Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa with his drive and showmanship made him a favorite of many listeners. His work on Benny Goodman’s “Sing Sing Sing” from 1934 is iconic. Krupa was also an innovator in drum gear, and these innovations affected drummers in all styles afterwards, through the development of the China crash (swish) cymbal. Krupa was born in Chicago in 1909. He started off playing saxophone but later switched to drums, and like Benny Goodman became a professional musician. Going out on the road against his mother’s wishes, who preferred he’d become a priest, Krupa’s first recordings were made in 1927.
His first recordings were made under the Chicagoans, with another iconic early Jazz figure Eddie Condon. Krupa’s innovations for these sides were the use of a bass drum and toms toms, whereas earlier Jazz recordings, due to the purely acoustic direct to disc nature of the technology, only woodblocks could be used. Krupa and Condon were to be a part of the vocalist Bee Palmer’s band but the gig did not work out as planned, so Krupa took a variety of other jobs. The association with Benny Goodman lasted from 1934-1938, just before the Carnegie Hall concert, the two had a disagreement leading to Krupa’s exit. Krupa formed his own group, when trumpeter Roy Eldridge and singer Anita O’Day joined, they enjoyed the success of the massive smash “Let Me Off Uptown”.
Krupa’s troubles with the law forced the group to disband, Krupa rejoined Goodman, and shortly thereafter joined Tommy Dorsey’s band for an engagement, and Krupa formed another band. He made a series of albums for Verve in the early 50’s among them, “Krupa and Rich” and “Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich: Battle at JATP” and an LP of baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan’s music. Krupa flirted with bebop, and similar to Art Blakey gave young musicians a chance, while a 1960 heart attack forced Krupa into retirement. He returned in the 70’s rejoining Goodman , before passing away from leukemia in 1973.
I have been the staff writer for the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music blog in midtown Manhattan since 2014, and that has broadened my freelance writing skills considerably. In addition to writing artist bios, and articles of interest that pertain to the mission of the school, I have interviewed (in print on the site) legendary guitarist and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and in 2015 embarked on producing a podcast for the school where I have achieved my dream and interviewed jazz giants such as Dave Liebman, Lenny White, rising talents like Thana Alexa, Logan Richardson, guitarist and bassist Brian Kastan, among others. I also work on SEO optimization for the blog. In 2015 I started my blog Jazz Views with CJ Shearn, and have written liner notes for 5 time Grammy winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, Antonio Sanchez (for his latest recording “Channels of Energy”) and guitarist Gene Ess for his latest recording, scheduled to be released in November 2018.
My passion for jazz music is what drives me, which is an interest I’ve had since I can remember. I initially began writing about jazz at the age of 13 for my high school newspaper, and in my late teens contributed occasionally to jazzreview.com. In college I was member of the Harpur Jazz Project which brought jazz acts to campus. I’ve also contributed in the past to AllAboutJazz where I was mentored by John Kelman. I decided to focus on my passion for jazz music journalism after a job in the social services field as a caseworker went south, and as a person with a physical disability I work on going against the odds, living independently and having accomplished things people had said I’d never do.