, Dave
Grusin, New York Voices, Patti Austin, David
Wilcox and Blood, Sweat and Tears. He is
also the principal drummer and associate
conductor for the famous Disney production
of “The Lion King” on Broadway.
Igoe
has dedicated a significant portion of his
career to drumming education. In 2004, he
created Groove Essentials™, an influential
series of books and DVDs. There are
currently over a quarter-million Groove
Essentials products in use around the world.
His upcoming DVD and book, Fillosophy™, is
the third installment in the Groove
Essentials series.
Igoe’s drum book
for Disney’s legendary Broadway musical,
“The Lion King,” integrates drum set grooves
into the percussive African score. His
technique DVD, Great Hands for a Lifetime,
currently the drum world's number one
selling educational product, highlights his
influences, including Drum Corps, concert
percussion and hand percussion.
“We
look forward to working with Tommy to help
raise the level of innovation within drum
set education around the world,” said John
Wittmann, Manager of Artist Relations,
Yamaha Corporation of America. “To have an
artist of this caliber choose Yamaha Drums
attests to the quality of our instruments
and commitment to education.”
In
addition to Yamaha’s PHX drum set, which
will occupy his studio, he will perform on
Yamaha acoustic drums at performances with
the Birdland Big Band and “The Lion King” on
Broadway. The kit at Birdland will become
the club’s house drums. Igoe will also play
DTX electronic drums.
“There's a
sound in my head – before I even play – that
I want my drums to have,” said Igoe. “With
Yamaha drums, that sound becomes reality.” |
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2.6.11 |
Jazz Cruise Welcomes
Tommy Igoe Sextet |
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Tommy and his Sextet just wrapped up an
appearance on the sold out 2011 Jazz Cruise.
The band received and amazing response
and had a great time performing for an
international audience of fans. Other
performers included: The Randy Brecker
Quintet, Freddy Cole Quartet, Jeff Hamilton
Trio, and many more.
The band has
been asked to join the 2012 Jazz Cruise -
which is already starting to sell out!
Make your reservations now!
www.thejazzcruise.com . |
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1.3.11 |
New Year's Week 2011
Recap |
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Tommy and the band capped off a week of sold
out shows at Birdland, with a grand finale
on New Year's day.
Special guests
Hilary Kole, Tom Kennedy, and more joined
the band for blazing hot sets all week long.
Tommy and the band want to thank everyone
who came out to party with the band! |
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8.22.10 |
Drum Fantasy Camp Wrap
Up |
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For the second year in a
row, Tommy taught and performed at Drum Fantasy Camp.
The camp took place August 11-15, 2010,
at the Hyatt in Cleveland.
Tommy was joined by Dave Weckl,
Peter Erskine, Thomas Lang,
Jojo Mayer, and Jo Goretti. The camp opened with a group clinic at Cleveland's
House of Blues. Later that evening,
Tommy and the other drummers performed with Mike Stern
and Tom
Kennedy.
For the next four days,
Tommy and the other instructors taught small
three-hour master classes twice per day. In
the evenings, the instructors joined the
campers for fun jams with Vinny Valentino
(guitar), Baron Browne (bass), and
Chrissi Poland (keys/vocals).
You can view photos/video
and learn more about the camp at:
www.drumfantasycamp.com. |
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1.1.10 |
Great Hands for a
Lifetime Released by Hudson Music |
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Hudson Music is proud to
announce the release of Great Hands
For A Lifetime, a new DVD from
Tommy Igoe, the world-renowned drummer,
educator and star of the Groove Essentials™
series of educational DVDs, books and
play-along CDs. While Groove Essentials has
become the new standard for mastering a
variety of musical styles and drumset
patterns, Great Hands… focuses
on developing and maintaining the physical
tools that are essential for every drummer
and drumming application: their hands.
“Solid technique is never about winning a
speed contest or mastering any particular
trick, it’s about having the foundation to
play whatever you want and stay healthy
doing it,” explains Igoe. “Behind the
drumset, we all have different musical goals
and I want to give everyone the tools they
need to realize their individual dreams.
Great Hands… doesn’t use a ‘method’, but
rather shows the practical concepts I use
myself and have refined over 25 years of
private instruction. This approach allows
everyone to find what works best for them
rather than forcing anyone to follow a
particular set of ‘rules’.”
At the heart of this life-changing,
career-extending system is the three-tier
“Lifetime Warm-up™” originally conceived in
the 1950’s by Tommy’s father, Sonny Igoe.
Featuring basic, intermediate and advanced
levels, the Lifetime Warm-up is a
challenging routine that weaves it’s way
though standard drum rudiments and original
exercises while simultaneously keeping
players in command of their basic drumming
motions. The “Lifetime Warm-up” is designed
to be a friendly companion to a regular
practice session or, in it’s advanced
version, a tough task-master that will test
the control and stamina of any drummer.
