Ivan Hampden Jr. (born April 1, 1958 in New York, New York) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and R&B drummer, composer, and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He was Luther Vandross’ tour and session drummer from 1987 to 2003.

Biography

Ivan Hampden grew up in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

neighborhood of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

. He started drumming at age 8, and established himself as a working musician by age 14, playing local bars and events. While attending college at Bronx Community College and

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, he joined the

percussion ensemble A percussion ensemble is a musical ensemble consisting of only percussion instruments. Although the term can be used to describe any such group, it commonly refers to groups of classically trained percussionists performing primarily classical m ...

at the

Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...

, and began working with singer Eartha Kitt. He went on to write and produce rap albums, and toured with

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

' ''Cold Blooded'' album tour in 1983. In the mid-1980s he was introduced to songwriting/recording team

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

, and later joined Luther Vandross’ band as drummer and songwriter until Vandross’ death in 2005. Throughout his career, Hampden toured and performed with a number of celebrated artists, including

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Lopez, Bonnie Raitt,

India Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards ...

, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Little Richard,

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

, among many others. Hampden was recognized for his participation as Arranger/Musician/Programmer on two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning recordings at the

2004 Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized ac ...

: Best R&B Album " Dance With My Father" performed by Luther Vandross, and Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals "

The Closer I Get to You "The Closer I Get to You" is a romantic ballad performed by singer-songwriter Roberta Flack and soul musician Donny Hathaway. The song was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, two former members of Miles Davis's band, who were members of Flac ...

" performed by Beyoncé and Luther Vandross. Today, he lives with his wife in Clayton, NC which is a suburb of

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

. He continues to play, write and produce. He also taught recording production at

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from ...

. He offers private drum lessons at a local music academy and has founded a school of percussion in Clayton, NC.

Equipment

Hampden plays

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

drums with

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. Biography Vic Firth was born June 2, ...

sticks and records with Samson Technologies gear.

Discography

* ''Treacherous'' Cousin Ice * ''Cousin Ice'' (1980) Cousin Ice * '' Red Hot Rhythm & Blues'' (1987) Diana Ross * '' Move to This'' (1990)

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the s ...

* ''Love Life'' (1991)

Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world", and her vocals and ...

* ''That Time Again'' (1991) Kevin Owens * ''Get Ta Know Ya Betta'' (1992) M & M * ''Never Let Me Go'' (1993) Luther Vandross * ''The Voice'' (1993) Mavis Staples * ''A To a Higher Place'' (1994)

Tramaine Hawkins Tramaine Aunzola Richardson , (nee’ Davis) known professionally as Tramaine Hawkins (born October 11, 1951), is an American award–winning Gospel singer whose career spans over five decades. Since beginning her career in 1966, Hawkins has won ...

* ''Rendezvous'' (1994) Darryl Tookes * ''Roberta'' (1995)

* ''This Is Christmas'' (1995) Luther Vandross * ''Gospel According to Ashford & Simpson'' (1996)

* ''Inner City Blues'' (1996)

Doc Powell Doc Powell is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was born and raised in Spring Valley, New York. He attended college at University of Charleston. Career He has worked with Wilson Pickett, who chose him to be his musical director. He ha ...

* ''Your Secret Love'' (1996) Luther Vandross * ''Gablz'' (1997) Gablz * ''Until'' (1997) Byron Miller * ''Down in the Delta'' (1998) * ''I Know'' (1998) Luther Vandross * ''In My Path'' (2000) Steve Kroon * ''Awesome'' (2001)

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

* ''Life Changes'' (2001)

* ''Luther Vandross'' (2001) Luther Vandross * ''The Ultimate Luther Vandross'' (2001) Luther Vandross * ''It Started with a Dream'' (2002) Cy Coleman * ''Mi Alma Latina: My Latin Soul'' (2002)

Néstor Torres Néstor Torres is a jazz flautist born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, in 1957. He took flute lessons at age 12 and began formal studies at the Escuela Libre de Música, eventually attending Puerto Rico’s Inter-American University. At 18, he moved ...

* '' Dance With My Father'' (2003) Luther Vandross * '' Dangerously in Love'' (2003) Beyoncé * ''Live Radio City Music Hall 2003'' (2003) Luther Vandross * ''The Essential Luther Vandross'' (2003) Luther Vandross * ''Ultimate Easy Album'' (2005) * ''Yuletide Friends'' (2005) Doug Gazlay * ''Blues for the Tribe'' (2006) Baron Tyrnas * ''Just Norwood'' (2007) Norwood Young * ''Love, Luther'' (2007) Luther Vandross * ''Luther Vandross adacy' (2007) Luther Vandross * ''Soul Desirables'' (2007) * ''Dangerously in Love/Live at Wembley'' (2008) Beyoncé * ''The Music of Luther Vandross'' (2009) Luther Vandross * ''The Classic Christmas Album'' (2012) Luther Vandross

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampden, Ivan Jr. Record producers from New York (state) American jazz drummers Living people 1958 births Jazz musicians from New York City 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians