Freddie Gruber (May 27, 1927 – October 11, 2011) was a

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

to a number of professional drummers.Milkowski, Bill
"Freddie Gruber: None of a Kind"
, ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of grow ...

'', November 2004. (accessed 13 December 2014) Gruber grew up in the nascent

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 U ...

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrum ...

scene. Although he started his performance career as a

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely per ...

r, by the mid-1940s while still in his teens he had toured as a drummer with

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Val ...

and played with

Harry Gibson Harry "The Hipster" Gibson (June 27, 1915 – May 3, 1991), born Harry Raab, was an American jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He played New York style stride piano and boogie woogie while singing in a wild, unrestrained style. His music car ...

. In 1949 Gruber began playing with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

among many others. After fighting his own heroin addiction, Gruber left New York City shortly after Parker's death in 1955. He settled in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in 1957 after a stint in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

, where he continued working as a professional jazz drummer. Gruber began teaching drums in the mid-1960s at a Los Angeles music store owned by

vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

. Gruber's student list includes

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Colai ...

, Eddie Rubin,

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

, Steve Smith,

Dave Weckl Dave Weckl (born January 8, 1960 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American jazz fusion drummer and the leader of the Dave Weckl Band. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Weckl started playing his first s ...

Bruce Becker Bruce Becker (born April 3, 1959) is an American drummer, author and drum teacher based in Los Angeles and has been teaching in the US and abroad since 1982. As a drummer with a variety of jazz, rock, and pop artists, Becker has recorded over t ...

, and, his last student before he died, Paul Goldberg. Gruber was an instructor and mentor at th
Drum Channel Studio.
On January 15, 2011, Gruber was honored at the

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, with a lifetime achievement award for educational excellence throughout his career. The large framed award featured a classic photo of legendary jazz drummers:

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

Jo Jones Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes k ...

(known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years), and Gruber himself. Under the photo was a plaque and a cymbal that was signed by

Armand Zildjian Armand Zildjian (February 18, 1921 – December 26, 2002) was an American manufacturer of cymbals and the head of the Avedis Zildjian Company. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, Armand Zildjian was the first Zildjian to be born in the United State ...

's children.DeChristopher, John
"Zildjian family remembers Freddie Gruber"
, ''Zildjian'' Later in October 2011 Gruber died from illness. Gruber's former drum student,

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

, lauded Gruber in his literary and tutorial work. Peart authored a biographical obituary tribute which was posted to the Hudson Music website and to Gruber's own web site.

References

Sources

* Jazz Improv Magazine Tribute to Buddy Rich: "Way Beyond Drums, Buddy Rich, A Portrait of the Man." (Spring 2006) * The Commandments of Early Rhythm and Blues Drumming - by Zoro and

Daniel Glass Daniel Glass is an American music industry executive whose output has included work with artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinéad O'Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur (band), Blur, Huey Lewis and the News, Goldfinger (band), Goldfinger ...

(2008) * Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road - by Neil Peart (2002) * Travelling Music: Traveling Music : The Soundtrack to My Life and Times - by Neil Peart (2003) * Rhythm and Light - by Carrie Nuttall (2005) * Rush: Chemistry : The Definitive Biography - by Jon Collins (2005) * Roadshow : Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle - by Neil Peart (2006) * Far and Away: A Prize Every Time - by Neil Peart (2011) * Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010) * A Work in Progress {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruber, Freddie American jazz drummers American music educators Musicians from New York City 1927 births 2011 deaths Jazz musicians from New York (state) Educators from New York City