Peter Charles "Pete" Magadini (born January 25, 1942) is an American drummer, percussionist, educator and author. He is known for his body of work (instructional books and videos) concerning the comprehension and execution of musical

polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...

s, especially the books '' The Musician's Guide to Polyrhythms'' and '' Polyrhythms for the Drumset''. Magadini has recorded and performed with

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

John Handy John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor and baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and oboe. Biography Handy was born in ...

and

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

Biography

Magadini was born in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

to Charles and Ruth Magadini.Alleyne, Katherine. March 1984. "Pete Magadini" ''Modern Drummer Magazine''. p.29. At the age of six, the family moved to

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, where he played in the elementary school band. Magadini's professional career began recording singles for

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

and

Lester Sill Lester Sill (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was an American record label executive, best remembered as Phil Spector's partner in Philles Records (the name came from the first parts of their names, Phil and Les), and also as the head of both ...

while attending high school in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

.Miller, Mark. June 1, 1978. "Pete Magadini" ''Downbeat Magazine''. p.33. In Phoenix he studied with his first and most influential teacher Donald Bothwell and was heavily influenced by the playing of

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

. In 1960 Magadini studied drum set with Roy Burns at the Henry Adler Drum School in New York City. He then enrolled at the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

where he studied timpani with

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

timpanist Roland Kohloff, graduating with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

degree in 1965. During his time in San Francisco he formed a trio with keyboardist

, also a student at the Conservatory, and performed with the

Oakland Symphony Orchestra The Oakland East Bay Symphony (OEBS) is a leading orchestra based in Oakland, California. Michael Morgan held the position of music director and conductor from September 1990 until his death in August 2021. The Paramount Theatre has been the hom ...

. In 1973 he graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

with Master of Music in Percussion and Performance – "w.distinction" In 1968, while teaching at his alma mater, Magadini was awarded a fellowship to perform with The Berkshire Music Festival Orchestra at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...

. The next year he moved to Los Angeles where he taught drums at the Hollywood Professional Drum Shop and played with the

Don Menza Don Menza (born April 22, 1936) is an American jazz saxophonist. Career Menza was born in Buffalo, New York. After serving in the U.S. Army, he was part of the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra from 1960 to 1962 and then briefly worked for Stan Kento ...

quartet. Magadini toured with

through 1969 before joining

' first band as a solo artist. After touring with Ross from 1970 to 1971, he attended the

, receiving a Master of Music degree in 1973.Johnson, B. Derek. August 3, 1977. "Encounter at Blondie's". ''Toronto Globe and Mail'' In 1976 he produced ''Polyrhthym'', for IBis Records, featuring himself, George Duke, Don Menza and Dave Young. His second album, ''Bones Blues'', with Dave Young, Don Menza and Wray Downs, received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination for Best Jazz Album of the Year in 1979. Magadini has also performed extensively with and produced recordings for blues-jazz vocalist Mose Allison. From 1988 to 1997, he taught at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

and

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

in Montreal and at the

Brubeck Institute The Brubeck Institute was a special program at the University of the Pacific's Conservatory of Music. It was founded in 2000 by noted Jazz pianist and Pacific alum Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) w ...

of the University of the Pacific from 2003 to 2007. He also maintains a private teaching practice in the California Bay Area.

Polyrhythms

Magadini is widely known for his interest and expertise in

s as applied in western music and drum set. Originally inspired by his studies with

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player Mahapurush Misra in 1966, he has published two major works on the subject: '' Polyrhythms for the Drumset'' and ''Polyrhythms: The Musicians Guide'', (first published in two volumes in 1967) which Modern Drummer magazine ranked sixth in their survey of "The 25 Best Drum Books." In 2012 he published ''The Official 26 Polyrhythm Rudiments''.Magadini,Peter. June 2012 "Rudimental Symposium: The Official 26 Polyrhythm Rudiments – Part 2: Drags,Paradiddles,Ratamacues, and Open Rolls". "Modern Drummer Magazine".

Discography

Videos

2006 – ''Jazz Drums'' Hal Leonard Corporation, Hal Leonard

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Pete Magadini Official Website
*
Interview with Peter Magadini on the Jake Feinberg Show

Paiste Artist: Peter Magadini

Vic Firth Artist: Peter Magadini

Pete Magadini YouTube channel
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnC9iihhvGc (Drum Solo) Cherokee
Pete Magadini – Hal Leonard Publishing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magadini, Peter 1942 births Living people 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century Canadian drummers American jazz drummers American male drummers American male jazz musicians Canadian jazz drummers Canadian male drummers Hard bop drummers Jazz musicians from Massachusetts Sackville Records artists