Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste (born December 28, 1948), also known as Zigaboo Modeliste, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

band

the Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

style drumming. The Meters' music had a defining role and set the stylistic tone of New Orleans funk. Due to his work with the band, Modeliste is credited as an integral part of bringing New Orleans second-line grooves into popular music. As a songwriter and session musician Modeliste's work is featured in numerous albums by various artists. His drum grooves appear in hundreds of hip hop samples, television and film. He has released four solo albums. He resides in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

and continues to perform and tour.

Early life

Modeliste grew up in the 13th Ward of New Orleans. The eldest of six siblings, he was raised in part by his grandmother, Lula Blouin. His first drum set was a three-piece paid for by Blouin. He was nicknamed Zigaboo at age ten by a neighborhood kid, and by junior high school the name had stuck. His drumming style was influenced by

Smokey Johnson Joseph "Smokey" Johnson Jr. (November 14, 1936 – October 6, 2015) was an American drummer. He was one of the musicians, session players, and songwriters who served as the backbone for New Orleans' output of jazz, funk, blues, soul, and R&B ...

, Bob French and other New Orleans drum greats as he learned by watching them perform at gigs. He said ''listening'' to other musicians was the most important part of his learning process. He particularly tried to emulate Smokey Johnson's style. He started playing gigs at an early age including a stint with the Hawketts, a band led by

Art Neville Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. (December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans. Neville was a staple of the New Orleans music scene for over five decades. He was the founder of the funk band T ...

at the time. Over time the band evolved into the Neville Sounds and by late 1960s into the Meters. In a 2013 interview with ''

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...

'', Modeliste said: "Your biggest teachers were those two things you got on the side of your head. (...) It's got nothing to do with rudiments, nothing to do with time signatures, but it's got a lot to do with what you hear."

Early career

Modeliste was a founding member and drummer of the funk group

. The Meters were formed in 1965 and became well known in the vibrant New Orleans music scene. The band was eventually signed to

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

's record label Sansu Enterprises and served as the label's studio band. Over the years the Meters became staple artists and the purveyors of the traditional New Orleans funk sound. Modeliste's work with The Meters solidified his status as an innovative and skilled drummer. This was further displayed when Modeliste, along with the Meters, were invited to tour with

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

in 1975 and 1976 serving as their opening act. The Meters also served as the backing band for acts such as

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

Lee Dorsey Irving Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 1, 1986) was an American pop and R&B singer during the 1960s. His biggest hits were " Ya Ya" (1961) and " Working in the Coal Mine" (1966). Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint, wit ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Betty Harris Betty Harris (born September 9, 1939 in Orlando, Florida, United States) is an American soul singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three hit singles that made the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B and ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts: "Cry to ...

and others – all with Modeliste on drums. When The Meters disbanded in late 1970s, Modeliste continued to tour and serve as the drummer for various musicians – touring with

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

and

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

the New Barbarians ''The New Barbarians'' (; also known as ''Warriors of the Wasteland'') is a 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic action film directed by Enzo G. Castellari, written by Castellari and Tito Carpi, and starring Giancarlo Prete and George Eastman. The plot ...

shortly after the split.

Later career

Modeliste has released three studio albums and a live album as a leader. His first album titled ''Zigaboo.com'' was released in 2000. His second album ''I'm on the Right Track'' was released in 2004 and features contributors

and

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American Keyboard instrument, keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. In later years, he also worked with ...

. In 2007 he contributed to a tribute album honoring

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

with the song "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday" with collaborators

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

and Renard Poche. His live album titled ''Funk Me Hard Live'' was released in 2009. The drum heavy performance was recorded in 1980 with Modeliste performing with his first post-Meters band, the Gaboon's Gang, at the Saenger Theatre. His third studio album ''New Life'' was released in 2011. The album features works by several artists including

Wardell Quezergue Wardell Joseph Quezergue ( ; March 12, 1930 – September 6, 2011) was an American composer, arranger, record producer and bandleader, known among New Orleans musicians as the "Creole Beethoven". Steeped in jazz, he was an influential musician who ...

and

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...

. In 2005 he recorded with

Young Gunz Young Gunz is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, composed of rappers Young Chris (born Chris Ries in March 9, 1983) and Neef Buck (born Hanif Muhammad in March 30, 1983). The group is part of Beanie Sigel's State Property collective ...

on the BMI award-winning song "Can't Stop Won't Stop", and his drum patterns were sampled on the percussion heavy Grammy nominated song "

1 Thing "1 Thing" is a song by American singer Amerie from her second studio album, ''Touch'' (2005). Written by Amerie and Rich Harrison and produced by the latter, the song is influenced by go-go rhythms and prominently samples the Meters' 1970 funk ...

". In 2011 producer-musician

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

collaborated with Modeliste,

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

and

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is a musician, most notably a trombone player, from New Orleans, Louisiana. His music fuses rock, pop, jazz, funk, and hip hop. Biography Andrews was one of s ...

for the song "A La Modeliste", which was named for Modeliste's influence on funk drumming and the New Orleans sound. He was the featured artist in the August 2013 issue of ''Modern Drummer'' magazine. In the 1980s Modeliste moved to Los Angeles and later to the San Francisco Bay Area, settling in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, California. Having been involved in disputes over publishing rights of the Meters recordings, he got involved in the business side of the music industry. He started a record label, JZM Records, and a music publishing company, Jomod Music. He performs regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.

Legacy and influence

Since the late 1970s, Modeliste has partnered with numerous artists in both a touring and recording capacity. Some of these artists include: *

The Wild Tchoupitoulas The Wild Tchoupitoulas were originally a group of Mardi Gras Indians formed in the early 1970s by George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry. Landry, with his self-identified Choctaw heritage, had been an active performer in the Mardi Gras Indian styling f ...

