Famous Drummers From A to Z > M

Famous Drummers

M

Your complete resource to info on the most famous drummers in the world. This page contains everyone who's anyone with a last name beginning in the letter M.

Pete Magadini
Pete is a drummer, percussionist, author, and educator who has worked with many well known artists including Diana Ross, George Duke, Al Jarreau, Mose Allison, Don Menza, George Coleman, Sonny Stitt, Chet Baker, Don Ellis, and others. He has also written many books such as the popular Musician's Guide to Polyrhythms. For more on Pete, check out his official Web site.

Mike Mangini
Interview with Extreme drummer Mike Mangini, by Dominick A. Miserandino. Courtesy of TheCelebrityCafe.com.

Shelly Manne
Died: September 26, 1984. I hung out with Shelly in LA a few years before his death. Every musician in LA owes a debt to Shelly, who almost single-handedly started the studio scene there. In addition to countless movie and TV soundtracks, Shelly played with Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, and fronted his own group. A great guy and a tasty player, LA will never be quite the same without him. This interview includes Real Audio sound, courtesy of Gallery 41.

Bryan "Brain" Mantia
Here's a short bio on ex-Primus drummer Brain, along with other info from his work with Primus. Also, check out my review of Brain's first instructional video, Brain's Lessons.

Cole Marcus
The multi-talented Cole wins the award for the youngest drummer ever to appear on any "Famous Drummer" list - he just turned 5 years old! (2003) At the age of 10 months, before he could walk, he could already play a legitimate beat. At 2, he was playing difficult gospel pieces in his dad's church band and, at the age of 4, his drumming won him the 3 to 7 year old spot on the TV show "America's Most Talented Kid." And he has perfect pitch and composes his own music to boot. Click the above link and check out his Demo Reel for yourself!

Also, check out Cole in TigerBill's DrumBeat exclusive video taken at Winter NAMM 2004, as he plays along to Ozzy's 'Crazy Train' without benefit of the soundtrack. Cole plays the entire tune from memory! The headphones Cole is wearing in the video are solely for hearing protection.

(Note: The unavoidable background drum roar you hear is the sound of other drummers demoing gear on the floor of the NAMM show.)

Art Mardigan
Born: 1923. Here's a discography of Art's work, courtesy of ArtistDirect.com.

Sherrie Maricle
Drummer, composer, and arranger in both classical and jazz mediums, Sherrie is also leader of her own band (DIVA) and quintet (FIVE PLAY). Click the above link for her official Web site. Check out Sherrie's discography, courtesy of ArtistDirect.com.

Jerry Marotta
Rick's brother, Jerry, is a fine drummer in his own right having worked with Peter Gabriel, Tony Levin, Los Lobos, Paul McCartney, Sarah Mc Lachlan, Robbie Robertson, Stevie Nicks, Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, Rick Springfield, and many more.

Rick Marotta

   
Excerpts from an 1987 Modern Drummer interview with the Steely Dan drummer. From Metal Leg, The Steely Dan Magazine.

John Marshall
I'm looking for a good link on John. If you've got one, please click here to email it to us.

Billy Martin
Born: 1962. One-third of the group Medeski, Martin, & Wood, Billy has also worked with John Lurie's Lounge Lizards, Brazilian outfit Pe De Moi, samba group Batucada (co-founded with Manuel Montiero), John Zorn's Cobra, Chuck Mangione, Bobby Previte, Ned Rothenburg, and others. The above link is Billy's bio, courtesy of the Europe Jazz Network. Here's another bio and discography, courtesy of ArtistDirect.com.

Harvey Mason
Born: February 22, 1947. Here's a bio and discography on the famous Jazz-Funk-Session artist Harvey Mason. From FourPlayJazz.com. Here's a selected discography.

Dave Mattacks
Hailing from the UK, Dave Mattacks has worked with Richard Thompson, Jethro Tull, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Elton John, Andy Fairweather-Low, Chris Rea, Georgie Fame, and others. Check out his homepage, courtesy of The Folk Corporation.

Jojo Mayer
The Swiss born drummer, Jojo, played his first public performance in Hong Kong at the age of 3. Since then, he has worked with Monty Alexander's group, Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone, Screaming Headless Torsos, Vernon Reid's science project, DJ Spooky, Vienna Art Orchestra, John Medeski, and many more. See his bio, resume, interviews, and more. Courtesy of Jojo's official Web site.

Marilyn Mazur
Raised in Denmark, Marilyn is a percussionist, drummer, singer, composer, vocalist, pianist, dancer, and bandleader. She has worked with Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, and Jan Garbarek among others. View her bio and discography, compliments of Europe Jazz Network.

Nico McBrain
Iron Maiden drummer "Boomer" answers 20 questions, posed by Metal Sludge (Warning: Question #9 gets my Gross Question of the Century award). Also, a short blurb and pico of Nico, from Kheldan's Iron Maiden Pit. Here's McBrain's bio, courtesy of the Iron Maiden Official Website.

Ray McKinley
Click the above link for Ray's "Delayed Reaction," by William P. Gottlieb. Here's the bio and discography of the famous Swing era drummer, courtesy of ArtistDirect.com.

Russ McKinnon
Check the above link for info on the Tower of Power drummer, from rhythmtech.com. And here for the written and audio transcript of a Russ Mckinnon fill.

Nick Menza
Son of famed jazz saxophonist Don Menza, Nick has become famous in his own right. Check out Nick's bio at his own Web site.

