Dante Agostini (1 April 1921 – 21 April 1980) was an Italian-born French drummer and drumming teacher.

Biography

Agostini was born in

Mercatello sul Metauro Mercatello sul Metauro (Romagnol: ''Mercatèl'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Itali ...

on 1 April 1921. As a child he moved to the French commune of

Sin-le-Noble Sin-le-Noble (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. Population Notable people * Pierre-Jules Boulanger, born in 1885 in Sin-le-Noble: contributed in t ...

with his family, who left Italy due to the rise of fascism under

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. He began playing drums and accordion at the age of five and performed at a local ballroom in his family orchestra until being conscripted into the compulsory work service during World War II. After the war he began drumming professionally with accordionist Joss Baselli before moving to

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

and joining

Jacques Hélian Jacques Mikaël Der Mikaëlian better known as Jacques Hélian (born in Paris, 7 June 1912 - died 29 June 1986), was a famous French orchestra conductor for French music-hall. Biography Born of an Armenian father (descendant of Armenian bourge ...

's orchestra in 1952. He then entered the Olympia orchestra, where he played alongside

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

, and

Charles Trenet Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics for nearly 1,000 songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These songs inclu ...

, and later entered the

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

orchestra. After shows he played in jazz clubs, where he met visiting American musicians such as

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

, and

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

, whose

Hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

music inspired his teaching methods. In 1965, he and the American jazz drummer

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...

founded a school of drumming that bears his name at the headquarters of the instrument maker

Henri Selmer Paris Henri Selmer Paris is a French enterprise, manufacturing company, manufacturer of musical instruments based at Mantes-la-Ville near Paris. Founded in 1885, it is known as a producer of professional-grade woodwind and Brass instrument, brass ins ...

, where they developed a method for drum-teaching. The comprises more than thirty volumes and three CD's. His school now has locations in France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Morocco, and Switzerland. He also developed a notation system to indicate aspects of drumming compositions (e.g. fingerings). He died on 21 April 1980, aged 59.

Publications

References

External links

Official site of drumming school
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agostini, Dante French jazz drummers French male drummers French male jazz musicians French music educators People from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino People of Marchesan descent Italian emigrants to France French World War II forced labourers 20th-century French male musicians 1921 births 1980 deaths