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer renowned for his distinctively smooth, vibrato-heavy tenor and a genre-crossing career that spans R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, country, and pop. He gained national prominence with hi ...

Professor Longhair Henry Roeland Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday o ...

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...

Yael Naim Yael Naim (; born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple Inc., Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song peaked at N ...

* Kids on Bridges * Robert Stewart The Recording Academy awarded Modeliste and the Meters a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. Modeliste's work has been influential. His signature drumming style has amassed a large following in the drumming community, in which Modeliste occasionally gives master classes. Some of his best known grooves include "

Cissy Strut "Cissy Strut" is a 1969 funk instrumental by the Meters. Released as a single from their eponymous debut album, it reached No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The tune was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 201 ...

" and "Look-Ka Py-Py". In reviewing a compilation album of the Meters' early works, music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

called Modeliste's drumming "the secret" adding "it's almost as if he's the lead". In 2016 he was listed as the 18th best drummer of all time by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine. In describing his drumming style, in 2008 Modeliste said, "It's just a collage of all the drummers that I heard play in my lifetime from ew Orleans" Modeliste's work is credited on hundreds of recordings by a variety of artists. His drum patterns have been sampled extensively by hip hop artists such as

Run DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as ...

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Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

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and

Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...

. His performances have been featured in film, television and game soundtracks, including ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

'', ''

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel ''Rum Punch'' by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United Sta ...

'', ''

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are percussion instruments (usually drums, such as snare, bass, and tenor drums) specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier ...

'' and '' 8 Mile''. Modeliste is a

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. He was also known for his association ...

, DW, and Sabian signature artist.

Discography

Solo

* '' Zigaboo.com'' (JZM, 2000) * '' I'm On the Right Track'' (JZM, 2004) * ''Funk Me Hard Live'' (JZM, 2009) * ''New Life'' (JZM, 2011)

With The Meters

*''

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

'' (

Josie Josie may refer to: People * Josie (name), various people and fictional characters with the given name, a diminutive of Josephine * Edith Josie (1921–2000), Canadian writer and newspaper columnist * Peter Josie, Saint Lucia politician Music ...

, 1969) *''

Look-Ka Py Py ''Look-Ka Py Py'' is the second studio album by the American funk group The Meters. The instrumental album was ranked number 218 on the ''Rolling Stone'' list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, 220 on the 2012 revised list and 415 on the ...

'' (Josie, 1970) *'' Struttin''' (Josie, 1970) *'' Cabbage Alley'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

, 1972) *''

Rejuvenation Rejuvenation is a medical discipline focused on the practical reversal of the aging process. Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes to slow aging. ...

'' (Reprise, 1974) *''

'' (

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

, 1974) *'' Fire on the Bayou'' (Reprise, 1975) *'' The Best of The Meters'' (Mardi Gras, Virgo, 1975) *'' Trick Bag'' (Reprise, 1976) *'' New Directions'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, 1977) * ''Good Old Funky Music'' ( Rounder, 1990) *'' Funky Miracle (

Charly Charly may refer to: People * Charly (name) Places * Charly-sur-Marne, in the Aisne department * Charly, Cher, in the Cher department * Charly, Rhône, in the Rhône department * Charly-Oradour, in the Moselle department Other * Operation ...

, 1991) *'' Uptown Rulers: The Meters live on the Queen Mary'' (

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, 1992) *''Live at the Moonwalker'' ( Lakeside, 1993) *''Fundamentally Funky'' (Charly, 1994) *'' Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology'' (Rhino, 1995)

As sideman

Credits partly adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. *''

Troublemaker Troublemaker, The Troublemaker, Trouble Maker, or Trouble Makers may refer to: Film * Troublemaker Studios, a Texan film production company founded by Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan * ''Trouble Makers'' (1917 film), a lost silent film dr ...

'' (Mercury, 1979) with

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...

*''Kristen Vigard'' (Private Music, 1988) with

Kristen Vigard Kristen Vigard (born May 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer. She is known for being the first actress to play the title role in '' Annie'' in its pre-Broadway run and for her two-year run as Morgan Richards on ''Guiding Light'' (1980–8 ...

*'' Storyville'' (Geffen, 1991) with

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

*''

She She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei * ...

'' (Sony music entertainment, 1994) with

*'' Ekstasis'' (Axiom, 1993) with

Nicky Skopelitis Nicky Skopelitis (born January 19, 1960) is an American guitarist and composer of Greek descent. He also has performed on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments. Although Skopelitis has recorded few albums as a bandleader, he has app ...

and

*'' South Delta Space Age'' (Antilles, 1995) with Third Rail (

James Blood Ulmer James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American jazz, free funk and blues music, blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been ...

and Bill Laswell) *''(It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus'' (Columbia, 1993) with Harry Connick, Jr. * ''Buried Alive: Live in Maryland (2006)'' The New Barbarians (Ron Wood) * ''Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley/Pressure Drop'' (2013) with Robert Palmer * ''Toussaint: The Real Thing 1970-1975'' (2015) with Allen Toussaint * ''Another Side'' (2021) with Leo Nocentelli * ''The Island Records Years'' (2023) with Robert Palmer

Instructional videos

* ''Zigaboo Modeliste: The Originator of New Orleans Funky Drumming'' (2012) DVD

References

External links

*
Zigaboo Modeliste in the Spotlight – video
at Drum Channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Modeliste, Zigaboo American funk drummers American session musicians American soul musicians African-American drummers Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Drummers from Oakland, California 1948 births Living people The Meters members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Drummers from New Orleans