Buddy Miles
Aside from his drum work with Jimi Hendrix, Buddy also put out the successful album "Them Changes," and sang lead for Santana! Remember the California Raisin commercial from TV? Buddy recorded it. His bio is courtesy of The Robert Fitzpatrick Organization.

Butch Miles
Born: July 4, 1944. Click the above link for The Butch Miles Tribute Page. Comprehensive info on Butch, including lessons, sound files, quotes, interviews, discography, and more. By [email protected]

Russ Miller
Russ is one of the top touring and session drummers in Los Angeles and he is the author of three books, including the book/CD and video Drum Set Crash Course. Click on Russ Miller above to get to his official Web site.

Marco Minnemann
Born: December 24, 1970. Check out the above link for Marco's bio, resume, tour dates, and more. From Marco's official Web site.

For a sample of his performance, see our exclusive video coverage of the Cape Breton International Drum Festival 2005.

Mitch Mitchell
Born: July 9, 1947. Click the above link for a great site that covers Mitch Mitchell from pre-Hendrix to the present. Includes bio, MP3's, discography, drum gear, and more. Courtesy of Azar, a Mitch Mitchell fan.

Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste
Zigaboo's Official Web site contains bio, discography, tour dates, Real Audio sound clips, photos, and more.

Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett
Click the above link for an interview with “Sugarfoot,” from baila.net. And don't miss his bio, resume, and discography here, courtesy of www.clavia.se.

Dom Moio
Author, clinician, and performer, Dom has worked with Mose Allison, Herb Ellis, Ahmad Jamal, Clark Terry and others. Check out his Offical Web site.

T.S. Monk
Son of the famous pianist/composer Thelonius Monk, T.S. (Thelonious Sphere) is a drummer, bandleader, composer, and vocalist who, in addition to performing, created the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz to sponsor music education. Check out his bio, courtesy of EdKeane.com.

Keith Moon
Born: August 23, 1947. Inspiration for the Muppet drummer Animal, The Who drummer Moon trashed more drum sets than most of us get the chance to play in a lifetime. Keith brought excitement and wild energy to drumming. This site contains a good discography and bio of drumming legend. Current address: Rock 'n' Roll Heaven, due to a drug overdose at age 31. From www.classicrockpage.com.

Stanton Moore
Drummer and founding member of the funk band Galactica, Stanton has also produced some solo efforts. Check him out at the above link, his Official Web site.

Richie Morales
Best known for his (drumming and composing)work with Spyro Gyra, Richie is a versatile musician who has worked with such varied artists as the Brecker Brothers, Gato Barbieri, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Grover Washington Jr., and Carly Simon among others. View his brief bio at the Europe Jazz Network. Check out his drum setup, courtesy of Yamaha.

Airto Moreira
Born August 5, 1941. Brazil born Airto is an extraordinary percussionist who has worked with many of the greatest players in jazz such as Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan, Paul Desmond, Joe Zawinul, and Miles Davis. He was the original drummer with Weather Report and later joined Chick Corea's original Return to Forever group, which also featured Airto's wife - singer Flora Purim. Airto's own homepage contains bio, reviews (including drummer polls won over the years), and photos of his gear.

Check out exclusive TigerBill's DrumBeat video excerpts of his performance at The Connecticut PAS Day of Percussion 2004.

(Thanks to Airto, Jim Royle, and Danny Freeman who appear in the above clip.)

Joe Morello
Joe is one of the greatest drum technicians who ever lived and I'm not just saying that because he was one of my instructors. Anyone who has studied with Joe will tell you the same thing, just ask Danny Gottlieb. Joe not only has terrific chops but unbelievable four-way coordination as well. He is truly unique. Click here for Joe's bio on the PAS site, where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Click here for info on Joe's latest recordings. And Click here for audio clips from Joe's 1994 release "Morello Standard Time."

Rod Morgenstein
Rod's own regularly updated homepage supplies bio, discography, news updates, drum tips, and opportunities to purchase his drum instructional books/videos. Includes Real Audio (RealPlayer available on his site) and MP3 sound clips from some of his work.

Paul Motian
Born: 1931. Paul has worked with jazz greats Tony Scott, Lennie Tristano, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Coleman Hawkins, Oscar Pettiford, Charles Lloyd, Pharoah Sanders, Mose Allison, and others. Bio courtesy of Europe Jazz Network.

Alphonse Mouzon
Born: November 21, 1948. Mouzon's Web site, brought to you by Tenacious Records, contains bio, reviews, photos, sound bytes, video clips, tour info, and just about everything you'd want to know about Alphonse.

Jonathan Mover
Jonathan has worked with Alice Cooper, Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Peter Frampton, Frank Gambale, Joe Lynn Turner, and many others. This, his Official Web site, contains a bio, discography, drum gear, news, photos, transcriptions from his two "einstein" CDs, and more. Audio/Video clip section to-be-completed as of September 2001.

Famoudou Don Moye
Click the above link for a bio and discography of Don Moye, who played with many jazz greats but is best known for his work with the avant-garde group the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Includes Real Audio samples.

Idris Muhammed
Born: November 13, 1939. One of the most innovative drummers in soul music of the '60s. Above link features a brief bio. Here's an interview with Idris.

Larry Mullen, Jr.
Born: October 31, 1961. Click the above link for the bio of U2 drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. And check out the transcript of Larry and singer Bono's appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman." Courtesy of Unoffical Web site www.atu2.com.

Sunny Murray
In-depth discography on Sunny, courtesy of George Scala.

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