“The real challenge after you get great
technique is to maintain it. I’ve been
playing this incredible routine since I was
six years old and my hands feel as fresh
today as they did when I was teenager,” says
Igoe. “It’s been with me for my ‘lifetime’
and now new generations of drummers will be
able to make it part of their daily musical
journey.”
The nearly four-hour DVD includes Tommy
demonstrating the basics of his system,
Matched and Traditional Grip, Fulcrum
Concepts, Rebound Strokes, Singles and
Doubles, Check Patterns, The Five Families
of Rudiments, and group demonstrations with
five of his students, including all three
versions of the Lifetime Warm-up. Included
are a free, color-coordinated, wall sized
“Lifetime Warm-up” poster and a compact
fold-out guide courtesy of Evans Drumheads
as well as a printable, 60-page eBook with
instruction and exercises.
Created by one of today’s most successful
and progressive drum educators, Great
Hands For A Lifetime brings the
no-nonsense, inspiring approach of the
Groove Essentials series to hand technique
and provides proven alternative for drummers
who wish to discover the full potential of
their hands and stay healthy drumming over
the decades to come.
Sample exercises and video clips from Great
Hands For A Lifetime are available on
YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MofYoqZzXDw
. Hudson Music DVDs, Book/Audio packages and
digital downloads are sold at leading drum
shops, music stores and online retailers.
For more information, go online to
www.hudsonmusic.com or contact
Hudson Music at tel: 212-643-1028, fax:
914-945-0910, e-mail:
info@hudsonmusic.com . |
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11.14.09 |
PASIC 2009 Recap! |
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Tommy and the Birdland
Big Band closed out PASIC 2009 with an
explosive two
hour concert in front of more
than 2,000 people!
The show featured some
great moments, including swinging tunes from
the band's enormous book. There were some
spectacular duets featuring Tommy and
percussionist Rolando Morales-Matos.
Afterward, Tommy gave away sticks and signed
autographs for hundreds of drummers who
stuck around after the show.
Many drummers were asking
Tommy how he achieved such a great SOUND at
this show. Clearly, this in part can be
attributed to Tommy's DW Collector's Series
drums. But Tommy also pointed out to the
group of drummers that his Evans heads
deserve equal credit.
Here are the Evans heads
that Tommy used:
Toms Top: coated G2s
Toms Bottom: clear G1s
Snare Top: Power Center Reverse Dot
Snare Bottom: Hazy 200
Bass Drum: Emad 2
Special thanks to Evans
for their support! Click
here for more
information about Tommy and all of the
quality D'Addario products he uses. |
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8.30.09 |
Birdland Big Band to
Close Out PASIC 2009 in Indianapolis |
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The Birdland Big Band
will close out the 2009 PASIC
Convention with a concert on November
14, 2009. Click
here to learn more about PASIC.
Tommy and the band hope to see you there! |
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8.20.09 |
Tommy at the Drum
Fantasy Camp |
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Tommy joined Peter
Erskine, Steve Smith, Dave
Weckl, and Dafnis Prieto on the
staff of the 2009 Drum Fantasy Camp,
which wrapped up today. Tommy taught at the
opening clinic, performed with the other
instructors at the camp concert (featuring
Steve Smith's Jazz Legacy), and
taught master classes to drummer from all
over the world! Click
here to watch the wrap-up video,
which includes footage from Tommy's classes
and his incredible solos during the "jam
night!" |
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7.1.09 |
Buddy Rich Memorial
Concert DVD |
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The Birdland Big Band
was THE featured band for the 2008 Buddy
Rich Memorial concert! The concert
featured Tommy, Peter Erskine, Neil Peart,
John Blackwell, Chad Smith, Terry Bozzio,
Efrain Toro, Nick Rich, and bassists Will
Lee and Jeff Berlin, among others! Click
here to get your copy at Amazon.com |
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3.31.09 |
Groove Essentials 2.0
Wins "DVD of the Month!" |
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Tommy Igoes's Groove
Essentials 2.0 won "DVD of the Month" in
UK Drummer magazine! Click
here to learn
more and purchase! |
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3.25.09 |
Groove Essentials 1.0
Goes Multilingual! |
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Groove Essentials 1.0,
one of the best-selling instructional videos
in the world, is now available in German and
Italian. The product has been faithfully
translated word-for-word, and will be an
invaluable tool for drummers who speak these
languages. Visit your local retailer or e-tailer
for more information. |
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3.1.09 |
New Web
Site Launched |
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Tommy Igoe is proud to
introduce his new Web site! More content and
information will be added over the new few
months. Tommy will be communicating more
frequently with fans, so make sure to sign
up for his e-mail list! |
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