Layne Redmond (August 19, 1952 – October 28, 2013) was an American drummer,

frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...

expert, writer, teacher, historian, and

mythologist Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. Drum maker

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...

created a frame drum designed by Redmond as their first Signature Series product. The February 2000 issue of ''Drum!'' listed Redmond as one of the 53 Heavyweight Drummers Who Made A Difference in the 1990s, where she is ranked among such musicians as Tony Williams,

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...

, Zakir Hussain,

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

and

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

. She is the only woman on this list, and she is the only drummer on the list whose work focuses on the spiritual and healing dimensions of drumming and rhythm. Redmond's path focuses on the hand-held frame drum, the world's oldest known drum. For fifteen years, she researched the history of this drum in religious and healing rites in the ancient Mediterranean world culminating in her 1997 book, ''When the Drummers Were Women''. The book details a lost history of a time when women were the primary percussionists in the ancient world and also explains why they are not today.

Recordings

Redmond's recordings include ''The Wave of Bliss'', ''Invoking the Muse'', ''Trance Union'', ''Since the Beginning'' and she has two instructional videos: ''Rhythmic Wisdom'' and ''A Sense of Time''. Her meditation albums include: ''Chakra Breathing Meditation'', ''Chanting the Chakras'', ''Heart Chakra Meditations''. She also authored a chakra meditation guide titled ''Chakra Meditation''. She recorded under the

Sounds True Sounds True is an American multimedia publishing company founded in 1985 by Tami Simon. The company is based in Louisville, Colorado. The company has published over 800 spoken-word audio and music recordings, books, multimedia learning resources ...

label.

Death

In the summer of 2013, Redmond entered a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

. Redmond died October 28, 2013, aged 61.

Works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Redmond, Layne 1952 births 2013 deaths Frame drum players Drummers from Florida Place of birth missing American women drummers Deaths from breast cancer in North Carolina 21st-century American women